Kehel mala: A Sinhala slang phrase that rubbishes what’s nonsense-by By Jeremy De Lima, Melbourne Australia
Source:Dailymirror
The year 2022 was a time when people had to join the queues to obtain essentials and in their frustration one could hear the word ‘kehel mala’ being said often
- While not inherently vulgar, kehel mala is informal slang and used in place of stronger obscenities
A few years ago, when I immigrated from this Island of paradise, the words ‘Kehel Mala’ was not singular, rather in the plural and it meant “Banana flower”
Now, according to Google AI overview: Quote “AI Overview “Kehelmala” is a Sinhalese slang phrase that literally translates to “banana mountain” or “banana flower” (kehel-mala), but it is used colloquially to mean “rubbish,” “nonsense,” “nothing,” or to express strong contradiction, similar to saying “Yeah, right!” or “As if!”.
The word Kehelmala is often used by younger speakers to dismiss a claim or express disbelief, such as replying to a preposterous statement with Kehelmala.
The literal meaning refers to the flowering top of a banana plant.
While not inherently vulgar, it is informal slang, sometimes used in place of stronger obscenities to mean “What a mess” or “I don’t care”.
Returning to the topic, a few days ago, I was “surfing” the net and got presented on YouTube, a short episode titled “Sneak in”. As it was in English, I watched it and was pleasantly impressed with the whole presentation – two young actors, surpassing themselves.
Naturally, I delved further and came across a contact whom I immediately called on the WhatsApp number. Nishan de Silva, who answered the phone, was very welcoming and I reproduce his response verbatim: “Kehelmala is an aspiring film studio in Sri Lanka. Please check out our other short films in the public domain. We’ve released them weekly for the last two years, so there’s over 100 of them. I’ll share the YouTube link below”
Of course, I did, and my own opinion is that Kehelmala is not worthless, conversely priceless. I now have to admit; I have been lured into the throngs of Sri Lankan born overseas residents, who thrive on Tele-dramas! I even went on to watch another episode termed “Back to work” This has a very contemporary inter-generational theme; a young couple in the spring of life facing the challenges of a new-born, versus the previous generation who have already borne the vicissitudes of life – A great production with both Sinhala and English vocals with all the nuances of our unique Sri Lanka speech.
I’ll end this on a congratulatory note, wishing Nishan and his team every success in the burgeoning Sri Lankan film industry.
If you Google “List of Movie studios in Sri Lanka”, the result is more than 100 with email address, phone number, geocoded address and social media profiles!
My only complaint is that most of these episodes are too short, averaging less than 10 minutes each – it ends, just when it grabs your interest. However, I am assured this will be rectified soon.
Well done, Sri Lanka! Your film industry has definitely come of age!
(The writer can be reached at
delima@bigpond.net.au)
