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Sri Lankan author Shehan Karunatilaka wins Booker Prize

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The Seven Moons of Maali Almeida by Sri Lankan author – Shehan Karunatilaka, has won the Booker Prize.
The Sri Lankan writer’s novel is about a photographer who wakes up dead, with a week to ask his friends to find his photos and expose the brutality of the Sri Lankan civil war.

Camilla, the Queen Consort, presented the prize, and the author said it had been “an honour and a privilege” to be on the shortlist. Pop singer Dua Lipa was the star guest.

The prestigious £50,000 prize, for a single work of fiction published in the UK in English, also gives the other five writers on the shortlist £2,500 each.

The writer said he decided in 2009 to write “a ghost story where the dead could offer their perspective” after the end of the Sri Lankan civil war, “when there was a raging debate over how many civilians died and whose fault it was”.

Karunatilaka said as he accepted his prize: “My hope is that in the not too distant future… Sri Lanka has understood that these ideas of corruption and race-baiting and cronyism have not worked and will never work. “I hope it’s in print in 10 years… if it is, I hope it’s written in a Sri Lanka that learns from its stories, and that Seven Moons will be in the fantasy section of the bookshop, next to the dragons, the unicorns and will not be mistaken for realism or political satire.”

The opening of the book sets the slightly absurd tone. It starts in the afterlife, which turns out to be bureaucratic and banal. It then flips back and forth between the underworld and the real world during the Sri Lankan civil war in 1990 as Maali Almeida tries to work out who killed him – and why.

Shehan Karunatilaka says the book has been in his head for 10 years and goodness his brain must have been busy. But he struggled to find an international publisher.

The Seven Moons of Maali is Karunatilaka’s second novel, having previously won awards including the Commonwealth Book Prize for his debut book Chinaman, which was called the “second best cricket book of all time” by cricketers’ almanac Wisden.

Born in 1975, the writer has also worked as an advertising copywriter, and his songs, scripts and stories have been published in Rolling Stone, GQ and National Geographic.

He is the second Sri Lankan-born author to win the prize, following Michael Ondaatje for The English Patient (1992).

(Excerpts : BBC)

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President instructs to reopen National Art Gallery before year’s end

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President Ranil Wickremesinghe, during an inspection tour yesterday (26), visited the John de Silva Memorial Theatre and the long-delayed National Art Gallery. Despite construction commencing in 2011, both projects remain incomplete. 

President Wickremesinghe instructed officials to expedite the opening of the National Art Gallery before the year’s end, emphasizing the need for consensus among artists and architects. He also pledged government support for financial allocations. Additionally, he highlighted the demand for high-standard, affordable theatres in Colombo, questioning if such facilities could be provided following the completion of the John de Silva Theatre.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe stressed the importance of consulting dramatists before making final decisions on construction and maintenance projects. He directed the Ministry Secretary to explore options for reviving the Lumbini Theatre and the Nawa Rangahala to support the theatre and also instructed the Ministry Secretary to take steps to construct a drama theatre in Colombo’s Sudarshi Premises.

Emphasizing the need to establish a national cultural zone encompassing the Nelum Pokuna, Kalabhavana, John de Silva Memorial Theatre, Museum, and related areas, the President instructed the Ministry of Cultural Affairs to prepare a comprehensive report on this initiative. Additionally, he urged officials to enhance Sri Lanka’s museum system to international standard and tasked them with identifying a suitable country for mentorship in this regard.

Secretary of the Ministry of  Buddha Sasana, Religious and Cultural Affairs Somaratne Vidanapathirana, Additional Secretary Thilak Hettiarachchi, Director General of the Department of Cultural Affairs Yasintha Gunawardena, the team of architects from the University of Moratuwa who designed these buildings and the Navy officers who are in charge of the National Art Gallery renovations joined this event.

Prof. Praneeth Abhayasundara, Prof. Chandragupta Thenuwara, Parakrama Niriella, Mohamed Safeer and Saman Athavudahetti also spoke on behalf of the artists.

(President’s Media Division)

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Windy Goonatillake wins award for ’Ayyo Sami’

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Windy Goonatillake has won the award for the Best Sensational Song of the Year – 2023 at the 16th Edison Awards held in Chennai, South India.

She received the award for the Sri Lankan Tamil song “Aiyo Sami.

She was joined by her husband – Sanuka Wickramasinghe who was the music producer of the song and Pothuvil Asmin who wrote the lyrics.

Following the ceremony, they arrived at the Katunayake International Airport last night.

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Veteran singer Chandra Kumara Kandanarachchi no more

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Veteran singer Chandra Kumara Kandanarachchi has passed away today (March 26).

He was aged 76 and had been receiving treatment at a private hospital in Colombo.

His popular songs include ‘Ege Sinahawa Thahanam’, ‘Pem Benda Sith Benda’, ‘Ganga Nadee Theeraye’, and ‘Hithe Sathuta Jiwithe’. 

Funeral details are to be informed by the family later

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