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| Sunday, 13 October 2002 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Memories of Chitra
Chitra Weerasinghe slipped away quietly unnoticed, almost as if she did not wish to disturb her friends, but for that very reason widely mourned by all her friends, colleagues and even acquaintances who could not attend the funeral obsequies which were held the next day. She was with us at Lake House on Friday, was taken ill and died on Saturday, was laid to rest on Sunday and by Monday was the stuff of obituary and appreciation. Cliche and truism though it might be how chillingly are we reminded that in the midst of life we are in death. Chitra Weerasinghe came late to journalism (as her colleague, friend and kinswoman Karel Roberts Ratnaweera has reminded us in her own warm appreciation in the 'Daily News') but it was almost as if Chitra had ink in her veins to begin with. Certainly she did not come into journalism directly from school or as her first choice like Karel herself or the late Rita Sebastian and Jeanne Pinto and so many other women journalists who have adorned that pantheon. Having started as a personal secretary at the Colombo Plan (Karel again) she, however, took to writing effortlessly when she was invited by the late Denzil Peiris (that master of craft) to join his 'Observer' team in the late 1960's. That was the time when Denzil was insatiably poaching the field and inveigling people from elsewhere to come to lake House, among them, the late M.E. Sourjah and Anton Weerasinghe and B.H.S. Jayewardene, all from the old 'Times of Ceylon'. Chitra, however, was the newcomer but soon she was making her mark as a feature writer on the women's pages. Those who knew her during her last years mainly as a society writer would be amazed to know that during the 1980's she used to regularly cover both Cabinet and Parliament. Here, her grasp of short hand (which she had acquired as a secretary) came in more than handy. Manik de Silva who edited the 'Daily News' at the time sent her to take down notes verbatim and journalists of that time would remember Chitra invariably adorning the seat next to that of the then Cabinet spokesman, the late Anandatissa de Alwis who was used to making self-mocking jokes about his penchant for the ladies! Chitra worked both for the 'Daily News' and the 'Observer' and was for some time responsible for the 'Sunday Observer' magazine when the late Harold Pieris was Editor. In fact it was the first of the Sunday tabloid magazines which are today, of course, an inevitable part of the Sunday newspaper package. This was also her metier. She could write on the whole gamut which interested both women and men food, clothing, restaurants, night life, the lot. In fact, her last piece for the 'Daily News' on the day she was stricken was about 'Colombo by Light'. Although she moved about in Colombo high society chronicling its frivolities and oddities, Chitra Weerasinghe was no gadfly. She might have dressed in the most unorthodox way for a woman of her age but who are we to judge her? or conversely aren't these the prejudices so typical of a male-dominated society which has its own prissy code about how women should conduct themselves? Although no self-conscious rebel against such orthodoxies Chitra cared little for such petty moralities either. For as long as anybody could remember she was her own woman, living alone. First at Bambalapitiya and later at Mount Lavinia, fending for herself through a honest job of work but always beavering away at journalism and writing for a variety of magazines after retiring from Lake House but never losing touch with her old home. Her last regular column for a Lake House publication was 'Talk of the Town' which appeared on this page. Her early years were spent in Kandy and it was only two weeks ago that she reminded me again that her uncle was H.A.C. Wickremaratne, a stalwart of the Kandy bar and the man who had introduced the doctrine of socialism in the form of the LSSP to Kandy. In fact Sidath Nandalochana has a hilarious tale of how he and the late Sarath Mutteguwegam, as law students, had spent the night at HAC's House which was open house to anybody of Left inclinations at the time. In the next room was Dr. Colvin R. De Silva who had come to address a meeting in Kandy and who was by even then a well-known legal eagle. At dinner Colvin in his typically fatherly manner had turned to the two budding lawyers and asked in his normal circumlocutory manner 'So what may your names be?' After both young men had dutifully proferred their names Sarath, all cherubic innocence, had turned to Colvin and asked respectfully, 'Sir, if I might enquire what may your name be! 'Sarath, of course, was later to be Colvin's son-in-law. From Kandy, Chitra came to Colombo and the rest of the tale we know. Anybody who knew her could not have been touched by her concern for her fellow creatures. Possessed of a remarkable zest for life ebullience was her hallmark. Wherever she went she enlivened and lit up with her presence. All tributes to her so far have remarked on her dedication to duty and particularly the care she took to keep her deadlines. The day before she kept her own (Friday October 4) she was seated in the 'Observer' Sports Desk reading her last piece on the travel page with Tharika Goonathilake. I had gone there to use one of the battered old typewriters and we chatted and I saw nothing strange about her although women colleagues say that she had been unusually quiet for some weeks. But the Chitra, I knew