[4] Sunil Santha was born on 14 April 1915 on the Sinhalese New Year's Day in Dehiyagatha, Ja-Ela, Sri Lanka.

Santha died on 11 April 1981 from a heart attack shortly after his son Jagath drowned under mysterious circumstances in a swimming pool.

On 2 March 1946 Santha held a recital for the Kumaratunga Commemoration ceremony and was asked to record for Radio Ceylon.

Over the next six years, he would have a string of popular songs including "Olu Pipila", "Handapane", "Ho Ga Rella Negay", "Bowitiya Dan Palukan Vare", "Suwada Rosa Mal Nela", "Kokilayange", and "Mihikathanalawala."

A diligent songwriter himself, Santha sang songs written by lyricists like Huberth Dissanayake, Kumaratunga Munidasa, Raipiyel Tennakoon, Arisen Ahubudu and Fr.

[9] In 1953, Santha started a small school at the Maradana Newton building, vowing to teach 10 pupils for free.

He wrote to newspapers about the plight of Ananda Samarakoon and tried to bring attention to the composer of the national anthem.

[5][12] In 1955 journalist DB Dhanapala started a campaign to expose Santha's plight and raised some money through his column on Lankadeepa.

[9] In 1967 Director General Mr. Neville Jayaweera asked Santha to come back to the national radio service.

The songs are remarkable in that they used traditional Sri Lankan drums and other instruments to create a unique sound.