In the years gone by......

Donald NUGAWELA

Going past Lake House recently I stopped and took time to look long at my former workplace with a great deal of affection. It brought back a flood of memories and of the wonderful times I had with my colleagues and the friends I made in those halcyon years of fun and laughter, leg-pulls and hilarity that was an integral part of our working life.

Lake House building. File photo

Lake House was my home away from home where I spent over two and a half decades of my working life in what was known to us as the graveyard shift, or the 9.00 p.m. to 6.00 a.m. shift. It was the heart and lungs of Lake House or the Works, or better the Production and Printing Department.

It was a vast working area holding all the sections of the daily newspapers and weeklies that were produced and printed. It was an era of hot lead, letterpress and hustle and bustle. It was an era also of uncomfortable working conditions of sweat and stress. Yet we enjoyed our work supplemented with endless cups of tea and leg-pulls.

While standing on the pavement and looking at Lake House it seemed to smile and tell me that - Men may come and men may go, but I go on forever. Indeed yes. It should be so for posterity.

Lake House has had trains thundering past its backyard and traffic roaring past its front since days of yore. It withstood a ferocious politically sponsored attack on it by Goondas in the sixties. It had areas of the Observer Editorial and the priceless Library attacked and damaged.

Their sponsors forgot that Lake House was and is a National Treasure and not just a run - of - the - mill printing press publishing rags. It even had the Tiger terrorists desecrating its corridors in the nineties. Despite all these and the hideous architectural monstrosities standing around her, she stands out in its old glory like its opposite neighbours, the Regent Flats and the Regal Cinema - three grand old ladies of the Fort.

Memories are great to recall. In those times there was an unwritten rule that all editions of newspapers to be delivered to the Chairman, the Managing Director and the Directors. Silumina was printed on Saturdays and on this particular Saturday night around 8.30 my desk telephone rang stridently.

It was the Managing Director Esmond Wickremesinghe. He sounded angry when he told me that he had been calling the Silumina desk for the past thirty minutes and he had had no response.

I of course had no control over the Editorial staff yet I volunteered to look for Meemana Prematilleke, the Editor or his Assistant and get one of them to call him back immediately. Perhaps the Managing Director knew his men better than I did when he asked me to stop printing the Silumina and pull out an offensive two column article appearing on page 7 and also told me if those chaps are not available put in some fillers and commence printing.

I was in a dilemma. I had the authority to stop the press but certainly no authority over an edited newspaper and I couldn’t have possibly told the MD this without being hauled up for impertinence.

Adding to my woes was the Despatch Superintendent grumbling that the despatch vans were lined up due to the delay on the Silumina. He was getting so persistent with this refrain that I had to be rude to shut him up.

Meemana it was who finally turned up huffing and puffing and told me that his Sub Dharmadasa Boteju had taken ill with too much stuff taken off a pub and that he was compelled to dispatch him home. I briefed him and he promptly telephoned the MD and smoothed ruffled feathers. Unfortunately there were no fillers available and I was back to zero. Meemana looked long at me and with a reassuring smile told me don’t worry Kollo.

Seated at my desk he wrote furiously and in silence for a couple of minutes and with all of us standing around him looking on anxiously he finished what he had written and handed the copy to the Foreman.

It was soon set up by two lino operators proof read by Meemana himself and printing commenced shortly after. He had written instant Kavi to supplement the ‘killed’ story.

It was unique for I had seen many subs facing similar situations running round in circles agitated and helplessly bogged down.

On that night I was handed down a rare privilege. I saw a great legend at work even though for a few minutes. And he made it awesomely simple.