23/08/2026
Sangeeth Visharada Nanda Malini (1943 – 2026)
The Old Anandians Association of Victoria joins Sri Lankans everywhere in mourning the passing of Sangeeth Visharada Nanda Malini, who left us on 20 August, aged 82 — just days short of her 83rd birthday.
For close to seven decades she was, quite simply, the voice of a nation. From a gold medal at a poetry-singing competition in 1956, to being chosen by W. D. Amaradeva to sing in Ranmuthu Duwa, the first Sinhala colour film, through Pawana, Sathyaye Geethaya and Hemanthayedi, she gave us songs that were never only songs. She sang of social injustice, of ordinary lives and human relationships, and she used her art to speak at times when speaking was not easy.
For our Association, her passing carries a particular sadness. In 2004, Nanda Malini graced the stage of the Melbourne Concert Hall for "Ran Swara Dhara", a concert organised by the OAAV that many of our members still speak of more than twenty years later. For one evening, thousands of miles from home, her voice made the distance disappear. Those who were there will never forget it.
A voice like hers comes once in a generation. Sri Lanka has lost one of its great artists, and the world of Sinhala music is quieter today.
May she attain the supreme bliss of Nibbana.
— Old Anandians Association of Victoria
