Sukumar Shan in CEYLON Then …. & Now
Rukmani Devi an enchanted life of a Star ! On her 103rd Birthday . Rukmani Devi was born as Daisy Rasammah Daniels in Ramboda, Nuwara Eliya to a lower middle class family on the 15th of January 1923. She was the second child in a family of six which included an elder sister Mabel, and a brother named Fredrick (Freddy) and three younger sisters, namely Florence, Helen and Sarojini. She loved singing from a very young age and would always stand by the grammar phone and used to sing the songs played on it.
It is no doubt that she showed the signs of becoming a great singer from a very early age. She sang her first ever song “Siri Buddha gaya vihare” with Rupasinghe Master when she was only 13 years old. This was the stepping stone of a very prosperous singing career. A career which paved the way for her to become, the first Sri Lankan actress to grace the silver screen and also ultimately become an overnight star.
ONE: Rukmani Devi, was born as Daisy Rasammah Daniels to a Colombo Chetty Christian family on 15 January 1923 at Ramboda in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka. TWO, in a family of five, her father, John Daniel worked on a plantation and her mother, Helen Rose was a teacher.
She grew up in Colombo and had her early education at St. Matthew’s School and then moved on to St. Clare’s School, Wellawatte.
As a little girl, Daniels showed an inborn talent to sing and dance. At the age of seven, she was picked to sing Christmas carols. Impressed with her ability to sing, dance, and also to act, she was selected to perform a main role in a Christmas play, ‘The Shoemaker’s Wife’.
The stage play was trained and presented by St. Clare’s School, Wellawatte.
Watching her play this role much enthusiastically, Walter Abeysinghe, a drama producer sought permission from her father, to invite her to play the lead role of ‘Sita’ in his drama ‘Ramayanaya.’ Thus, in 1935 at the age of just 12 years she performed in this stage play, presented by the ‘Sinhala Natya Sabha’.
She was married to veteran dramatist, actor and singer, Eddie Jayamanne, whom she fell in love with as a result of her close association with him, when performing in dramas produced by “Minerva Dramatic Club” founded by B. A. W. Jayamanne. They lived at “Jaya Ruk”, at Angurukaramulla, Negombo. This marked the beginning of an illustrious career that would span over four decades. As her performances were highly appreciated by the packed audience, well-known dramatist Dick Dias chose her for two of his stage plays, “Jana Kiharanaya” and “Mayawathie“. She was now flooded with stage dramas, as she became Mayawathi in Charles Dias’ ‘Mayawathi’, Juliet in a Sinhala adaption of Romeo and Juliet, playing the lead female role in all of them.
With her first audio recording of the famous song “Siri Buddhagaya Vihare” with Master “H. W. Rupasinghe”. in 1938,[3] she captured the hearts of the masses and she shaped her career from that of an actress to that of an actress turned singer. This song was recorded to 78 rpm (gramophone) record label HMV with the number N-9300 and issued in 1939 by the Cargills Ltd, local agents for HMV
Her unique voice attracted many music directors, as her singing career moved from the stage to the silver screen.
It was also, around this time that her name underwent a change from Daisy Daniels to the well known ‘Rukmani Devi’. There are two schools of thinking as to how the name “Rukmani Devi” originated. According to one school, the late H. W. Rupasinghe maestro created the name, while the other believe that Jayantha Weerasekara and Michael Sannas Liyanage who is in his 90s, created it.
A. W. Jayamanne, founder of “Minerva Dramatic Club” of Negombo took Rukmani to perform remarkable roles in his interestingly featured dramas, such as ‘Apparition’, ‘Broken Promise’, ‘Changing Fate, ‘Defeated Aim’, ‘Evasive Denial’, ‘Fanatic Faith’, ‘Grisly Guardian’, ‘Hasty Decision’ and lastly ‘Irangani’. Above-mentioned plays followed the English alphabet.
The popular play ‘Broken Promise’ (Kadawunu Poronduwa), was adapted into a film by B. A. W. Jayamanne. This was the first Sinhala film – Kadawunu Poronduwa, screened on 21 January 1947. Rukmani Devi, who also began her film career through the role of ‘Ranjani’ in this film, also became the first local cinema actress. Her film career, which thus began spread over a period of more than three decades. Her other memorable film songs include “Mawila Penewi Roope” (Kele Handa), “Adarayai Karunawai” (Daiwayogaya), “Olu Male sudo sudo” (Peralena Iranama) “Anna Sudo” (Kele handa) and many more.
