A skilled journalist and a great humanist

Mohan SAMARANAYAKE

REMEMBERED: When great Russian writer Gogol died at the age of 43 a contemporary writer Ivan Turgeniv wrote thus: 'Gogol is dead, we have got the bitter and sorrowful right to describe him as a great man. As ancient pioneers died without completing their mission he too died at a time his strengths and abilities were being realised."

Similar thoughts may have occurred in the minds of friends and colleagues who heard of Ajith Samaranayake's untimely death. I recently met a group of Lake House journalist friends including Ajith at a Colombo Hotel for dinner.

Among them were Bandula Jayasekara (Daily News), C. Dodawatta (Dinamina) Dinesh Weerawansa (Sunday Observer) and Ranil Wijayapala (Daily News), we talked many things for about two hours.

Raviraj killing, A 9 highway, international interference and information regarding the media world some of the topics we discussed amidst jokes and wise cracks we spent a joyful evening.

Ajith who got up to leave without having dinner took my hand and kissed it. I too reciprocated the same way due to my love towards that great human being.

Two days after our meeting I heard the tragic news about the tragic murder of Ajith's sister. I telephoned Lake House to express my sympathies. The person who answered my call said Ajith has been admitted to the hospital ICU with a history of dengue.

Then on Wednesday I heard the heartrending news. I thought we can never understand life. The poem "Balana Netum Weni Viduliya Eliye" which we learnt in our childhood came to my mind.

Ajith Samaranayake was a journalist of a rare breed. According to ancient usage he was a leading journalist. Entering journalism in his youth he was able to etch his name in newspaper pages within a short time.

During his journalism life of over three decades he held the Editor post in The Island, Sunday Observer and Evening Observer papers. Later he was appointed Managing Editor English newspapers of ANCL and at the time of his death he was Editor Friday newspaper.

He may have written thousands of reports, articles, features, commentaries and editorials for the newspapers he served. Everyone of them were enriched with value. They were interesting and very thought provoking writings.

Ajith was in the forefront of the handful of journalists and writers with a good command of English we had. His style and command of English almost mesmerised us. We learnt many things by reading them.

Most of our English journalists though Sinhalese had a meagre knowledge of Sinhala. Some did not know Sinhala at all and they have a sense of pride about it. Ajith Samaranayake was well versed in Sinhala.

During his school days he wrote Sinhala poems for school magazines. He wrote Sinhala articles on economic, political and literary topics. He ably conducted Rupavahini discussions in Sinhala.

Journalist Ajith Samaranayake had a quality which is mandatory for a journalist which many of us including me did not possess. He was armed with a wide knowledge of varied topics and subjects. His knowledge was not restricted to information supplied in customary news reports.

He had a wide ranging knowledge in English and Sinhala literature, cinema, culture, politics, marxism, socialism, national problems and well-known personalities.

The appreciations written by Ajith whenever a friend or a person he respected died were rich and meaningful articles. When Simon Nawagaththegama died Ajith referred to him as the last Sinhala Bohemian.

I valued Ajith and was shocked after hearing of his death not merely because he was a skilled journalist, but also because he was a great humanist we came across.

As a human being and a journalist Ajith had a philosophy and vision. Subjection to limitations imposed by capital and conscience are eternal problems faced by. Ajith did not jettison his philosophy even within those limitations.

Ajith was a humble and friendly man. Many journalists educated in schools such as Trinity College able to speak and write English well associating with high society people are sometimes swollen headed.

Martin Wickramasinghe referred to them as people who thought they were of a different ilk. Ajith never suffered from that sickness.

I don't know which religion Ajith belonged to. But I think Ajith made Buddha's teaching "Sallahuka Wuththi" his theme in life. Ajith did not go after position, big people, luxury vehicles or foreign trips. This is a rare quality in the present society.

He envisioned a good society which he represented. I feel that like most of us Ajith too was a little frustrated when things happened in the unexpected way in recent times. During our last meeting he said "I sometimes feel like giving up everything."

There was a special reason why I got attracted towards Ajith Samaranayake. That is because he was a person who believed in socialism. Ajith thought that socialism based on the teachings of Karl Marx was the only means of liberation for mankind.

Ajith your untimely death has created a void in the media and social sectors. I don't think it will be filled soon. Therefore you will live among us for a long time to come.