There are only five in existence. Ananda Pilimatalavuva’s ola leaf manuscript is more than two centuries old, and he treats the long, dried palm leaves with care. Typically, the thin, spidery writing would belong to an astrologer or a priest, but this is actually the work of royal chefs. On its pages are 103 recipes … Continue reading
Udan Fernando considers Mount Lavinia beach an extension of his backyard – albeit a very crowded one. ‘It’s my place to walk, exercise, eat, drink, relax, host friends and ‘just be’!’ writes Udan, noting that he is not the only one. The generosity with which the beach welcomes hundreds of people every day is what … Continue reading
Michael Mendis’ has never been interviewed before, if anything as a former journalist he’s used to being the interviewer. (“Hi Mum,” he says chirpily, when I switch the recorder on.) This month, the 23-year- old law student came out of nowhere to claim the Commonwealth Short Story Prize for the Asia Region and is now … Continue reading
Floating on her back, for a moment all Sonali Deraniyagala could see was a perfectly blue sky. Overhead, a flock of storks flew in formation. Later she would write, ‘Painted storks, I thought. A flight of painted storks across a Yala sky, I’d seen this thousands of times.’ A beat and then Sonali was swept … Continue reading
When Lal Medawattegedara asks me for a pen and paper, it isn’t to write. Instead, the winner of the Gratiaen Prize for 2012 intends to try his hand at drawing. Outlined on my pad is the MGK of his title, a mountain known as the Maha Geeni Kanda for how its silhouette resembles the shape … Continue reading
Michelle de Kretser Before she ever puts pen to paper, Michelle de Krester knows how her book will end. What she’s more uncertain off is whether there will be a book at all. If ‘Questions of Travel’ were her last novel, it would be a pity, for its clear that here is an author at … Continue reading
“It would have been a good last chapter, but there you have it,” says John Julius Norwich “no one knew it was going to happen.” If the British historian and traveller had published ‘The Popes: A History’ in 2013 instead of 2011, he would have had for his epilogue an event quite unlike any other … Continue reading
Anjali Joseph was in Jaffna yesterday and tomorrow she’ll be in Kandy. For a few hours in the middle, we find ourselves at the Dutch Hospital in Colombo where Anjali confesses that she’s feeling a little disoriented – but it’s more than just the travelling. “I think for an Indian it’s very disorienting to be … Continue reading
Author of Island of a Thousand Mirrors, Nayomi Munaweera seems in equal parts amused and amazed that the first line in her debut novel has managed to generate so much fuss. The prologue opens on a couple, who’ve just finished making love. She’s still awake, he is asleep, her sister’s name on his lips. “I … Continue reading
For Joanna Luloff, the author of ‘The Beach at Galle Road,’ travelling had to be about more than just tourism. As a student, she had worked at a local prison, tutoring the inmates in English and after she graduated joining the Peace Corp seemed like the best way to merge her interest in teaching, volunteer … Continue reading
Smriti Daniel 