Time for Lankans to talk about peace - Romesh Gunasekera

Naomi Gunasekara in London

UNITED KINGDOM: "Peace," is a word we Sri Lankans ought to talk about more if we are to mitigate the cries for war, one of Sri Lanka's top literary figures said making a rare political statement at a Sri Lankan literature promotion here on Monday.

Romesh Gunasekera, whose first novel Reef was nominated for Britain's prestigious Booker prize, felt that it was time for Sri Lankans to "talk about peace".

"I think it is not talked about enough; may be if a lot of people say it, it might drown out the clamour for war. It doesn't always work as we know, living through what has been happening in the last few years," he said.

Gunasekera, a Fellow of the Royal Society for Literature, was speaking at Foyles Bookshop Charring Cross, where a Sri Lankan literature promotion called 'Srilit' is being held as part of an ongoing Sri Lanka tourism, trade and culture promotion titled 'Refreshingly Sri Lanka.'

The poet cum fiction writer reiterated it was important to at least say the word "peace" because of "its absence and the utter stupidity of the opposite."

He said it is very difficult to talk about peace "when there are landmine explosions and reprisals with air strikes, when innocent people are dying. It's not easy but it seems to be something you can't give up.

"And I was thinking again, you know, may be I am just obsessed with it because of this book and the cricket," said the writer, who has held writing residencies in Hong Kong, Singapore and Denmark, referring to his latest novel The Match and the Sri Lankan cricket team's tour of Britain at the moment.

The Match,Gunasekera's latest novel starts with reference to the Norwegian-brokered ceasefire in 2002 and the subsequent hopes for peace. The book also talks about the protagonist's fascination with cricket.

Perhaps the recent violence in Sri Lanka and the matches going on in London prompted the writer to comment about the need for peace.

"There is something to be learnt from the Sri Lankan cricket team, which is that you don't just give up. You may have a pretty poor first innings but if you keep at it then may you get what you really need. That is serendipity, that gift of unexpected reward."

Gunasekera, who had been asked to talk about "Serendipity," said the term coined in 1728 has become totally meaningless at present with over a three million web references to the term.

But he explained it was not just about an unexpected reward but the term referred to "finding what you really need at the right moment, like peace perhaps around a table that talks about war."

The London-based writer, who is not known to speak of politics other than through his work, was perhaps taking a stand because as he puts it in Salgado's words in his most celebrated novel Reef, "we are only what we remember, nothing more...all we have is the memory of what we have done or not done.