Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa has expressed his condolences on the passing of music icon Latha Walpola.

In a post shared on his official Facebook account, former President Rajapaksa stated that as seniors depart with time, an entire era is gradually coming to an end.

Except from the condolence message of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa is as follows:

“Elders depart. With time, an era comes to an end. My life has been spent in politics, and therefore many people view what we say and do through a political lens. However, everything is not politics. The notes we share are not merely traditional political statements. Within them lie our memories, experiences, emotions and above all, the respect we hold for those individuals. We feel a deep and affectionate bond towards those personalities we saw from our childhood and grew up with.

I believe many of my contemporaries share this feeling. The songs of Latha Walpola are intertwined with the emotions of several generations. The black-and-white films we watched as children were brought to life by her voice. Whether on black-and-white screens or color screens, we listened to her voice without distinction. She sang patriotic songs with pride.

She sang hymns and Buddhist devotional songs with equal devotion. I respectfully note that my generation, including myself in our youth, experienced emotions such as love, separation and youthfulness through the songs she sang.

I believe that those who belonged to those generations have not yet forgotten her creative works filled with youthful spirit. Those memories remain vivid and delightful. These songs also contributed to attracting audiences to the films and achieving commercial success. Recalling those beautiful memories, I offer my respect for her exceptional service toward the advancement of the music industry. I wish supreme peace to Latha Walpola, who created an era and left memories that will endure for generations.

I respectfully bid farewell to the immortal-voiced Latha, who sang the highest number of songs and was honored with state awards such as Kala Suri and Deshamanya, as well as decades of public admiration.”