CLF: Stepping in and out of vibrant sessions
From the 10th to the 12th of February, the Colombo Public Library, central to the bustling city, was filled with eager young minds and spirited adults, as the Ceylon Literary Festival enjoyed a promising inaugural outing. With a tranquil and inviting atmosphere as well as vibrant decorations that hung from the trees and tents, the ambience was wonderfully fitting for a literary event.
Lit fest vibe : The Public Library venue. Pix by M.A. Pushpa Kumara, Eshan Fernando, Nilan Maligaspe and Priyanka Samaraweera
The audiences, invested in the sessions, were treated to stimulating discussions across the panels with several renowned authors from celebrated playwright and author Sir David Hare, Booker Prize winner Shehan Karunatilaka to historian William Dalrymple, Louis de Bernieres, V.V. Ganeshananthan, Shrabani Basu, Anita Nair, Shobhaa De, Louise Doughty, Christopher Kloeble and many other well-known names, as well as personalities such as designer Nicole Farhi, James Braxton and Stuart Cosgrove. Alongside the sessions were the children’s workshops conducted by Arthika Aurora Bakshi and Neluka Silva which took place in the Public Library’s quite extensive garden.
Celebrated playwright: Sir David Hare
On the 10th, Shyam Selvadurai launched his novel Mansions of the Moon – a bold reimagining of the tale of Prince Siddhartha and Yasodhara, with Ameena Hussein moderating the panel. Commending the CLF and its diverse programme, the Sri Lankan-born Canadian writer also expressed his satisfaction at the festival being held in such an accessible space. An intriguing session that followed also featured Shyam with David Hare, Louise Doughty with actor Nimmi Harasgama, discussing what is lost in translation when books get made to films and why some book adapted films make better films than others. Another enlightening session on body positivity and the effects of media on the mind was presented by Prajwal Parajuly, Koluu and Tina Edward Gunawardana.
A student favourite panel was ‘Will the last feminist turn out the light before they leave?’ featuring Shobhaa De, Sonora Jha and V.V. Ganeshanathan. “Don’t become an ‘average man’ on your way to advocating for rights for women” was the thought-provoking message that set the tone of the discussion.
Talking Booker: Shehan Karunatilaka
The CLF in its first edition curated by Ashok Ferrey presented a programme that had a fine amalgamation of items that displayed the creative arts. A walk through the nearby J.D.A. Perera Gallery looked at the works of one of Sri Lanka’s finest artists David Paynter. A ceramic workshop was conducted by Dr. Ranjith Weerasinghe while French fashion designer, Nicole Farhi in another absorbing session shared her techniques on sculpting.
Commented Scottish journalist and broadcaster Stuart Cosgrove, “One of the key things about a festival like this is that it centralizes culture and the arts, decolonizes it too.”
Talking poetry: Ramya Jirasinghe
Many attendees were appreciative of the free access granted to students and seniors. “At the Ceylon Lit Fest I’ve mostly enjoyed meeting students as they usually do not get the opportunity to attend literary festivals,” said Carmel Miranda, winner of the Gratiaen Prize 2020. “As an author it was lovely to meet many international authors as well.”
Safiyah, a student from the University of Colombo added, “Excellent discourse, it was refreshing to see literary inclined individuals being given a space to thrive.”
It’s also really nice to have literary festivals back-to-back,” said one attendee Narmada referring to the Galle Lit Fest that had just concluded, adding that she loved the CLF line-up and found the discussions had a lot of depth. Others were also appreciative of being able to pop in for just particular sessions that appealed to them, with CLF being in Colombo. “I just went to the history one, I thought that was excellent,” said Ruchira. “I wasn’t even planning on coming but I came for this session and am convinced to stay for the next.”
Fazeena Majeed Rajabdeen, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer of the event shared her thoughts on the successful conclusion of the first edition of CLF. “With Sri Lanka picking up after the unfortunate times we’ve had, to reverse brain drain, to bring in the right aspect of who we are as a country, we thought the creative community needs to stand out,” she said, adding, “this time we really put all our attention behind the youth.”
Engaging discussion: George Cooke with V.V. Ganeshananthan, Sonora Jha and Shobhaa De
Insights from local authors: Seneka Abeyratne with Ciara Mandulee Mendis, Chiranthi Rajapakse and Lal Medawattegedera
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