'Book Buzz': An enthralling experience

The first impression, like a magical moment, touching the strings of your heart is very important, when you are an eager participant of an event. To that effect, the "Book Buzz" organised by the British Council and CG associates was an experiment with a novel method of enhancing creativity through music, drama and reading excerpts from the featured authors' selected books.

To those not so young, who are not initiated to this type of literary event, in which the bubbling youth took the centre stage, through their dazzling performance of dramatization and recitation of selected excerpts with crystal clear modulation, it was undoubtedly, a magnetic and equally stimulating experience.

Madhubhashini Ratnayake who was the first writer to be featured, at this much-sought after literary event, is certainly not a stranger to the Sri Lankan literary public, who had devoured some of her earlier creations such as "Voices from afar" , "Driftwood", "Animal Tales" and "Raththa" with a hungry-wolf's voracious appetite.

She also wrote a book on "Contemporary Sinhala Fiction - some writers and their writing" which introduced some of the talented Sinhala writers' creative work, to the English reading literati for their overall attention and spirited enjoyment.

Her yeoman service in fostering budding writers' creative talents in English through "100 words" - a creative page, published monthly in one of the English national newspapers, should also be acknowledged, for such labours are undoubtedly worthy of praise and emulation.

Madhubhashini captured the attention of her respective audience instantly, by her child-like simplicity and vivacity. She started the reading session by narrating a short story entitled "Love" which she selected from her new collection of short stories entitled "Tales of Shades and shadow". It was followed by a dramatization of a short story entitled "Circles and Chalk" selected from the same anthology.

The second half of the program, was animated with the introduction of Lal Madawattegedara by the Director, British Council Tony O'Brien. Lal, who has worked as a journalist, musician, advertising writer, documentary script writer and translator has published his maiden collection of short stories entitled "The window cleaner's soul."

The characters of this collection of short stories who belong to the lower strata of our social fabric moves us deeply, and they come to grip with stark reality, which have had a crippling effect on their mental equilibrium.

Excerpts read from Lal's book included "Inheritance", "God Riddance", "The Reception", and "The window cleaner's soul."

The program concluded with the book signing by the two authors.

It was a pleasant evening, a gathering of creative writers and literary minded souls who were mesmerized by the sheer power of written words, parading, enigmatically and sensually, thus taking them blithely to a world of fantasy and imagination, in which happy harmony they experienced, though for a brief moment, the elixir of happiness.

Ranjan Amarasinghe

..................................

<< Artscope Main Page