Collection of stories by Tissa Devendra

"On Horseshoe Street", a collection of stories by well-known Sri Lankan author Tissa Devendra, will be launched at the Cinema Hall of the BMICH on May 24 at 5.30 p.m.

The book published by Vijitha Yapa Publications is full of humour, nostalgia and sharp observations and deals with curious characters in little towns, forgotten villages and little "Kachcheries", where he spent much of his life.

The chief guest will be Minister of Finance Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Director of the Television Training Institute and former Chairman of the National Film Corporation, Tissa Abeysekera, will deliver the keynote address.

In the book, the author recounts the books and "Trash" he keenly read and the little bookshops he haunted as a schoolboy and the variety of characters he has met including gypsies, fading film stars, vampires, English dukes and several more.

Tissa Devendra, a graduate of the Universities of Colombo and Cambridge, had a career of over 40 years in the public service and UN agencies. He has served in most districts of the island and has been Chairman, Public Service Commission and Salaries Commission 2000. He is the author of several other books, of which "Tales from the Provinces" was short-listed for the Gratiaen Prize in 1998.