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Biography of Mangal Jayakody Mangal Jayakody was born in Sri Lanka as the eighth child in a family of nine. His mother raised her nine children with a lot of love and care after his father, a police officer passed away when Mangal was two years old. Mangal's grandfather was the village headman in Gampaha. Mangal studied at Maliyadeva Collage, the largest and the most prestigious secondary boys' school in the North Western Province of Sri Lanka. His music instructor, Mr. Dayapala was an inspiration and encouraged Mangal to develop his interest in music. As a result, Mangal became an active member of many school-run music organizations, including the collage band, the cadet band, and the orchestra. During that period the school bands and orchestra received several national awards including the national championship. In addition to being a gifted vocalist, Mangal also plays many instruments such as the sitar, guitar, flute and drums. In 1972, after graduating from high school he formed his first band called "Flower Buds", where he was the lead singer. In 1974 he quit this band and formed "Sweet Inspiration", his second band, which was more successful than the previous band and won many laurels. It was ranked as one of the top five bands in the entire nation in a national talent contest held in 1976. As a result, Mangal received a contract to sing in Kandy Lake Club, where he performed with veteran singers such as Rukmani Devi and C. T. Fernando. In 1979, he landed a lucrative job in Saudi Arabia to perform Calypso music at a five star hotel. Mangal recorded his first album "Mage Kauluwen" with the help of his good friend and music director Rukantha Gunathilake in 1988. He was also briefly involved with politics in Sri Lanka. His older brother, who was a member of parliament influenced him into getting involve with public service. In 1986, he became the first president of the Polgahawela Chapter of the Lions Club. Later he got elected as a member of the first Providential Council in the North Western Province. As the Sri Lanka political situation worsened. Mangal resigned from his provincial Council membership. As for his personal life, Mangal married his high school sweetheart Mangala Wimalasiri in 1982, after a five-year affair. They now have two sons, Yoshana and Shehan. Mangal immigrated to the United State in 1989 and is currently working for "Frys", a large electronics store in Southern California. He is also an Apple certified computer professional. As for Managala, she owns and operate a Day care center in Van Nuys, California. |
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