Milinda: A man of many facets

Don Joseph Milinton Rajasekera, the man with many faces, a Draughtsman and then a Journalist, passed away peacefully last Monday. He died the way he lived, silently taking leave of planet earth sans much ado. I had the good fortune to be with him in the Survey department, as Draughtsmen and again later at Wijeya Newspapers Ltd., where we both showed journalistic skills. We worked together in the Divisional Survey Office in Kandy in the mid sixties and returned to Colombo simultaneously to continue our drafting duties. We were active members of the Survey Department Catholic Guild.

He showed his writing skills, contributing under the name Milinda Rajasekera first at the Weekend and later at the Daily Mirror. Proficient on political and legal matters Milinda wrote as a senior journalist on economic, cultural and social matters, and what he wrote provided interesting reading. His writeups in the journals like “Legally Yours” in the Sun, “Diary of Citizen Dharmapala” in The Island & “Point Counterpoint” in the Daily Mirror were gems that came from a talented journalist, though for more than half his life he was a Draughtsman. He had a stint with the Broadcasting Corporation with his “Periscope” and the serial play “Family Panorama”. His journalistic talents climaxed when he was promoted as Deputy Editor at the Daily Mirror.

He had a knack for argument and always argued sensibly, hardly getting defeated in his forthright views whatever the subject was. He was known to be a member of the YMCA Speakers Forum where he presided at times. He had a sense of humour and his company was enjoyed by all, Draughtsmen and journalists alike. I visited his home the day the late SWRD was buried. Known to be a prolific writer it is learnt that his last act at the very time of his demise was writing a political piece, which was his favourite subject.

Milinda was a gentle, soft spoken man, who never dared to criticize others, even those who opposed his views. A good Christian he used to sometimes argue with me on various controversial subjects on religion. He was a loving husband to his wife and a good father to his three children. We shared a lot of things in common, one being that we married on the same day. May he rest in peace, that peace which according to St. Augustine, is never ours, till we rest in Him.

Good bye Milinda let us meet again on that Beautiful Shore.