A little high a little low – my experience at the A&K Lit fest.

I thought I was late… in fact I was… maybe by a minute or two.
I rushed to The Western Province Aesthetic centre where the A&K lit fest was held with great Anticipation. I did not even want to miss a minute of the session titled “Undoing the Stigma of Broken English” which was bound to be intriguing. I heaved a sigh of relief when I saw one of the panelist standing near the entrane chatting casually with some friends. “Thank Goodness for Sri Lankan time” I said to my self as I went to say hello only to realise that the session had been advanced to 10.30 from12 p.m without my knowledge. What a kick in the nuts.
But then as someone wise said “Every dark cloud has a silver lining”
In this case it meant I was now free to witness Shehan Karunathilaka and Dileepa Abeysekera talking about “A writers Creative process”. There was an over lap of these sessions before and I was torn between deciding if I should leave half way of one program to view the entirety of the other or vice versa.
Guess now I had one less problem to deal with.
I had never been to The Asethetic Centre before. In fact many people had even not heard of this place till they thought of attending the A&K lit fest. Anyway the halls were large and airconditioned with comfy seating. I ensconed my self in a chair found a colleague to chat with and waited for the action to begin.
Shehan started the session as Dileepa was getting late. Not only did he talk us through the writing process which he uses but also read an excerpt from his upcoming new novel the only line of which I can remember right now being “The Portugese took us from the missionary position while the Dutch gave it to us from behind…” but trust me when I tell you there was pin drop silence in the audience has he read that short piece. It was beautifuly crafted art in words. He also did another reading of a short story titled “Diaspora” which was pretty good too.
Shehan shared a few valid tips with the audience on the process he goes through when writing.
Two of them which I found really useful.
The first was to stick to a word quota every day regardless of the fact that if you are in the mood to write or not. It could be 500, 1000 or even 2000 words but you need to belt it out on a daily basis. No excuses.
The second was to read books and watch movies that you want your novel to sound like.
Oh there is a third which is to switch off all things which can take away your attention from your project when you are working and of course constant revision.
When Dileepa joined Shehan on stage we realised that it was not two random people bought together by the organisers of the event. But that both of them had teamed up to do a Sinhalese Version of the “Chinaman”
This was the first book Dileepa had developed a Sinhalese version of. “I was in a café in Switzerland and my guest who was opposite me did not know about Sri Lanka” he told the audience as he shared his motive for chosing this particular novel out of all the books by local authors out their in the market. “I pointed out to Ceylon Tea on the menu and said this is my country. But he said you are from Sri Lanka this is ceylon. And I had to go through a lenghty process to educate him that both these were one and the same.”
“It was the winning of the cricket world cup which put us on the map making the world realise that this country had something world class to offer. So when I saw this great book about cricket from a fellow advertising colleague which was winning awards all across the world I thought I should do a Sinhala version of it as there is nothing about cricket in Sinhalese literature”
I use the words “Sinhalese Version” intentionally because it is not a translation. Much to my delight I was able to buy an autographed copy at the venue. I have not dug into it yet because after seeing Shehan speak I thought of reading “The Chinaman” for the second time round. This time I bought myself the digital version and looking forward to enjoy a trip down memory lane admiring the life and times of W. G karunasena before I dig in to the Sinhala version.

This is a shaky video I have taken from my phone of Shehan reading out his short story Diaspora. Don't look at it for the picture quality but just as a means to an end to hear his words.

Have you heard of the Ophiuchus?

Or Serpentarius?
I did not till recently and I am sure neither of the majority of you who are reading this post.
But it is the 13th Zodiac sign. Yes I thought there were only 12 too till I came across this nugget of information. Astrologers have always known about the transition of the sun through Ophiuchus inbetween Scorpio and Saggitarius but since the duration was only 19 days they did not think it worthy of including into the Zodiac.
Amazingly I realised that I too come under this sign as the dates fall between 29thth November and 17th January.
The Sepentarius is depicted as a man holding a snake. (Interestingly this is the only Zodiac sign which is based on a human form) and one could be forgiven for associating the negative aspects of snakes with people who come under this sign. But in reality the serpant stands for healing – remember the caduceus which is the symbol of medicine which has two snakes wrapped around a staff? – and Serpentarians are supposed to have a lot of good qualities:
 - interpreter of dreams, vivid premonitions,
- attracts good luck and fruitful blessings,
- serpent holder, lofty ideals, – a seeker of peace and harmony,
- doctor of medicine or science, natural-pathic, – adds, increases, joins, or gathers together
– poetical, inventive nature, expanding qualities,
- seeks higher education and wisdom, – overseer, supervisor of work, – fame – either grand, or completely misunderstood, – longevity, aspirations of healing the ills of man,
- architect, builder, reaches for the stars, figuratively and literally,
- tax assessor, or levys taxes,
- astrological talents, intuitive,
- large family indicated, but apt to be separated from them when young,
- the number twelve holds great significance,
- foresight and good fortune to benefit from hard times,
- has secret enemies in family or close associations,
- many jealous of this subject,
- notable father, apple of father’s eye when young,
- high position in life expected [depending on aspects] highest fame and legend comes after death
Somehow to me the description of the charachteristics of a Serpentarius fits with my understanding of myself more than that of a Sagittarius which was what I thought my zodiac sign would be. Of course not that I believe in this stuff but still it does make for some interesting reading.

