Galle, the city, slumbers not...
Forty eight of the world's most popular and celebrated writers were in Galle from the 28 January to 1 February. Now an established feature of the international literary calendar, the Galle Literary Festival continues to evolve and explore new ground.
I am sure that Daphne du Maurier, when making that classic statement, “Writers should be read but neither seen nor heard”, would have bitten her tongue if she was ever exposed to the festivities that took place in Galle.
Not only were the writers interesting and entertaining, the superb spread of genres was a palatable feast to all who took part. The celebrated detective writer Ian Rankin brought crime writing into the Festival’s repertoire while the sensational new graphic novelist Sarnath Banerjee taught us how to make our own comic books. Novelist Gillian Slovo spoke about growing up in the South Africa of Apartheid, her work bringing the experiences of Guantanamo Bay inmates to the stage and her latest novel, set in Sri Lanka. Poets Wendy Cope and Jackie Kay gave us an afternoon of witty poetry over tea. Gratiaen winner Shehan Karunatilaka spoke about his novel in manuscript and iconic children’s writer Sybil Wettasinghe recollected her own childhood near Galle. Celebrated historian Antony Beevor spoke of the rise of conspiracy theories in history while playwright and novelist Michael Frayn commented on the role of fiction in shaping history.
An additional satisfaction for literary gourmet and gourmand alike was the feature of hotly-tipped young South Asian novelists in 2010, among them Mohammed Hanif, Rana Dasgupta and Amit Varma, and of course Sri Lanka’s own Michelle de Kretser, Shyam Selvadurai and Ru Freeman. Festival Director Sunila Galappatti says ‘we are unusually proud of the upcoming Galle Literary Festival, for bringing together writers and artists who can speak from their own unusual experiences and perspectives about the very things that interest and concern us today’.
The indomitable Rajpal Abeynayake was put on the spot this year around in his very own segment ‘Resident Critic’, which culminated in more than a few fiery words, guaranteed to make the ears of the audience tingle! Perhaps the most interesting comment made by Sunila Galapatti, director of the GLF this year, who acted as moderator of the session, was that she personally rated the festival 7 out of 10 as she believed there was much more room for improvement on an already spectacular festival. Interestingly enough, this was the same rating that Rajpal Abeynayake also gave. I have just this to say: Thoroughly enjoying the festival myself at a mutually agreed upon ‘7’, I can only imagine how much more exciting and enjoyable it is going to be when the festival organisers reach a ‘10’!
This year, alongside our writers the Festival featured exemplary performance artists from Sri Lanka. The Chamber Music Society of Colombo returned by popular demand to give a special concert in the Dutch Reformed Church in Galle, including the world premiere of a new composition by its resident composer Stephen Allen. The Festival also featured two outstanding performances by the Ravibandu Vidyapati Drum Ensemble and the Chitrasena Dance Company. These two performances far outperformed the expectations of anyone who cared to take part. The complex rhythm of the Ravibandu’s drum ensemble reverberated through the Galle Fort fusing percussions from many countries, all pounding to the beat of a distinctly recognisable Sri Lankan flavour, the sound drowned out only by the thunder of applause from the audience.
The Chitrasena Dance Company was not to be outdone, with its performers swirling and leaping, at times choreographed gymnasts, and at other times story-tellers of their own merit. Even the heavy torrential rain could not dampen the spirits of the performers or the audience as they patiently waited for the drying out of the stage. The wetness was soon forgotten as performance after performance warmed the spirits of the spectators.
The Last Word, officially the last event of the festival was graced by a reading by the charming Diran Adebayo form a work in progress, followed by an open stage for those who would wish to speak or perform.
Another feauture of the Festival this year was the dedicated day of events for 100 students from Galle schools, so that they may benefit from the international literary festival at their doorstep. This day was the culmination of an outreach programme that the Festival had run throughout 2009, in both urban and rural schools in Galle and Matara. Aimed at promoting creative reading and writing in Sri Lanka’s next generation of writers, this programme has included reading days and writing workshops, run by writers, dramatists and university academics for both students and teachers of 25 schools. The Festival has been supported in this programme by the charity Adopt Sri Lanka which has sustained relationships with these schools. This year the Festival also introduced discounted tickets for teachers and more free events at the Festival, to allow greater access to those to whom it may be of particular interest.