Daddy's statement -
In light of the controversy generated by our video for 'Tiken Tika' we felt it was the appropriate time to respond to the allegations directed against us. Before going into detail, we'd like re-iterate that we have no intention of insult, abuse or belittle any religion, language, cast or creed and that we have the utmost respect for all of the above. Our fans come from all corners of the country and around the world regardless of what their ethnic or religious background is.
Among the various allegations against the video is that the stanza in question "bawathu sabba mangalam" has been projected as a backdrop to a honeymoon. This is entirely false as anyone who has watched the video would testify. The scene in question is about how they overcame their differences to arrive at the moment of their wedding day. The disagreement and the eventual reconciliation scene is re-enforced by a powerful memory of the person's wedding - which turns out to be the stanza from a poruwa ceremony. This is at the culmination of the lyric " Witin wita witin wita, Samaharu api gena gethu pada, Ekak hera ekak hera, Jayagaththa ada ape lowa"
Another allegation directed against us is that we have "Rapped" this stanza. This is totally baseless and untrue. The audio you hear has been recorded as performed by a professional ashtaka reciter. There was no attempt or thought of doing this ourselves or to distort or change the original recital to suit the music or lyrics. It is as it is, maintaining the integrity of the stanza and the person performing it.
We've been asked the reasoning behind the inclusion of this stanza in the video. The Poruwa ceremony is a very pure and powerful memory of most sri lankans who get married. As explained earlier, we found it to be a special ending to the story depicted by the song.
We fully understand the special place this stanza has for Buddhists as it is used in multiple occasions to bless (ashirwada) a person or a group of people. We wouldn't want to hide behind a curtain of negligence or pretend we didn't understand the importance of that stanza. It is for that specific reason it is included in the first place.
While we'd like to apologize for any misunderstanding this may have caused, we'd like to re-iterate that we don't believe we have insulted or abused Buddhism or Buddhists in any shape or form. Although the 5 of the band members are of the catholic faith, we belong to a much larger team that includes individuals of other faiths including Buddhism.
Finally we would like to state that we welcome all forms of constructive criticism and thank all those who attempted to understand the reasoning behind the use of this stanza, and for everyone else, we hope this helps clear our any doubts that you'll may have had
Daddy
