At first glance, Chithru de Silva gives you the impression of a sweet attractive young girl who like any girl her age, is slowly making her way into the world in a sensible thought out fashion; however, all this is completely shattered when she starts excitedly talking about how much she loves attending protests and being a social activist. That’s when you know, she might just be a little different from most.
Chithru has set many goals for herself, the ultimate goal being a career as a criminal psychologist for the UN, and she is steadily climbing her way to the top of that list. Her most recent achievement was coming runner up in the Soloist category at TNL Onstage 2013.
Hailing from a family with a musical background and singing in choir for a number of years, you’d expect her to jump at the chance to compete in a competition but that was never the case. Talking about her win, she says while she does feel blessed to have won, becoming a professional singer was never a top priority.
“I never intended to take part in Onstage but then a friend uploaded a cover I did of Jennifer Rush’s ‘Power of Love’ on Youtube which became an unexpected hit and gave me a lot of good exposure, so I applied.” Despite making it to the preliminaries, Chithru didn’t have much confidence until she sang a cover of the Whitney Houston track ‘I Will Always Love You’.
“The crowd’s response to that was amazing. It was only then that I realised I had a shot at winning,” she stated, adding “I humbly thank everyone who supported me during the competition. My advice for anyone trying out for something like this would be to only do it if you truly love it and if it makes you happy. Determination and courage is all you need.” Now that the competition is over, she has no plans to rush into a musical career, preferring to take things as they come.
Another flair of hers, and she has quite a few, is writing. As a child, she wrote numerous stories and poems; and it was a collection of short stories written during her A/Levels that caught the eye of a media publication, earning her a job as a writer. “Writing has always been a part of my life. My dad’s a journalist and he always guided me with my writing, it’s very natural for me.” She has recently cut back on her writing to focus on studying for an English Literature Degree at the University of Sabaragamuwa.
Not one to restrict herself, Chithru has a number of hobbies and activities to keep her busy; from acting, sketching and photograpghy to a collection of over 4000 stamps. She is also an avid social activist, hence the delight in attending protest rallies, she has taken part in several campaigns on social media sites to stop sexual harassment and promote awareness and hopes that this will one day result in new social media policies to stop cyber bullying in Sri Lanka.
“I know lots of people go for protests and things just for the sake of it and I hate that. I don’t like it when people pretend to care. There are lots of good people out there who stand up for what is right and they’re the ones who encourage me to make a change in the world. I wouldn’t call myself a feminist, I just want to voice my opinon on topics that really mean something,” she said.
While most would consider her busy schedule to be more than a little chaotic, for Chithru, it’s all part of the journey to where she wants to be. Stating that while she knows it’s a lot of work, she’s proud of all that’s been achieved so far as she believes she was given these talents for a reason and wants to make maximum use of them to give back to the country.
“I’d like to thank my parents because none of this would have been possible without them. And all the friends that constantly supported me. Also, a special thanks to my vocal coach, Andre David who guided me throughout the competition,” Chithru concluded.
By Lake Argent
Pics by Kushan Pathiraja
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0 Comments
yafmember says:
Aug 13, 2013 at 12:00 amCHITTYYYYYYYYYYYYYY WE LALU xD
Varuni Weerasinghe says:
Aug 13, 2013 at 12:00 amWe are very proud of you Chithru <3
Sathma Goonathilaka says:
Jun 01, 2015 at 12:00 amAkki...,I'm truly a fan of yours. Love all the covers done by you and also the song 'If I'...! The lyrics of the song is really fabulous...! You have a great future ahead and I take this moment to wish you whole heartedly for a bright future...! Love you and God Bless You..!!! <3