How a young doctor turned the Sinhala songs she missed into art.

Ramali is a doctor in Germany. But she is also a Sri Lankan artist—and living far away from home has shaped her art in unexpected ways.

Homesickness often arrives through small things. For her, one of those things was music. The Sinhala songs she grew up with—many of them released in the early 2000s—reminded her of listening to music at home and watching it on television with her brother. In Germany, these songs became a way to briefly return to Sri Lanka: to its language, its atmosphere, and a particular feeling that is difficult to translate.

Eventually, she began turning that feeling into a collection of digital illustrations built around Sinhala lyrics.

The first piece was inspired by Kasun Kalhara’s song Ananthayata Yana Paara Dige: “Along the
road to eternity.” And what better vehicle could there be for travelling down that road than a tuk-tuk? She illustrated one in five different colours and paired it with the original Sinhala lyrics. That became the beginning of the collection.

For every piece, she listens for something that stays with her. Sometimes it is an image contained in the song title. Sometimes it is a particular line, object, or feeling. She then translates that association into a digital illustration and explains the connection in the description accompanying the finished work.

But the project soon became more than illustration.

While researching the songs, she discovered that many of the lyrics available online contained spelling mistakes or were simply incorrect. She began correcting errors, which meant listening to the same song several times, and even contacting artists to verify certain lyrics.

That close attention reminded her how poetic Sinhala can be: how innocent some lyrics are, how unexpectedly deep others become when you stop and really examine them and how much is lost when you try to translate them into English. Songs can become so familiar that we barely notice their words anymore. Her artwork asks people to pause and look again.

The illustrations and carefully researched lyrics were eventually printed, framed, and brought together as physical artworks: a way for someone to place a beautiful Sinhala song on their wall. Ramali first presented the collection at two pop-ups in Sri Lanka. But perhaps the people who resonate with it most are Sri Lankans living elsewhere. One print has already found its way to a woman in Italy who, like Ramali, was missing home.

The framed prints are now available through her Shopify website. Each includes the original Sinhala text alongside selected English translations and the story behind the illustration. Beyond this collection, Ramali also creates commissioned acrylic and oil paintings on canvas through Instagram. Recently, much of her work has been inspired by the ancient imagery of Sri Lanka’s Dambulla Cave Temple.

You can explore the Sinhala lyric collection here:
Visit the shop: https://art-by-ramali.myshopify.com/

And see more of her artwork or request a commission here:
Follow Ramali on Instagram: @artbymaali