The Rewrite… easy to miss… easy to watch

Most movies take you on an emotional roller coaster ride. However there are times that you really don’t want to experience these highs and lows. Where you want to watch something which is nice and easy and stress free. Like driving on the roads during nonagathey. That is where this film comes along.
I came across this movie completely by accident while I was on a flight at the god forsaken time of 2.45 in the morning. However it intrigued me enough to keep my eyes open to the very end even though my body was screaming for some rest.
So it has to be good. Or passable.
The only reason I am writing about it is because it would be so easy to skip over this film when choosing movies. Especially with such an uninspiring title like “The rewrite”. But it does Star Hugh Grant who I can tolerate and the story line is quite interesting. They call it a Romantic Comedy but I think that is becauuse they really could not find a genere to classify it under.
Neither can I. But I do believ it is worth watching.

The Unbungalow : Maradanmaduwa Wilpattu.

It is very rarely that you can get a Wild Life department bungalow when you need it. Which means you are left with the fancy lodgings which has sprung up around the national parks. Whilst they are definitely more comfortable it just does not cut it for me. Nothing can compare to the bliss of waking up inside the jungle away from it all.
Fortunately there is a new lodging facility which is fairly new which has escaped the eyes of a majority of those wild life lovers who generally fight tooth and nail for the available slots of the Wildlife Department Bungalows.
How on earth is this possible? Because it is disguised as a dormitory!
To be honest it is a dormitory. A fairly large one at that because it can sleep 60 people. If I am correct that is the largest lodging facility available inside a national park in Sri Lanka.

The Exterior view of the Maradanmaduwa Bungalow

 By the beautiful Maradanmaduwa lake just 09 kilometers from the main entrance to the Wilpattu national park lies the stately Maradanmaduwa Bungalow. It is a misnomer to call it a bungalow. But somehow it just does not feel right to call it by any other name.
The beauty of this place is that even though it can accommodate 60 they let it out to small groups of people on an exclusive basis.Which means it is the next best thing if you are unable to book a bungalow.
The Maradanmaduwa Bungalow consists of two large upstairs blocks connected in one end in the shape of a V. Downstairs is the dining living and kitchen area and believe it or not a little meeting space with lecture chairs, podium and a small public address system - I did not check if it works though - making it a perfect venue for an official outing or retreat for a medium sized company.
The upstairs of each block consists of a large dorm with 30 bunk beds and communal toilets and showers. However the sleeping area is enclosed unlike the usual Wild Life Department bungalows which has only a half around it. Now if like me you are used to sleeping in the open this is going to create a problem. Also if all the bunk beds are full I am sure it can get really stuffy. But we were only a group of thirteen and the caretakers of the bungalow allowed us to put mattersses on the verendah and sleep which was far more comfortable. Also unlike in the usual bungalows the caretaker does not do the cooking if you come in a large group say twenty thirty people.You are supposed to cook your own food using their kitchen which seemed to have all the facilities of an industrial kitchen.. Personally I felt the caretakers could have taken care of the building better but I must admit taking care of such a large building is a tough task for just two people. But I must compliment them on their cooking skills which was outstanding. 

The moon reflecting off the lake 

The beauty of this place is in its location. Firstly it is situated in a picturesque setting. Secondly it is just a couple of minutes to the main entrance instead of a couple of hours – which is usually the case in Wilpattu. Thirdly even though it is close to the entrance it is reknowned for sightings of elephant, leopard and bear. It might not be the ideal bungalow for me but it is definitely a great alternative.

The Amazing Racist by Chhimi Tenduf-La. An amazing read.