Rukmani Devi was a prolific singer and would always try to learn the new techniques and styles of singing. This was the very reason that she became a famous singer and even though she started off singing classical devotional songs with Rupasinghe Master she later sang songs with new comers like H. R. Jothipala, Neville Fernando, C.T.Fernando, Milton Mallawarachchi and Victor Rathnayake. She has also sung songs in different languages including Spanish.
Rukmani Devi was always admired as a humble and a very modest artist not just among her fans but in the film fraternity as well. She was at all times willing to give a helping hand to any newcomer when in need. She was enduring enough to tolerate newbie repeated mistakes. There was an incident which made everyone else on the sets very impatient where as she passed it all off with a smile on her face.
biography_img8With late Mrs. Nargis Dutt and Meena Shore
This incident took place during the shooting of the film “Magul Poruwa” , the last film directed by Mr. B.A.W. Jayamanna. He was not well during the shoot. This was how the incident was seen by a journalist.
“The camera and the lights were all set to shoot the scene and Rukmani Devi walked in pushing the trolley with the tea pot for the third time. B.A.W. Jayamanna explained the scene for the third time to the two actors who was sitting on the sofa. B.A.W. Jayamanna who was not feeling well during the shoot scolded the new comer, don’t whisper say your lines clearly and loud. You all say that you can act very well and come to act but you can’t say a single word properly, did you count how many times she had to push that tea trolley. “
The new actor was embarrassed and he looked around helplessly. “The problem is Alo Aiya (Mr. B.A.W. Jayamanna) that even though we are experienced, when we come in front of the camera sometimes we also feel nervous and it takes time to overcome that feeling. Everyone else on the set smiled at this statement and B.A.W. Jayamanna became silent. Rukmani Devi smiled at the new comer and took a bit of sugar from the bowl on the trolley tasted it and smiled.”
But it is indeed very tragic that she had to die from a road accident in 1978 which she was so convinced that it will never happen to her. Rukmani Devi was planning to celebrate her 40 year singing career by having a solo musical performance called “Swarna Gee” on the 29th of October 1978. The show was supposed to be held at the Ladies College Auditorium in Colombo. She sang in a musical show held in Matara, Uyanwaththa stadium on the previous day (28th October) and was coming to Colombo. She dropped her husband Eddie Jayamanna at their residence Hendala, Palliyayawatta and had left to meet her parents in Negombo. The van which she was travelling crashed on to a bowser belonging to the Lanka Petroleum Cooperation in front of the Church in Thudalla, Ja ela, around 6.30 am on the 28th of October. It was reported that she died on the spot along with the person who was driving the van and another person sustained minor injuries. “Swarna Gee” was intended to be a comeback show and was also considered to be as a remembrance of her illustrious career as an artist which never happened. I feel that most of the famous and admired artist’s even youth icons, especially the ones who have won millions of hearts had faced similar sudden tragic endings as of hers.
Rukmani Devi was a star who shined brighter than ever before; she suddenly vanished from the world (from our lives). But it is very emotional and touching to know how she truly felt about life.
“The man who comes in to this world alone leaves this world alone. My destiny is also the same. When I leave this world I will not take this fame, stardom or anything else with me. The only thing which helps me in the end is the faith and trust that I had in god and the true prayer which I made to the all mighty.”
Rukmani Devi was not just an artist or a star but was also a human being who possessed very rare qualities. She won millions of hearts not only by her ethnic beauty and her enchanting voice but from these qualities which possessed as a great human being. She will always remain in people’s hearts as one of the most glamorous yet humble star to grace Sinhala Cinema forever.
Facebook ….. Jerome Varney
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R-devi 4444
ALSO NOTE
https://ceylontoday.lk/2025/07/23/rukmani-devi-the-nightingale-of-sri-lanka/
Michael
You, being a historian does more than re-writing history. You make the history living. You always find gems hidden in the history
Keep on
She was taken from the world when she was at her best.