The session ‘Who Do You Think You Are?’ is a way in which the readers questions the decision made by the writers who have chosen to write about Sri Lanka . Answering that question beautifully explaining their decision to write about Sri Lanka and why they chose to tell that story are five writers who were present at the session; writers Michelle de Krester, Ru Freeman, Gillian Slovo, Lal Medawattegedera and David Blacker.

“I have never told a story, stories have chosen me,” says Michelle de Krester when explaining to us her side to it. And it rings true to all the writers who were present at the panel, as Ru Freeman explains her initial misgivings of writing about Sri Lanka, but the ease in which the story came to life as Sri Lanka was always under her skin where ever in the world she may live.

The writers talked about their influence, their inspirations and their misgivings they have with their books. The stories they had to tell was interesting, but I can’t help but wonde Sri Lanka some of these writers were talking about.

True their stories are fiction, but are they romanticizing Sri Lanka a bit too much? A problem I always had was, what was the image they were portraying to the rest of the world. Do they realize that Sri Lanka has changed a lot since they have left? Putting all those misgivings aside that session made us look into ourselves and think about the experiences in which we can draw inspiration from, while reminiscing the good old days.

Next up on my agenda was Fable and Fairytales…

Rana Dasgupta, Shyam Selvadurai, Diran Adebayo and Antonia Mechelis explained to all that was gathered at the Halle de Galle why they keep returning to ancient forms of storytelling.

We all love fairytales and this was a session where we could laugh, remember the good old fairytales we grew up with and then move onto the fantasy writing some of us have now come to love.

“Fairytales are poetic, forgiving and crazy,” says Antonia Mechelis, and I can’t help but agree as she continues to say fairytales are ancient forms of storytelling that have survived the years.

Shyam Selveduria had an interesting and I must say an honest reason as to why he chose fantasy writing, it simply looked like a good genre to get into as he figured it would be easy. As all these writers took us through a journey of myths, fables, forms of storytelling, you can’t help but agree with Antonia Mechelis, when she says, ‘maybe we should give fairytales a chance.” Should we or should we not as you think about it I now moved to the next session I attended… Lighthouse and Landing

After having sat through two brilliant sessions Lighthouse and Landings by Ismeth Raheem proved to be a bit of a disappointment, I did not expect. Having spent two years visiting the lighthouses around Sri Lanka and trying to uncover their hidden history, the programme promised the audience a session where he would combine his findings in architecture and literature. Walking into the Maritime Museum , the session started and immediately I knew I have chosen wrong. Instead of getting an interesting discussion what I got was a series of pictures of the Galle lighthouse (no doubt fascinating) but not really what I was expecting. Hence walking out of it halfway through the session I made my way back to Hall de Galle to get ready for Every Secret Thing by Gillian Slovo.

Gillian Slovo grew up in South Africa of Apartheid, with parents who gave their lives to the struggle against it. She starts off her session reading from her memoir giving us a glimpse into her life and entrapping the audience to such an extent I wanted to rush out and buy the book immediately. She talks to us about her life and her parents. It was clear that her mother played an important part in her life, and to hear her speak about it was amazing. She says she like’s to be an optimistic, but she does not know how realistic it is. I truly hope her attitude does not change, as its clear this plays a main role in her story telling.

As evening came we gathered at the Law Court Square to be a part of a night of ancient rituals brought to life by the Ravibandu Vidyapathi Drum Ensemble who surrounded us with the mystical sound of drum beats.

Words are not enough to explain the magic the performance brought into the audience. I simply say thank you to the great master for sharing this beautiful creation with us and to you the reader not to miss a concert of his.

As day one of the Galle Literary Festival comes into a close we now look forward to another day of mingling in the world of literature.