From the heart: A song for Trail – by B & S
View(s):Bathiya & Santhush, Ambassadors for Trail have now released the theme song for the initiative which carries a message of unity and understanding for the people of Sri Lanka, motivating them to raise funds in aid of cancer treatment.
The previous Trail initiative, which took place back in 2011, saw the establishment of the Tellippalai Trail Cancer Hospital in Jaffna. Fully functional and furnished with cutting edge equipment, the hospital has treated over 4,500 patients since opening its doors in 2014. “We have been observing their progress since 2011 and were glad to see the end result. Unfortunately, due to our commitments on an international stage at the time, we couldn’t be a part of Trail in 2011. So when we were called to be a part of it this year, we jumped at the opportunity. It’s a no-strings-attached commitment and therefore it feels like we are doing something from the heart,” said Bathiya and Santhush.
The song, titled “Trail for a Life”, is composed by Mahesh Denepitiya. Lyricists include Ravi Barnes (English), Ajith Nishantha (Sinhala) and T.G. Balendran (Tamil lyrics) with vocals by Bathiya, Santhush, Umaria and Chandru Rajasooriyar. It has now been uploaded to the servers of all mobile phone operators in the island and is available to be downloaded as a ringing tone or direct from iTunes. Downloading the
ringing tone makes one a contributor to Trail as proceeds are donated to the initiative.
“This is a genuine project spearheaded by two individuals with no corporate label to it. And we have observed that whatever that is done, be it a fundraising activity or the walk itself, it is always a collective effort. It’s not just another project where people give and go away. Everyone is involved. And the model is such that everyone has to get involved. So we wanted to be involved ourselves, and as musicians, saw this as an opportunity for us to use our resources to give back to our society.”
Trail 2016 began on October 6 and will cover a distance of 670km over 28 consecutive days ending on November 2. Walkers began their journey at Point Pedro and are walking to Dondra Head in order to raise funds towards a new cancer unit for the Karapitiya Teaching Hospital.