They say a picture paints a thousand words. But can the reverse happen?
Can words bring a myriad of scenes alive in your mind? I did not think it was possible till I came across the book "The Amazing Racist” by Chhimi Tenduf- La. I know the name is quite a mouthful… fortunately the book was too but in quite a delectable way.
“Curry for breakfast was a bad idea. I burped up Cumin. Farted our the turmeric. My sweat was chilli powder and Garlic, and the little pee spot on the inside of my khaki shorts had a hint of coconut milk in it”
These were the opening lines of the book. It just made me go wow and stand up on edge. Even the hairs on my arms stood up. Somehow the words captivated me unlike the start of any other book I have come across.
Not even God of small things or Shantaram.
For a moment – just a moment - It made me wonder if this was too good to be true. With such a great start so full of power and passion (and turmeric) would things fizzle out to something insipid at the end? It has been known to happen to me. For instance I could not get to the end of “Eat Pray Love” or “The life of Pi” for that matter. But in this case it was just me being pessimistic.
It just kept getting better and better.
It made me want to drop everything I had to do, lock myself away and just read and read . That is exactly what I did. Well I could not exactly lock myself away as I had daddy taxi duties to perform. But I did not answer phone calls. Did not respond to text messages or even look at incoming emails. I even caught myself reading it while waiting for the traffic lights to turn to green. Only once before has a book consumed me this ferociously and that was when I was reading the lost symbol by Dan Brown.
It is an amazing story, simply but cleverly written. It is so simple that when you read the plot in the reviews you tend to go "so what?"
I am someone who takes great pleasure in admiring the style of writing and looking at certain segments as one would view a painting. And in this book I found not one but an entire gallery of such words to admire and appreciate.
"The four men sat in a circle around a potted tree that dropped araliya flowers at their leathery feet. Around them, coconut shells dipped in kerosene burnt light and mystery into proceedings. Each of the men, Gehan included, wore cologne so strong that the aroma battled with that of the dried fish, chilli and onions being fried downstairs. The sparkle of fireflies got lost in the collection of thick gold chains, watches and bracelets on display” was just one such passage.
I found the manner he weaved his words about Sri Lankan culture with a mildly cynical twist absolutely fascinating. I generally high light passages which enthrall me to enjoy later. But in this case I had to give up after a few pages as there were far too many of them. If I were to continue I would end up highlighting a majority of the book.
I am not going to write about the storyline because however much I try I will not do justice to it. It is quite complex. Light in certain parts and dark in the other but the twists and turns of the plot were gripping. In fact the story made me laugh. A lot… so much so people were giving me strange looks as I was laughing to myself whilst reading on a treadmill. And certain parts made me angry and I caught myself saying "serves that bitch right" out loud. Something I rarely do at least while I am reading a book.
This is an amazing first novel by this author who is currently residing in Sri Lanka. To me this book is in the same league of “The God of Small Things” and “Shantharam”. First novels that were iconic.
I am so glad to hear that the author is already into writing his second novel because I am craving for more. If the first one is this amazing I can't wait to see how he is going to better it. But something within me says he will. Kudos to you Chhimi!

An interesting perspective by an Economic Rock Star

“The slow going Industrial Countries cannot absorb a significant amount of additional imports in the foreseeable future, hence the world does not have room for another export led china… therefore we have to move away from subsidizing exporters with cheap inputs and undervalued exchange rates…”
These are the words of someone I classify as an Economic Rock Star. He is Dr. Raghuram Rajan the Governor of the Federal Reserve of India who is on leave from the University of Chicago where he is the Distinguished Service Professor of Finance at the Booth School. Between 2003 and 2006, Dr. Rajan was the Chief Economist and Director of Research at the International Monetary Fund.
I find his perspective absolutely unique and relevant though it goes against popular wisdom and the policies of the Modi government whose Mantra is “Make in India”
He also is against import substitution to improve domestic production via tariff barriers which reduces domestic competition and increases the cost to the consumer. You can find the speech in which he outlined his opinion here. It is 45 minutes long but absolutely intriguing if you are into economics.
However what amazed me the most is that he has the confidence and the balls to say it out loud without fear of reprisals. I sincerely hope that our central bank too would take a leaf or two from his book.

The Thrilling thriller: Gone Girl

He says "Yes, I loved you and then all we did was resent each other, try to control each other. We caused each other pain."
"That's marriage." she said
And that my friends is a classic scene from one of the best movies I have seen in a long time. Which was a refreshing change from my previous movie experience.
Now here was a movie which had got everything right. From the casting to the story line to the direction the eternal sceptic in me could not find any cracks in its armor of absolute perfection.
I am not going to give away the plot on here and kill the excitement for you. But you know I generally don't review mainstream movies on here so it has to be something extremely special. So please please please just watch it and thank me when you discover how great it is.
p.s. I heard the book was even better. I just bought it and can't wait to read it.