Nethra Samarawickrama is most interested in the people whom history has neglected. Visitors to the UN World Heritage Site of Galle Fort find that the presence of the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British is well documented. Inside the Fort’s upscale boutique hotels, colonial artefacts are lovingly preserved, colonial architecture painstakingly restored and tales of … Continue reading
Category Archives: Writers
Romila Thapar: The Myth of the Aryan Race
When a young Romila Thapar met Mahatma Gandhi, he charged her five rupees for an autograph (a donation to the cause) and admonished her for wearing silk instead of khadi. His advice made an impression. By the time I meet her, several decades have passed and one is still likely to find this famous historian … Continue reading
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie: Half of a Yellow Sun
Dressed in bright red pants, a flowing white top and pretty sandals, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie lounges luxuriously on the cushions under the shade of a large tree in the GLF cafe. Despite her laid back air, it would be a mistake to underestimate Adichie – she’s tougher than she looks. In her first session, a … Continue reading
Michelle de Kretser: On The ‘Silk Underwear’ Approach
Michelle de Kretser was eight years old when her mother saw a ghost. It’s a story she tells with great relish, conjuring up for you a dry day in Jaffna and a family of six staying in King’s House. Her father, the Supreme Court judge O.L de Kretser and his wife Peggy had frequently … Continue reading
Fatima Bhutto: ‘This is not a political factory’
By the time Benazir Bhutto met her death at the hands of a suicide bomber in 2007, she and her niece Fatima hadn’t spoken in over a decade. Still, people loved to compare them. From the length of their noses to their western educations and even on to their shared love for sugared chestnuts and … Continue reading
Bloggers / Chefs / Photographers / Writers
Pradeep Jeganathan: Savouring Fusion Flavours
Dr. Pradeep Jeganathan likes to turn on the oldies station when he’s cooking. As Van Morrison echoes around his book lined, airy apartment and the breeze carries in the scent of the distant sea, he putters around in the kitchen. He stops to stir some fruit pulp bubbling in a small pot on the stove. … Continue reading
Shehan Karunatilaka: On Winning the Gratiaen
Shehan Karunatilaka still has the tickets for every music concert he’s ever been to; the Police, Suzanne Vega and Travis jostle for space alongside The Red Hot Chilli Peppers on a board tacked to a wall in his home. It’s also an apartment devoted to books, there are a dozen or more in every room, … Continue reading
Tarun Tejpal: Straddling Two Worlds
Tarun Tejpal is the journalistic equivalent of a rock star. The ponytailed, charismatic Editor-in-Chief of the news magazine Tehelka, Tarun is today counted among the subcontinent’s intellectual elite and is one of India’s best known journalists. Since 2000, Tehelka has set the bar for investigative journalism with stories that have shaken the foundations of governments, … Continue reading
Thomas Kenneally: On Schindler’s List
His full white beard, and kindly eyes might still invite you to confession, but Thomas Keneally stepped off the road to priesthood many decades ago. Instead of becoming ordained, Mr. Keneally has spent nearly five decades establishing himself as one of Australia’s most beloved and prolific novelists and has seen his work win no less … Continue reading
Ameena Hussein: On Her First Novel
With a smile that lights up the room, Ameena Hussein tells me that she is feeling lucky. This is a happy portent for an author who spent 2008 struggling with cancer and her first novel. It helps that ‘The Moon in the Water’ is already highly anticipated – its path has been paved by its … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 