Upali: through the lens

BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE

Four decades and more on, the spectacle of Sri Lanka’s first home-grown business magnate of international repute- Upali Wijewardene’s life and mysterious disappearance just four days short of his 45th birthday, still holds us in its grip.

Marking 42 years since Upali disappeared on February 13, 1983, when he was returning home from Malaysia on his Lear Jet with five others on board, his beloved flagship ‘Sunday Island’ travels back in time with onetime photojournalist and today a senior professional and an entrepreneur himself, Prasanna Hennayake who was handpicked by Upali to enrich his newspapers and serve as his official photographer.

Hennayake who later went onto become the first Lankan photographer for Reuters and eventually served several Presidents of the country and political stalwarts as their official photographer, recaps the unforgettable memories of his one-time boss who was dubbed ‘the quintessential entrepreneur of Asia’ and whose only unrealized dream at the time of his tragic exit was to become the President of Sri Lanka.

It was October 26, 1981. The Ceylon Daily News’ front page was decorated with a photograph of Queen Elizabeth waving at the crowds from the balcony of the British Council in Colombo under the banner ‘Goodbye, Queen Elizabeth’. The Queen, who was on her second visit to the island was making her last visit to the British Council just a day before her departure and crowds had thronged to get a glimpse of the royal.

Soon to be a young father of 24, Prasanna Hennayake who had been a staff photographer for Lake House newspapers only for one year, was picked as one of the two photographers to cover the Royal visit. “This was the time when colour photography was just making it to our newspapers. While I was assigned to take black and white photographs of the Royal visit, my photo editor was to take colour photos. However, I was given just one colour film with instructions to capture any good shots if they were worthy of the reel,” recollects Hennayake.

The life-changing photograph

The young photojournalist who was following the Queen and her entourage around the island was to cover her last visit to the British Council. While the other press photographers were following the royal in a frenzy to the British Council, young Hennayake kept his vigil outside the building. “Given the customary royal practice of waving from Buckingham Palace, I had a gut feeling that the Queen would eventually turn up on the building’s balcony and I was right.” With an adrenaline rush, Hennayake wasted no time in using the colour film he was given to freeze the moment of Queen waiving at the crowds below.

The following day his photograph appeared as the lead photo of all Lake House newspapers and Hennayake was at his desk in the morning as usual. He was suddenly alerted by his then editor at the Daily News, Manik de Silva that someone was on the phone asking for him. “When I answered it was none other than Upali Wijewardene who complimented me on the Queen’s photo which he had noticed in the papers that day and inviting me to join his newly launched The Island and Sunday Divaina newspapers.”

Upali as the Chief Basanayake Nilame of Kelani Raha Maha Vihara

Hennayake who was drawing a modest monthly salary of Rs. 450 was dumbstruck when Upali offered him Rs. 2,500 and urged him to come and meet him at his offices the following week. “With my first child on the way and struggling to make ends meet, it was an offer too good to lose,” he looks back, sharing with me the photo taken 44 years ago which changed his destiny. Hennayake who photographed the Queen bidding goodbye, ironically had to bid goodbye to his Lake House colleagues in less than a week.

A handsome six-footer greets

On November 2, 1981 when Hennayake was ushered into the Chairman’s office at the Upali Group’s offices at Bloemendhal Road, a strikingly handsome six-footer with chiseled features greeted him. “His was a face that any camera would love,” recounts Hennayake who was mesmerized by the charisma of the towering personality Upali was. “He knew exactly what he wanted and despite being an entrepreneur of international fame at that point, Mr. Wijewardene never threw his weight around. He looked after his staff well and was essentially a warm man.”

Hennanyake who joined the Upali Group only a few weeks after The Island and Sunday Divaina had been launched, proactively contributed to it and other sister publications which followed. He fondly remembers his then Chief of Photography Rienzie Wijeratne. He recounts the Spectrum series for the Island and the picture story series based on Dr. Ediriweera Sarachchandra’s dramas done for Divaina among his other contributions.

Young Prasanna as a photojournalist

Radical publisher

The newspapers his founder went on to launch snubbing the feasibility reports that suggested the venture will not be viable in an already saturated market, was a hit within a few weeks. “He hired the cream of people- be it journalists, administrators or otherwise and turned tables with his newly launched newspapers. The Island and Divaina soon earned the reputation of ‘informal universities’ as such was the rich content they carried. He was innovative with his publishing business just as much as he was with his other business pursuits. He also brooked no interference from people and was radical in everything he did. The best example was when the Sri Lankan rebel team toured in South Africa, all newspapers boycotted reporting on it except the Island,” recollects Hennayake who was fortunate to have covered Sri Lanka’s first Test match played in 1982 at the Colombo Oval Grounds for the Island.

