For most staffers, a day at the Sunday Observer would not be complete without seeing that effervescent smile on the face of Dehini Pathiranage, who was a fixture at Lake House for nearly 35 years.
For Dehini, Lake House was virtually her second home. After all, it is where she found her future partner Keerthi and later, one of her two sons would follow in their footsteps to work at Lake House. But quite apart from that factor, Lake House was the place where she found her true calling – journalism.
Having started her career at the Visual Display Terminal (VDT) section of Lake House in 1983, Dehini effortlessly made the transition to the writing side of the newspaper business.
In any case, the VDT, where they keyed in handwritten or typewritten copy, was becoming a relic of a bygone era. As the importance of the VDT faded in an era of email and web, Dehini chose to follow her dream of switching careers to become a journalist.
But not just any journalist. When the Sunday Observer was looking to start a separate children’s magazine way back in the late 90s, editors began to hunt for a person who knew the pulse of children.
Before long, Dehini was in their crosshairs, so to speak. The editors had a hunch that she would be an ideal fit for a children’s magazine. But before recruiting her for that role, one senior editor asked her a vital question – whether she could curate content suitable for children with confidence. Her answer was really simple: “I have been a child”.
Indeed, the child in her never really left her. She always yearned to learn new things to adorn the pages of the Junior Observer, signing off as Aunty Dehini.
She introduced many new features to the Junior Observer and also contributed to the main paper in every possible way.
If that meant manually typing in a rare handwritten copy, she did not mind it at all. She could slip into any role within the newspaper.
Apart from Keerthi, Dehini found another lifelong soulmate at Lake House. Sandra Thalgahagoda and Dehini became friends instantly, a bond that would last a lifetime even though Sandra switched over to the Daily News, our sister paper. They were like twins, if you could call them that, in much the same way as Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny De Vito in the movie “Twins”. Sandra was much taller than Dehini, hence the comparison to “Twins”.
The duo walked in the corridors and ate in the canteen together. Last Tuesday, when the shocking news came that Dehini has breathed her last, was Sandra’s birthday. But there was no joy, only sheer grief, for Sandra and indeed, everyone else at Lake House who knew Dehini closely.
Dehini was a friend – but also a teacher. She kept nothing back from the junior staffers at Junior Observer and always encouraged young journalists to do their best and work their way to the top. I myself have been privileged to get such advice from her on more than one occasion.
A devout Buddhist, she used to send me WhatsApp messages on the Buddha’s teachings in the mornings. It was her way of saying “Good Morning”, with a dash of advice thrown in for good measure.
The large crowd at Dehini’s funeral at Mount Lavinia signified her popularity not only at Lake House but also in and only around Mount Lavinia. She lived in a house that was right on the Galle Road, and her doors were always open to anyone who wanted to have a cup of tea and a chat. The same was true for her heart – sincere, open and inviting. – Pramod De Silva
