Ajith Samaranayake’s 55th Birth Anniversary: The incomparable writer
by Wijitha Nakkawita
Among those who traversed the halls of fame was Ajith Samaranayake whose memories go down over three decades since we became acquainted in the corridors of Lake House as young men starting a career in journalism.
The memories are sweet and sour. For, his departure suddenly at the age of 51 years turned everything sour. It reminds one of the famous lines of the English Poet Sir Walter Scott
Ajith Samaranayake
“He is gone in the mountain He is lost to the forest Like a summer dried fountain When our need was the sorest...”
For in this age when journalism as Oscar Wilde once said has become unreadable Ajith Samaranayake is remembered as a columnist, a writer who wrote in an inimitable style with a depth rarely seen among our tribe. Nearly three decades back when Ajith was writing a Parliament lobby for a daily newspaper I had the pleasure of sitting next to him in the Parliament press gallery.
It was his habit to sit with the earphones holding the order paper of the day in his hand not jotting down any notes as we used to do but with his keen ear turned to the debate and sometimes when some member of the House said something absurd Ajith would quite aloud say “What nonsense” even though it could have been heard in the House.
That trait of standing no nonsense was a part of Ajith who used his pen to fight even lost causes.
His intimate knowledge of the cinema, drama and literature whether it was English or Sinhalese made some people say he was an English journalist whose thinking was Sinhalese. Yet that would not be a fair interpretation of Ajith’s thinking for he was small, soft-spoken man sometimes shy but his mind was so wide it encompassed this planet and even those beyond it in the infinity.
Now after the session of Parliament was over for the day Ajith would come back to his desk and write his lobby column without referring to any notes as he made none.
That lobby column was so far the best written by any Sri Lankan journalist yet and his other writings were equally classic.
He loved humanity and the people he knew he knew well.
Even celebrities like Lester James Peries treated Ajith as a friend though there was a huge gap in years between their ages.
When Ajith died at the age of 51 in 2006 he had actually lived more than a century for every day that he lived he had done what others would do in two days or more for that dedication to his profession and his empathy and understanding of other people made him take every stride that measured two or more strides any other person would take.
2 Comments
I am glad somebody wrote of him,for I never knew him.
May he be well recieved by his creator.
What Mr. Nakavita written here about this great journalist. Ajith Aiya was a gem of a man. I knew him from the timehe joined Upali News Papers, even that time he was a well respected Journalist everybody in our office loved him, I was only 18 years old and it was my first job, ther almost all the people in the production eccept some experince guys in the management level were young just school leavers, Ajith Aiya was everything for us , there were around 3, 4 journalists who never went home , our office was like a boarding house for them, I can remember Mr. Jairaj, Mr.Sunil Madawa together with Ajith Aiya were talking about politcs after acouple of round to the nearby Old Bens club, they never worried about going home, they were very interlectuals, We as young students used to listen to them for hours, that time will never come, there were somany topics but Ajith aiya knew better, at last every body would agree with with his point, Yes he was an English journalist but his sinhala was exelent, we learnt a lot from him.That time Friday night in our office was like an International University, from Island News paper Ajith,Jairaj, prasad, gamini weerakoon & from Dinaina Dayasena Gunasinghe, Gamini, kasuri,jayanath,sunil, dodangoda, they were all like proffesors, & Ajith aiya's smooth low tone voice was second to none.
He was a god like man, very silent untill he feels he should talk.I can still remember the day when we started the first strike in Upalinews papers as a trade union, that night I met him at a club in Armour street, I was the chief organizer in that trade union he always liked me, he called me to his table and adviced me how to operate a trade union in country like sri lanka, he came up with somany international examples, & told me not to ask him to join the union but he promissed me to help when ever we need, & always he was a great help to us untill He joined Lake house. I knew a little about him after that.
Nakakvita was explaning about Ajith aiya's friendship with Lester,But let me finish off what Wasntha Obesekara had say about Sri Lankan Journalists. I DONT CARE ABOUT ANYBODY WRITTING OFF MY FILMS AS I BELIEVE AT THE MOMENT THERE IS ONLY ONE MAN WHO CAN SEE THE GOOD AND BAD OF FILMS... HE IS AJITH SAMARANAYAKE.