Global Lankan

Commenting on Upali who was described by Matt Miller (Insight, May 1981) as ‘Sri Lanka’s most free-wheeling industrialist’ and ‘commodities wizard’, Hennayake remarks: “what Upali Wijewardene envisioned was global recognition for the ‘Made in Sri Lanka’ label. Just as much as he prided in Upali products which made international presence, he encouraged other local businesses to come up and think big. Once when I was accompanying Mr. Wijewardene on his helicopter to his maternal ancestral place Kamburupitiya, he told me that it is only once you give back the money you’ve earned from this country to the people of this country that it will truly progress.”

Hennayake quotes Ariyasiri Vithanage who once compered Upali’s political meetings in Kamburupitiya: ‘the loud speakers installed for this meeting, the radios the villagers listen to, the very first television receiver we saw, the car in which were driven today- all bear the ‘Upali’ brand. His vision to usher Sri Lanka to the next century is best mirrored through these products.’ Hennayake laments that Sri Lanka lost this golden opportunity with his untimely exit. “Had Upali lived, we would be living in a different Sri Lanka now. In his own words he was ‘probably the culmination of the country’ youth aspirations’ and we wouldn’t have seen this brain drain.”

Man of speed

Working closely with Upali in his projects concerning the Greater Colombo Economic Commission (GCEC) which he set up and of which he became the first Director General, enabled the then young photographer closer insights to this maverick. Upali’s leadership style, his ‘can-do’ attitude, photographic memory, aptitude for quick problem-solving and his tremendous energy continue to inspire the successful entrepreneur that Hennayake is today. Upali’s daring sense of adventure, wit and impish sense of humour still holds his one-time recruit in wonderment.

“He was bold and feared nobody, the very reason which earned him several political enemies,” reflects Hennayake who became an indispensable member of Upali’s political campaign which he called his ‘Third-20-year plan’ and as Matt Miller would once write: ‘Upali’s current passion for politics is matched only by his passion for racehorses.’

Prasanna Hennayake

Photographing Upali as the Chief Basnayake Nilame of the Kelani Raja Maha Vihara when he placed the casket of relics on magul hasthiya to the collective resonance of the bystanders’ sadu-sadu was a phenomenal experience says Hennayake. “He was stunning and had an electrifying effect on people. Watching him parade in the annual Duruthu Perahera was simply a sight to behold,” says Hennayake who had no inkling that it would be the last time he would see his beloved boss alive, as he snapped his photos at the Duruthu Perahera in January 1983.

Recollecting that fateful day when Sri Lanka’s much-loved tycoon simply vanished with no trace, Hennayake says: “it was like a scene from a movie, so surreal. None of us could accept the disappearance. It took months for the news to sink in. Even several years after Mr. Wijewardene’s disappearance when I used to visit Malaysia, many over there who called him the ‘Cocoa-King’ used to believe that he was still alive somewhere. Such was his charisma.” He also recollects the heart-rending first year remembrance rites of his boss at the Kelani Vihara in 1984 which he was assigned to cover.

A legend of our times

In a digital era where Artificial Intelligence seems to be the norm, the innovation and creativity of a man such as Upali’s, become even more valid, reflects Hennayake. “Today we see youngsters becoming slaves to technology, they are becoming increasingly dependent on artificial intelligence. With his innovation and inherent skill, from a small confectionary manufacturer, Upali expanded his company to one of Asia’s largest and most diverse manufacturing concerns. What is even more amusing is the fact that he achieved all of it and showed the world what the Sri Lankan entrepreneurship was capable of, in an era where global connectivity was minimal.”

What happened to Upali Wijewardene who captured the imagination of an entire nation, is yet unanswered. The veteran journalist Ajith Samaranayake once wrote: ‘Upali Wijewardene fascinated people in life and now that he is no longer to be found, lost somewhere in the vast ethereal emptiness, he has become a legend and a cult which continues to enthrall the people…Like Icarus who flew but went too close to the sun so that his wings melted, the strange and fascinating destiny of Upali Wijewardene, Sri Lanka’s first tycoon who also chose the sun as his symbol, will always be a glorious legend of our times…’

Photo credit: Prasanna Hennayake