those last weeks had nothing morbid about her. But the next day she was dead, Tharika having taken her to hospital after a sudden heart attack. Few could pay their last respects to her. However she had the consolation of spending a last holiday with her two sons in the USA although seized by trepidation at having to travel by air so soon after the September 11 attack on New york last year. Yes, she slipped away quietly two Saturdays ago because she did not wish to make a scene of this going-away for good. - Ajith Samaranayake ***************** A free spirit to the end... Chitra was perhaps one of the most colourful characters who walked the corridors of Lake House, a place she called "My second home" for over forty years. Her career in journalism first began when she agreed to help the then Editor of theObserver, Mr Denzil Peiris to promote an advertising campaign for the Observer. So successful was that initial assignment, which called for both skills of a canvasser and a writer, that the management decided to hire her as a full time journalist. For most part of her journalistic career, Chitra worked for the 'Daily News', regularly contributing features to the Sunday Observer and The Observer as well. Witty, outspoken and uninhibited, her articles were a reflection of her own unique character. Everything she wrote was painstakingly researched. I still have vivid memories of a short plump woman dressed in a pair of tight jeans, surrounded by heaps of dusty files taken off the shelves of the ANCL library, checking out facts and figures before putting pen to paper. A perfectionist she also took great pride in the fact that her copies, unlike most of her other colleagues were 'clean' and error free. Chitra was a multi-talented woman . A super cook, one of my earliest memories of her in the good old days of the Observer, was the mouthwatering meals she would prepare for us, her colleagues from the 'Observer', whenever one of us dropped in to visit her at her flat down Rotunda Gardens, at any time of the day. One of the most delicious and lavish meals she prepared was when she invited the staff for a luncheon meal. The table was laden with crabs and different dishes of meat and vegetables skilfully carved and decorated by Chitra. So tempting was the fare that within minutes of our arrival there was only a pile of empty dishes left on the table after all of us had done justice to her sumptuous meal! A free spirit to the end of her life, Chitra was uninhibited both in the way she dressed and the way she behaved. Not for her the conventional dress codes which bound and hampered the life style of most of her female colleagues. Every outfit she wore was a public statement. Her unconventional brand of dress and behaviour reflected her own unique personality." I am my own person. I dress as I please and I do what I want to do", was her usual reply to any colleague who dared try to persuade her to change her style of dress. Generous to a fault and always ready to lend a helping hand ,she never failed to pass on some of her gems of wisdom garnered from her own wealth of experiences, whether in the field of health or in the world of entertainment, both of which she was familiar with, to us colleagues. Chitra lived life to the fullest, enjoying every minute she lived. The corridors of Lake House will no longer echo with her hearty laughter and loud cheerful greetings. Her colourful figure will no longer be seen in our Editorial Department where she spent most of her mornings correcting and re-correcting copy she had painstakingly typed the night before. Farewell colleague. May the winds blow gently over your free spirit. As your soul soars above the clouds may your wonderful sense of humour make the Gods laugh. - C.A ***************** It's hard to believe she's no more... It is hard to believe that Chitra is no more. She became very close to me after I joined Lake House in 1998. I knew her earlier, having met her on various assignments when I was on the reporting staff of the Island. I did not have the opportunity to get to know her well. One of my assignments was to cover a food festival at the Hilton and I felt a bit out of place there. To Chitra, Hilton was home and she put me really at ease. From the time I joined Lake House there was never a day that Chitra would go without having a word with me. Many a time she would bring cuttings of assignments she had covered in the days gone by and show them to me. Her versatility in writing on any subject was known to all. Chitra's love was to cover any assignment that had anything to do with food, and she would give detail descriptions of what went on after covering it. Food nutrition and Chitra were almost synonymous. On an earlier occasion when I was detected with high blood pressure, she gave me a diet to follow and wanted me to eat plenty of green leaves. She was sure that this diet would help me get rid of high blood pressure and true to her word it was so. Many a time she would bring me green leaves picked from her garden and insist I prepare it and eat. That was Chitra, she was concerned about the health of everyone. Ironically, though she looked after her health, she died of a massive heart attack. Only a few days ago she invited me and my friend and colleague Hana to tea at her place. And what a spread it was for the two of us, all made by her. She could have fed the whole Observer Features Desk with that food. She would never stinge, that was my friend Chitra. May her soul Rest in Peace. - FAHIMA FARISZ |
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