The day I won a Pulitzer ~ Malinda Words

It must have been in the year 2001 that all this happened. No, before we get ahead of ourselves, I didn’t win a Pulitzer back then. And not after. This is about Eranga Jayawardena the photojournalist working for the Associated Press who was among three photojournalists shortlisted for a Pulitzer Prize.

I met Eranga in the year 2000. That’s when I formally entered the field of journalism, joining the editorial staff of the 'Sunday Island.' Eranga was comparatively a veteran, having joined Upali Newspapers some years before. Our friendship is almost a quarter of a century old and obviously we have many stories to tell about each other. I will stick to the photography-related story.

There were many photojournalists at Upali Newspapers, some of them truly veterans in the trade. Eranga was probably the youngest. He was good friends with Saman Indrajith, one of my closest friends at the Island. That’s probably how we became friends.

I think it was in 2001 that I got involved in the features section of the newspaper. With the permission of the Editor, Manik de Silva, and the Features Editor, Zanita Careem,’ I took over a page of what was then called the ‘Lifestyle’ section. It was for a photo essay. Eranga provided the photographs, I gave a headline and wrote a paragraph or two. It was pretty. It was made prettier subsequently when Shantha K Herrath of the Divaina, an artist, cartoonist, layout designer, teacher and friend, helped design the page.

Eranga faithfully provided photographs. The page was done on Thursday because that section went to print on Thursday night. This went on for a few months. I enjoyed producing this page. It all depended on Eranga delivering photographs that Shantha Aiya could play with.

One Thursday Eranga didn’t deliver. This I had forgotten until yesterday.

I called Eranga to congratulate him on being shortlisted for a Pulitzer. I had thought that the winner hadn’t been announced. Eranga told me otherwise. Then he told me that when we were both at Upali Newspapers I had written him a formal letter.

"It is with regret that I inform you about the fate that has befallen Page 3 of the ‘Lifestyle’ supplement of the Sunday Island. As you are aware, in the midst of all kind of problems, we have managed to carry a photo essay on this page for a whole year. Among these difficulties is the strange truth that category of persons who have expended the least effort in maintaining quality and continuity of this page are the photographers themselves. As you are aware, this has probably been the best opportunity offered to photographers in the entire history of newspapers in this country to express themselves and improve their craft. This week I am extremely sorry to have to inform you that Page 3 of the Lifestyle section will not carry a photo essay. I do not know who is to blame, and in any case ‘blaming’ will not any of us anywhere. I only want to say this: I tried. And failed."

I had forgotten all about this. But for all the seriousness, it was essentially a joke. Friend to friend and for the pleasure and joy of other friends. Newspapers are like that. Journalists are like that. We enjoy teasing each other. Shamindra Ferdinando and Rex Clementine, still at ‘The Island,’ are grandmasters at it.

Eranga informed me that I had gone further. I had, he says, put up something on the notice board near the canteen. It was in the form of a ‘missing person’ notice with a not so flattering picture of Eranga. He said he has it somewhere and will look for it. The gist: ‘This person, Eranga Jayardena, has gone missing. He promised to deliver some pictures and left the office. He has not been seen since. He was last seen wearing a blue checked shirt.’ It might have contained information of who should be informed should the missing photojournalist be spotted.

It touched me, though, that Eranga had bothered to hold on to these pieces of paper for more than twenty years. He said that it mattered to him: ‘even something in which you’ve scolded me was important to me.’ He’s like that. Modest. Soft. Self-effacing even. Never forgets a face. People know, companies may not. A pity, that.

So, anyway, that, ladies and gentleman, is as close I could get to a Pulitzer Prize. Indeed, all things considered, far more precious. So thank you, Eranga. And congrats again.

['The Morning Inspection' is the title of a column I wrote for the Daily News from 2009 to 2011, one article a day, Monday through Saturday. This is a new series. Links to previous articles in this new series are given below]

13 May 2023

The day I won a Pulitzer

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