Meet grandpa Manilal

Surprise! Surprise! Yes, it certainly came to me as a mega surprise to hear that singer Manilal Perera is a grandpa!

We had a very long chit-chat, over the phone, and then he paid me a visit to elaborate further on his family life…and he came on a bicycle!

Although the bike is battery-powered, he says he uses the pedals…as a form of exercise.

Manilal, who is still extremely popular as a vocalist, is the father of two girls and two boys…from three marriages!

His eldest is Tashiya, 29, and she lives in Germany. She is the mother of Matteo, who is one and a half years old, and that makes Manilal a grandpa!

Tashiya’s official wedding to Toby, a German, is scheduled for October, this year, and Manilal says he will be in Germany for the celebrations.

His other three kids are Riccardo, 19, who is to enter a University in Florence, Italy; Viola, 22, a qualified orthodontist, having her own workshop in Torino, Italy; and Zack, 26, working as an engineer for Boeing, in Norway.

Unfortunately, none of his kids have decided to follow in the footsteps of their famous dad who has been in the music scene for over four decades.

Recollecting the good old days, Manilal said the very first group he teamed up with were The Emeralds, from Nugegoda.

He did perform with many other outfits before putting together his own band Upekka.

He also did a stint with Mirage.

Talking about the past, he said: “I enjoyed the time when we did the famous entertainment venues, like Colombo 2000, Little Hut, Supper Club and the Blue Elephant. What a crowd we used to have.

“Music lovers used to pack these venues because they enjoyed what we gave them – music at its best.”

A few weeks back I was told by a group of music lovers that although there are dozens and dozens of nightspots in the scene now, the music that emanates from these venues is just blaring sound.

Manilal and Upekka are still very much active and are frequently seen in action at the Irish Pub, in Colombo, and Manilal also does a solo scene at Spoons, Mount Lavinia, on a regular basis – on Wednesdays, from 6.30 pm onwards.

“The duo performing at Spoons provides the music for me to entertain the guests. It’s a nice setup,” added Manilal.