Many knew him as Jayatilleke de Silva, the veteran journalist. For most of us, he was fondly known as Jaye.
As far back as the 1960s, I met Jaye at the Communist Party which was headquartered at Cotta Road, Borella. I came to know his role there. He was assisting the Editor of Maubima, the party paper and the other paper that was about to be re-launched as Atha.
The pioneer editor, Wijesiri, was gone leaving the paper and the editorial staff at bay. Jaye and a few others, such as Sira or B.A. Siriwardhana, Surat Ambalangoda and Sirilal Kodikara took over the task on to their shoulders. The paper contained quite a number of features. Being a Maths graduate teacher aside, Jaye had a kindling interest in journalism and politics. He left the teaching profession at schools such as Ananda College (my Alma Mater) to take over the two functions.
Jaye’s political ideology was very much in sync with Marxism. That said, I recall a dialogue that ensued between Jaye and myself in the mid-1960s.
“I’m translating Das Kapital.” “Wonderful,” I responded and added: “When do you plan to finish?”
“Not as soon as possible,” came the response. Certainly, it took nearly eight long years for Jaye to translate the work into good Sinhala from English. The translation came out in three hefty volumes. Unfortunately, the two volumes did not get the required attention from the Left caucus. I did not see even a single review of the voluminous work appearing in any periodical.
Jaye was fond of writing on the Cuban Revolution and Fidel Castro. He worked on both these profiles in English as well as Sinhala. One of his most admirable areas of interest happened to be folklore and creative interpretations. Once, as the Editor of the Sunday Observer, Jaye commissioned me to contribute a series of folktales titled Sunday Parable. When the series ran for more than a year, Jaye wanted me to commence a new series which I titled Tales Once Told.
Once, as the Editor of the Sunday Observer, Jaye commissioned me to contribute a series of folktales titled Sunday Parable. When the series ran for more than a year, Jaye wanted me to commence a new series which I titled Tales Once Told.
As Daily News Editor, he wanted me to begin a series that went as Phrase and Fable. He took time off his busy journalistic schedule to translate classics into Sinhala. One good example happened to be Ernest Hemingway’s For Whom the Bell Tolls. He gave a striking Sinhala title, Ghanta Nade Ka Venuvendo.
According to the publisher concerned, the translation won the hearts of many a Sinhala reader. He wanted to bring out many more translations. But time did not permit him to absorb in those ventures. To the best of my knowledge, Jaye was an avid reader who shifted the attention from the printed page to the Internet.
A group of us attached to the Publication Unit of the State Printing Corporation, under the chairmanship of A. B. C de Silva, designed a series of books to come out as supplementary readers for schoolchildren. We selected the relevant original works most suited to be translated into Sinhala.
As a result, the original names such as Franz Kafka, D. H. Lawrence, Katherine Mansfield and Rudyard Kipling were cited. Our friend, Jaye, too was chosen as a translator in the committee. Jaye selected D.H. Lawrence’s The Rocking Horse Winner as he would love to translate. Within a matter of a few days, he handed in his translation. I found it a splendid piece of work that can readily go into print.
His translations read like rewritten original works. His translation of Mark Twain’s satirical essays into Sinhala, titled Vajrayudha, is a classic example. I felt heart to heart that everything went well with Jaye. His series of column writings In a Lighter Vein testifies to his broad outlook as a journalist. He had the knack for encouraging his colleagues as well as amateurs in the field.
This is the Jaye I knew. He was fearless, yet cheerful.
Prof. Sunanda Mahendra