Friday Dec 27, 2024
Friday Dec 27, 2024
Saturday, 20 December 2014 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
December), brought back memories of the time a unique supplement celebrate its 50th anniversary in 1959 was published.
I was then attached to the ‘Dinamina’ news desk. Meticulous planning went into its structure for several months under the guidance of M.A. de Silva, who was Editor at the time. MA de S, Features Editor Sisil Illangakoon and Feature/Leader writer B.A. Siriwardena (‘Sira’ whose brilliant writing skills are being talked about to this day) formed the core team. I was in the ‘supporting cast’.
Presenting progress
The highlight of the supplement was to give the readers an insight into the half century of the newspaper’s existence by presenting the progress made in the political, economic and social spheres through feature articles, editorials and other material published in the ‘Dinamina’.
The Lake House library being one of the best libraries in the country at the time, the reference material was available. But they had to be searched and selected to fit in to the plan. For instance, one editorial from each year had to be selected which was meaningful to meet the objective. Due to space restrictions, it was not possible to publish the whole editorial. This meant a few relevant paragraphs had to be chosen.
I remember for some reason we couldn’t find one particular year’s paper in the library. We had missed an editorial published that year and we realised it only when the material was being checked to do the final layouts. The only alternative was to search in the National Archives. And the Archives Department was then located in Nuwara Eliya due to the cool climate which was needed to protect the valuable archival material. (Air conditioning was unheard of then).
Time constrains were such that we had to get the copy within 24 hours or less. I was asked whether I could drive up on the same day and do a search. I agreed. I had the advantage of the knowing a high official Amarawansa Devaraja (he was either the Director or Deputy), a university friend who was senior to me. Though it was pretty late in the evening when I arrived there, my friend helped me to do the references the very night. But getting a telephone call to Colombo was no easy task those days. Anyway I managed to call office after a couple of hours and read the copy.
A comparative price list of essentials was another interesting feature that the supplement carried.
The pioneers
The front page of the supplement was devoted to pay tribute to the pioneers. One column was devoted to each. Among them were the founder H.S. Perera, the High Priest who gave the name – Venerable Ratmalane Sri Dhammarama Nayaka Thera and livewire D.R. Wijewardene, who bought the newspaper in December 1914 and brought it up to be the leading national daily.
Tracing the history of the ‘Dinamina’, veteran Editor Piyasena Nissamka refers to founder H.S. Perera as a well-recognised Sinhala journalist who had been Editor of ‘Sarasavi Sandaresa’ (1880) published by the Buddhist Theosophical Society. Perera was critically ill and the newspaper he founded was about to be closed. Sir D.B. Jayatilleka, statesman and scholar, realised its value and stepped in to save the paper. It was on his advice that D.R. Wijewardene, who was on the lookout to invest in an English daily, along with brother DC, bought the paper.
The half-demy sized newspaper was being printed at a press run by Robert Batuwantudawe. There were no assets except the goodwill of the name. DRW set up a press in a spacious office at Norris Road, Pettah and started afresh with a team of talented journalists. “Thus he laid the foundation of his universally-recognised newspaper business,” says Nissanka in the Sinhala version of ‘The Life and Times of D.R. Wijewardene’ (1962).
The editors during the D.R. Wijewardene era were D.J.B. Wijesekera, N.H. Jinadasa, J. Wettasinghe, D.W. Wickremaarchchi, Alexander Welivita, Martin Wickramasinghe and Piyasena Nissanka.
From Norris Road, the office moved to Maradana in 1918 and then to Chatham Street and Bailie Street in Fort. The final move was to McCallum Road, later named D.R. Wijewadene Mawatha in memory of “the first Ceylonese to create a prosperous newspaper business,” as H.A.J. Hulugalle describes him.
