Good bye Lanka Viththi

It was the time of daily bombings by the LTTE. It was the time that Sri Lankans lost hopes and thought the war will never end. It was the time you fear for your father's life until he returns home from work. It was the time the entire Sri Lankans living abroad kept an eye on the news from home on a daily basis.

Unexpectedly, fulfilling a dream of Sri Lankans living in the UK a Sinhala newspaper appeared. The paper was 'Lanka Viththi' edited by a well-seasoned journalist Daya Ananda Ranasinghe. He was also the owner, publisher and the distributor. At early stages he was the writer of most of the articles that appeared in the paper. It was distributed free and said to be the first Sinhalese newspaper printed and published away from Sri Lanka.

It gave a good stage for expatriates to express their views on the war, politics and cultural stands. Suddenly a number of new Sinhala poets appeared writing poetry using traditional and also modern styles.

Plenty of Sinhalese writers contributed from all over the world. Everybody had something to write about the situation in Sri Lanka. Daya Ananda used his pen with no fear against the atrocities of the LTTE leading many more writers who followed him.

Many of the articles and poems appeared were tributes and words of encouragement for soldiers at the battle front. The paper even reached them in deep jungles where they were deployed. In a few months Lanka Viththi had a considerable fan based around the world. A new era of Sinhala writing and language developed in England and the paper received articles more than it needed. Everyone had an aim. It is to declare war against the LTTE with the power of their pen.

Although Lanka Viththi was a monthly, most of the fans were anxious until the day of issue. The temples, groceries selling Sri Lankan food, restaurants, Bank of Ceylon and the High Commission in London were the main places of distribution of the paper.

There were a few methods of sending the paper around the world. A week before the publication Daya used to call every friend and acquaintance to see whether there is anyone visiting Sri Lanka, Europe, America, Australia or the Middle East.

Daya once said that no one refused to carry a bundle of Lanka Viththi even though the passenger has already reached his allocated baggage allowance. If he can't find anyone who goes to Colombo that week, people can see Daya leaning on to a post by the Sri Lankan counter at the Heathrow airport.

It is to send the paper through a passenger to Colombo to be distributed among the press, friends, soldiers and fans. People never refused to carry the paper on flight as they knew Lanka Viththi was published purely based on love towards motherland Sri Lanka. It managed the printing cost from the revenue of advertisements. The rest went from the pocket.

Lanka Viththi had space for different features. It received invaluable contributions from scholars based in Sri Lanka. The articles from them were considered as a token of appreciation.

The theory of 'every good thing must come to an end' is also common to Lanka Viththi. The main reason behind this is that the publication has achieved its goal. It was winning the LTTE war. Now Sri Lankan newspapers published in the UK has pages in all three languages. The mission of Daya, which brought a new awakening of Sri Lankan language and culture in the United Kingdom has been accomplished. The amount of threats and abuses he faced during last sixteen years is unbelievable. Some were serious threats to his life. Daya has faced every challenge with no fear in the name of mother Sri Lanka.

The publication which ran a marathon for sixteen years is ready to say good bye.The farewell meeting is scheduled for 5 of May at a hall in Wembley. No doubt there will be a massive crowd to pay their gratitude to a person who made such a contribution to Sinhalese language and culture in the United Kingdom.

Lanka Viththi was the mirror of Daya Ananda Ranasinghe's patriotism. The reflection it created has brightened many Sri Lankan lives in the United Kingdom and abroad.