Galle’s literary long weekend
It was a fitting start for the Galle Literary Festival (GLF) at the Atapattu Walauwa, the opening reception hosted by Heritance Hotels and Resorts. In the gardens, where fairy lights festooned massive trees, visitors from across the world mingled. The old walauwa built in the 18th Century has Dutch characteristics like stately pillars but the spirit of a classic Sinhala abode…
Saskia Walker, festival curator, welcomed the cosmopolitan gathering. Geoffrey Dobbs, the ‘father’ of the festival was also present.
The sessions proper began on Thursday, with a profusion of foreign visitors in attendance, the Lankans mostly from the country’s tight-knit literary circles. Within the Fort, the festival buzz was bracing, from the ice-palam sellers and the fruit vendors under the old gate with the mossy VOC crest to the busy streets at dusk as the packed programme of talks, discussions, poetry readings, art trails and lively evening gatherings unfolded in different venues.
The 12th edition of the Galle Literary Festival ends today.
Opening night at Atapattu walauwa and some of the early sessions at the festival. Pix by Akila Jayawardena
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