Saturday Nov 02, 2024
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Saturday Nov 02, 2024
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The winner Savin Edirisinghe holds his award and poses with Dilmah Chairman/CEO Dilhan C. Fernando (far left) and the judges
By Surya Vishwa
Ever wondered what it would be like to be a detective pondering on the efficacy of a Niyangala root in separating the heart beat from the body?
If you thought the scenic tea plantations held just the potential of a warm cup of tea then you underestimated the human potential of inking into a tapestry of words the amphitheatre of life, death, love, hate, hope, despair and courage.
“What we unleashed with the support of HSBC and Dilmah was a continuation of the objectives of the Ceylon Literary and Art Festival held in February this year as we pioneered the Future Writers Program. This was planned a year ago to set a backdrop to identify, boost and recognise emerging literary talent which took the form of a short story competition in the English medium,” Ashok Ferry, the brainchild behind the Ceylon Literary and Art Festival explained.
Asked if there would be steps taken to hold similar competitions in Sinhala and Tamil, the national languages of Sri Lanka, he stated that it was one of the key goals of this initiative.
“We are making the necessary arrangements to identify judges and writing coaches to prepare for island-wide competitions in Sinhala and Tamil languages. We hope for this event to be an annual one. The initial step taken for 2024 resulted in a response of 132 entries for aspiring youth writers between ages of 15 to 29 years of which 52 entries were shortlisted,” Ashok said when contacted by the Harmony page.
The awards ceremony was held at the Dilmah Genesis Centre in Maligawatte on 23 July.
The winning entry was Savin Edirisinghe’s short story titled “Unmasked” while Paramie Jayakodi’s “Niyagala Mal” and Eshara Ranasinghe’s “Footsteps” secured the second and third places respectively. Celebrating his victory, Savin Edirisinghe shared his insights from the entire experience of conceptualising the story and writing it. “My father often tells me that life is a coincidence that happens in very mysterious ways. That’s basically how my story entered into the literary festival and the ensuing competition. I stumbled upon it and then tried my luck, and it went very well.” The first runner up of the competition was Paramie Jayakody and the second runner up Eshara Vimarshani Randeniya.
For youth to grow as authors
All the shortlisted writers were given the opportunity to gain insights from leading authors in the country. This mentorship aimed to help these youth to grow as authors. The event featured a panel of esteemed authors, including Gratiaen Prize award-winning author Ashok Ferrey, Lal Medawattegedara, Ciara Mandulee Mendis, and the Tea Grower with a passion for writing, Dilhan C. Fernando; all of whom provided guidance and inspiration to the young writers in honing their talent.
Addressing the young writers, Ashok Ferrey stated, “All of us judges were hugely impressed by the high standard of writing evident in all of the entries. Hence I just want to say: If you were not on the shortlist or if you didn’t win, do not let this discourage you.” Sharing his thoughts, Lal Medawattegedara who is known as a creative writer in the Sinhala language as well as English added, “I am encountering writing that has never seen the light of day. I am seeing original creative output. As a result I am engaging raw emotions from so many different social backgrounds. Reading these unedited writing gave me a lot of pleasure as well as hope that Sri Lanka has no dearth in fresh young writing talent.”
Meanwhile, Ciarra Mandulee Mendis sharing her views at the award ceremony stated, “I think events like this are important because they give you recognition that helps you believe in your work. So, I hope that these writers who won today will be inspired by their achievements and keep on telling their stories to the world.”
Beautiful synergy between tea and storytelling
The ceremony highlighted the beautiful synergy between tea and storytelling, showing how tea can stimulate the mind and spark creativity in writing, while also deepening the pleasure of reading. Sharing his thoughts Dilmah Chairman/CEO Dilhan C. Fernando had this to say; “We live. We learn. How boring would it be if you only had your own perspective to guide you through life? That’s why we were so keen to partner in encouraging future writers. Sri Lankan writers are pregnant with possibility, with great stories from this beautiful island, and the perspectives they offer must be heard. If there’s something that we can do to support them, to strengthen them, to encourage them, that would be a blessing indeed.”
Dilmah Tea’s commitment to the Founder Merrill J. Fernando’s philosophy of “making business a matter of human service” is the driving force behind this program. By dedicating 15% of their proceedings to people and nature, Dilmah aims to change lives through kindness. The Future Writers Program aligns and blends with this mission and extends their youth-focused initiatives. The collaboration with the Ceylon Literary and Art Festival also included activities such as podcasts featuring Dilhan C. Fernando, Louis de Bernières, and William Dalrymple, further enriching the participants’ experiences.
Beacon for young aspiring individuals
Adding more significance to the festivities, the ceremony was held at The Dilmah Genesis Centre, a venue that holds significant historical value as the birthplace of Dilmah. It has now been transformed into a centre for sustainable futures, supporting agri-entrepreneurs and the developing/enriching of innovation triggered ideation encompassing arts, tradition and both ancient and modern science and is now a beacon for young aspiring individuals with unstoppable dreams.
The launch of the Genesis Center around two years ago opened up to Sri Lanka and the world the legacy of Merrill Fernando’s perseverance and beating of all odds at a once humble premises in the early 1980s. It is from this Maligawatte location that he focused on creating a business of authentic representation of Lankan tea a reality; that enabled him to fulfil a lifelong wish to earn success to help others onto the same platform.
The Harmony page which has focused extensively on this icon of Lankan tea as well as nature protection and humanity upliftment, as a model for Sri Lanka and its people will hope to honour his memory by featuring the champions of the latest endeavour of the Genesis Centre. Thereby, keeping in line with the Harmony page’s objective of supporting arts and artistes of Sri Lanka and ideating for the development of a national policy for mainstreaming arts in all its forms into the national economic framework, we plan to interview the winner and the first two runners up. The focus of these interviews will be to look at what young persons expect as support in their literary journey from their country.
