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Books

More than just the memories of an eminent journalist
Selected Journalism by H.A.J. Hulugalle. Published by Arjuna Hulugalle Dictionaries. Price Rs. 1350
H.A.J. Hulugalle was one of the country's pre-eminent journalists and this book 'Selected Journalism' gives the contemporary reader illuminating insights not only into his writings but also the many subjects and issues that made headlines in his day.

The preface elaborates how, though this compilation of Hulugalle's selected articles was originally conceived as a family souvenir, its scope was soon perceived to be wider.

Indeed the many sections Chiefs and Friends, Men and Memories, Private Letters to an Editor, A Wanderer at Heart, The Fourth Estate, Reviews, As Seen by Others etc, underscore this point in their varied appeal.

Chiefs and Friends, the opening section has Hulugalle's observations on some of the country's leading figures, including D.S. Senanayake, his son Dudley, D.R. Wijewardene, Sir John Kotelawela, W.A. de Silva, Sir Baron Jayatilaka etc.

In each, there is a wealth of keen observation and detail that is fascinating to the reader. Hulugalle spent most of his years as a practising journalist and was Editor of the Observer and the Ceylon Daily News, the latter for 17 years. Later in life he served as Ambassador to Italy and Greece and the book weaves in all these various threads of his life and experiences.

In Men and Memories, we find Hulugalle reminiscing about personalities such as Sir Thomas Villiers and Bond author Ian Fleming, whom he met before Fleming wrote the books. But it is when he writes of politicians and statesmen, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike and Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan that Hulugalle is in his element.

The book is not all politics though, and in The Fourth Estate he dwells on journalism, a career he adopted even though his first chosen profession was the law. Some incomparable quotes appear in this section. Of journalism, he says, 'Journalism used to be a last resort for educated gentlemen who had failed in other walks of life. Some of these rolling stones made good because it is not always necessary to have moss to become a journalist. In fact, the less moss the better."

'As Seen by Others' carries tributes to Hulugalle, many of which shed light on the man and his work. Of his writing, another eminent journalist D.B. Dhanapala said, " ..whatever he wrote was clear, chaste and elegant".

E.C.B. Wijesinghe describes Hulugalle with his customary flair: "According to his horoscope Hulugalle was destined to be a cross between Marco Polo, the Italian and Ibn Batuta, the Arab. He had the characteristics of both men. Together with the inquisitive traveller's lust for knowledge, he had the scholar's gift for describing his adventures in limpid prose."

That aspect is also covered in the book, which has delightful accounts of Hulugalle's travels, to the Holy Land, Paris, the US and Carthage (modern Tunisia). Throughout the book, what strikes the reader is Hulugalle's sincerity, which is evident in all his writing.

Not for him pseudo-intellectual posturings and grand phrases. In 'What I would like for Ceylon,' he writes, "I am already 82 years old. What does a man want? It varies as one spans the decades. At five, I learned the Sinhala alphabet. At ten, I was already in a school-preparing boys for the Cambridge local examinations. At eighteen, I was studying for the London Intermediate examinations, which opened the door to Law College.

“I want my children and grandchildren and other children as well to have the same advantages that I have had. I want to see Sri Lanka with all its natural beauty, a happy, healthy and peaceful land.” ‘Selected Journalism’ is a book that will appeal to many.

That the journalist will find much to enjoy is evident, but read it because it is a Hulugalle memoir in the best possible sense, revealing so much of significance to our country, as seen through the eyes of a man who contributed to the best of his ability.

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