Ambassador of storytelling

Amalshan GUNERATHNE

‘I have read lots of Sri Lankan writing and I found them to be very good. They have put together intelligent thoughts and their writing itself is very good. For certain reasons, except for few, most of them haven’t received the necessary recognition at international level. They deserve to be picked up by international publishers. I have been trying to establish some form of linkage between Indian publishers and Sri Lankan writers so that they would get the necessary exposure and recognition that they richly deserve’

‘Once upon a time,’ she would have started and the kid would have listened in sheer fascination. It wasn’t the same hackneyed fairy tale of Jack and the Magic Beans that an everyday parent would relate to her kid. What unraveled was an enthralling story spawned from her unique imagination. It was her way of feeding the little one with a creatively woven story that appeal to his juvenile senses. As she recited the exhilarating bedtime story, she did not imagine for a moment that her bedtime storytelling could later pave way for a grand career in fiction writing. Sharmila Kantha’s career as a writer, started just like that.

Sharmila Kantha Picture by Nissanka Wijeratne

“It all started when I had this conversation with my four year old son on what he wanted to be in the future,” she says.

After her initial attempts at children’s stories, Sharmila later undertook much sterner tasks at writing and today she caters her talents to contrasting genres of writing in children’s fiction, adult crime fiction and even invests her efforts to compose research based economic related study materials. As the wife of Indian High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, she has been staying in Sri Lanka for three years and on a leisurely Saturday noon we visited her at the India House for this week’s encounter.

Q: You started as a Children’s book writer. Can you recall how your first book came to be?

A: I had this conversation with my son when he was four on what he wanted to be when he grows up. He said he wanted to be in a farm and he wanted to know more about farms.So I told everything to him in a story and that is what later developed into a book.

It was a short storybook with nice illustrations and it was meant to be read out aloud to children.

Later I sent the story to a competition held by the Jawaharlal Nehru Children’s Book Trust.

The book won the prize there and with that it became popular. It has run into several prints since then and has now even been recommended for grade one as literary material.

Q: Considering that your specialty lies in Banking and Economics, what made you turn towards literature and fiction writing?

A: I always had a habit of writing something or the other. Those days I used to work at a bank full time and writing used to be more of a hobby for me.

Since I had to keep moving from one place to another, it was hard for me to maintain a regular job. So after I left the bank, I had time to write.

Q: Since your life demands you to move from one country to another has it in any way inspired or influenced your writing career?

A: All of my books are based on India and Indian society. Very little of my diplomatic life has had an influence on my writing. It is very difficult to be in one country for three years and try to understand an entire society. I don’t think it is a good idea to write about a certain segment of society after being there just for a short span. You can’t do that, unless you have a deeper understanding of the culture and their way of living. We do interact across communities, but the interaction that we do is not at a deep level.

Q: Crime Fiction is not something that we associate with Indian literature. What made you focus on writing your first novel on that particular genre?

A: True, when I first wrote Just the facts Madamji crime fiction wasn’t that popular among Indian writers.

But now loads of writers are into writing crime fiction and it has become a popular genre among readers. Even when reading, my favorite genre is Crime Fiction. These days I am reading Lee Child. He has suddenly become a favorite of mine and I am trying to read all of his books.

Q: You have done both fiction and research based books. How do you adapt yourself when catering to such contrasting genres?

A: Yes, they are contrasting genres and they require contrasting styles of writing. Also they cater to totally different readerships. You have to take all that into account when you write. I write fiction for my own interest. They are fun to write.

On the other hand, writing research based books require lots of hard work. It is also a fascinating process.

When I wrote my business books, I realized how interested I was to do actual research, discover facts and engage in deep analysis on issues.

Q: Do you feel that modern entertainment drives such as movies, TV, etc have had an adverse effect on people’s appetite towards reading?

A: I don’t think so. In India the book publishing industry is doing really well. We used to have only a couple of major English publishers who did fiction, but now almost all the major publishing companies in the world have set up their offices in India. We have a young group of people who are literate in English. Movies and TV exist, but people are reading more. Loads of entertaining fiction is coming out and these are written by urban, young writers.

Q: Young people are often reluctant to invest themselves in classical literature and opt for light and entertaining fiction instead. Do you see a trend and do you feel that such fiction could have a positive impact on the youth?

A: Serious literature is not for everyone. Apparently at an older age, people tend to appreciate literature more. Youngsters generally tend to go in for entrainment.

The pressure and stress of life are very high these days. So they need to have something for relaxation and entertainment. They prefer to be entertained rather than going through something serious that teaches them the meaning of life.

But the meaning of life is very relevant when you come to the older age. Having said that, even some of the classics are also very entertaining and they are still very popular among readers of all ages. Books like Gulliver’s Travels, Tom Sawyer , and Black Beauty are timeless and very entertaining to read.

Q: Have you read any Sri Lankan writing and if so, do you find them to be good?

A: I have read lots of Sri Lankan writing and I found them to be very good. They have put together intelligent thoughts and their writing itself is very good. For certain reasons, except for few, most of them haven’t received the necessary recognition at international level. They deserve to be picked up by international publishers.

I have been trying to establish some form of linkage between Indian publishers and Sri Lankan writers so that they would get the necessary exposure and recognition that they richly deserve.

Q: You were a speaker at Galle Literary Festival 2011. Do you feel that GLF deliver the same level of standards as you would find at any other international book festival?

A: I was a speaker at Galle Literary Festival in 2011 and it was a very nice experience for me. It is a wonderful platform for writers and readers to get together. The quality of the writers is just as good as what you find in Indian literary festivals. Everything is just as good, except that space restrictions don’t allow the same number of people to come in.