Somaweera left behind an enormous body of work
Celebrated Sri Lankan journalist, author and script writer Somaweera Senanayake who passed away on June 9 at the age of 74 was one of the last links of a generation of scribes who nourished journalism which still retained some shreds of freedom towards the 80s, just before the hallowed corridors of Lake House became the breeding ground for unabashed political cutthroats.
I am not sure whether Somaweera’s sudden decision to quit Lake House prematurely in 1986 was caused by emerging political vendettas but in an interview with a Sinhala paper he said the decision was inspired by writers like Martin Wickremesinghe and G.B. Senanayake who resigned from Lake House to pursue their writing careers full time.
When I first met Somaweera in the early 80s he was editing Navayugaya (New Age) magazine, one of the most scholarly and trend-setting Sinhala publications covering a large variety of topics. It was the same magazine that published his first ever article he wrote as a teenager while studying at Ruwanwella, earning the first pay cheque of Rs.10 which he invested in an Oxford dictionary and spent the rest for a party for 30 of his classmates to celebrate the occasion!
Somaweera was quiet, simple, without any trace of his growing popularity and fame showing in his behaviour or attitudes. He was already on his way to become the most celebrated television script writer of all time. Some of the ‘last of the Mohicans’ at Lake House at this time were Dharmasiri Gamage, Ajantha Ranasinghe, Somadevi Paranayapa, Malini Govinna, Ranjith Kumara, Siri Ranasinghe (who later joined as Lankadeepa editor) and Manik de Silva – under whom I learnt journalism and who still serves as the editor of Sunday Island – Karel Roberts, Rajitha Weerakoon on the English side and R. Sivagurunathan who edited Thinakaran (sorry if I have inadvertently omitted some names here). I joined just after journalists like great Ajith Samaranayake ‘defected’ to the Island.
Unlike the full time English journalists, Sinhala scribes like Gamage, Ajantha, Somaweera and a few others pursued other artistic exploits like writing fiction, poetry and lyrics, film direction (Gamage) and also lending their skills to the bourgeoning television industry.
Somaweera’s contribution to television script writing is still unmatched, even after four decades. His debut was Palingu Menike which became the first great tele serial to push boundaries and set the bar high, also in a way luring the film fans away from the silver screen. The drama was the stepping stone for one of the biggest stars of the industry, Sriyantha Mendis.
Palingu Menike was followed by Yashorawaya, Mawakage Geethaya and Manik Nadiya Gala Basi – all based on Somaweera’s own novels – Doo Daruwo, Nedayo, Kande Gedera, and Giraya. He wrote scripts for 10 films that include late Dr. Lester James Peiris’ Wekanda Walawwa and Ammvawarune.
It is difficult to pinpoint to a particular tele serial as his best work because every script was flawless with a mass appeal, and could be described only in superlatives. As writer Chandrarathne Bandara says Somaweera was the only script and dialogue writer to match the skills of legendary late Dhamma Jagoda.
The popular theme in Somaweera’s scripts was the clash between the old and new. The protagonist Soorasena of Palingu Menike leaves the village for the city to work as a pavement hawker and visits his native village armed with shallow, hypocritical values of the city and money, becoming a misguided inspiration for village youths.
Yashorawaya is a sorrowful story of an old couple discarded by their children but trying to ‘keep up with the Jonses’. Manik Nadiya Gala Basi is about a villager finding a very expensive gem and stumbling on a life of luxury and debauchery with disastrous consequences.
All these dramas are about poor folks and how the emerging free economy and social, economic changes affect their simple lives. The victims are byproducts of a vicious circle of social injustice and poverty and their own personal flaws, which as Somaweera shows, are unavoidable in life.
I last met Somaweera in Dubai in mid 90s when he was at the height of his popularity, but he was still the same modest, simple man. He accompanied Malini Fonseka who came for a premier of one of her films in the UAE. They were sponsored by late Chandi Kannangara, the founder of Trico International.
Somaweera’s post-Lake House phase was the most productive of his illustrious career claiming an astounding body of work: 35 books that includes fiction, short stories and non-fiction, more than 30 popular tele serials and more than 200 single-episode tele dramas. Three of his novels won state awards. He also served as a judge in various literary, film and television awards panels and taught script writing in his spare time. His funeral was held at Godigamuwa Cemetery in Maharagama on June 11. (Picture courtesy: Ada)
Somasiri Munasinghe
