“From a place where creative expression is fenced with barbed wires, and pen is kept at gunpoint, I write for the freedom of my people,” shared Asha Ralapanawe, speaking to The Asian Review. She is, in fact, a much-reputed literary figure in the country and has written and published four novels and a short story, among which her first novel, Salapathana Mandiya, won the Kavitha Prize organised by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2012. This article is based on her recent conversation with The Asian Review.

Dawning as a writer

When Asha was a young girl in grade four in school, no one must have expected her to become a beacon of Sinhala literature in Sri Lanka. Though some might have seen a budding poetess, at least they should have expected a novelist to be born from within her.

“If I trace back a few decades, my first step into the world of literature is marked during my time in grade four. Then, a poem penned by myself was published in a local newspaper. With that start, I was in the poetry business, and the school community started to recognise me as a poetess,” Asha shared. “I also participated in those literary competitions, but only as a poetess. Even after coming to the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, it was not much about fiction but poetry. Nevertheless, I wrote short stories for papers, and many of them were published.”

It is with the Kavitha Prize, a literary competition organised by the Ministry of Higher Education in 2012, that Asha, known to be a poetess and a short story writer, proves herself to be a novelist as well. “I was fortunate enough to win the Prize for my debut novel, Salapathana Mandiya. It was rather an experiment that I did as a second-year-undergraduate of Sinhala honours degree with a broadened sense of knowledge and skills in writing literature. To speak the truth, the Kavitha Prize was such a huge encouragement for me to continue my journey in the world of literature. Salapathana Mandiya has been printed several times since then, and it is still dearly embraced by the country’s like-hearted readers of Sinhala literature. They would share something about it even now whenever they meet me,” she stated. “That, according to what I believe, is the utmost pleasure a writer could receive in life.” 

Following her debut novel, Asha published her second novel, which brought a fresh narrative of the lives of the folks in the Nuwara Kalaviya region in 2016. Continuing in the following year, 2017, she presented her readers with a new experience with her first collection of short stories, which gathered immense love from the readers. It was in 2018 that her young-adult fiction, Cheka, was published. It was also nominated for the Godage Award for literature. In 2020, Asha’s second most popular fiction, Hate Veediya (Lane 60), was published. As she noted, another anthology of short fiction and two children’s books are to be published this year. Also, some of her works have been translated into other languages as well by different authors.

Writers are readers, inspirations from the fraternity…

“I think my obsession with reading made me a writer. Since I can remember, I have been reading books regardless of the genre. As a young kid, I was more into short stories and hence lived in the worlds fabricated by writers like Alexander Pushkin, Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov and Maxim Gorky. Growing into a young girl, my interest took a shift to novels. My favourites were Chinua Achebe, Ernest Hemmingway, Jack London, Isabel Allende, Paul Coelho and J.M. Coetzee. When it comes to Sri Lankan literature, Saiman Nawagaththegama, Sunethra Rajakarunanayake, Langani Fernando and Manjula Wediwardhene are the writers of my most loved novels and short stories,” revealed Asha. “I am composed of bits and pieces gathered from all their works.”

Writing for social change…

It is, indeed, visible throughout history that artists and writers have been major driving forces of society, especially during the situations of crises. In such situations, their role is vital and sometimes larger than life. Asha, too, upholds a similar idea to it, as she shared with Ceylon Today. “I belong to a society, and it is for that. Whenever a crisis emerges, let it be in relation to any aspect. There are deeply rooted problems that we see in society. As a writer, I believe it is my responsibility to write about them and make a discourse in society so people would at least try to find resolutions. Nevertheless, are we strong enough to initiate that discourse in socio-political contexts that we – rather than our previous generations – have created around us? If not, we should gain strength and write genuinely and consciously. Therefore, I am dedicated to writing what I feel genuinely, and I write hoping for a better tomorrow. In that case, one should be responsible for every word one writes, and of course I am.”

Writing in a country where creative expression is fenced…

Taking on Asha as a literary persona and a woman further shared her view of the present context of Sri Lanka. “We have the doubt if we have the liberty to engage in arts and literature anymore in this country. These are trying times for everyone. Nonetheless, let’s continue our work in arts and literature and fulfil our social obligation. This is a period where we should write for society,” she said.

“Even in a largely normal situation, we are bombarded with different and various issues when living in a society whilst we produce creative works. Especially as a female writer in a patriarchal society, I myself have come across numerous challenges which are rather gender specific. It is in the Asian context that we observe this issue intensely,” claimed Asha. “On the contrary, if you look into the Western context, the female writers enjoy a vast sense of freedom there. There is a highly liberal socio-cultural landscape developed around them. It empowers the writers to dwell deeper in their works. Synonymously, the readership is attitudinally very advanced enough to enjoy their literature without jumping into judgments about the writer’s personal life based on the work. Some writers have the audacity to present various social evils and issues as they are. I think those realistic portrayals of real-life society are powerful since they bring forth the taboos or controversies that mainstream society tries to curtain in fear or so-called ethical concerns. Those writings are highly influential on social progress. Yet, what would be the readers’ reaction if a Sri Lankan female author did so? It would arouse such scathing criticism. It is even worse when the author is a female. That attitudinal barrier is largely available in our country; hence, I have gotten into difficult situations. Notwithstanding, I still continue to write freely.”

Hoping a promising future 

Talking of the future of Sri Lankan literature, Asha shared that many young and experienced writers are making their full contribution to the field. “Especially, there are budding writers and poets. In their creative works, I see a huge potential and novelty. I believe if they channelled their energies in the right direction, they would become great writers in future. Therefore, I feel that the future of Sri Lankan literature is promising.”

Changing grounds, emerging competition…

It is an often-raised concern whether the highly competitive market is healthy for the literary industry: “The popularity of a work – whether it’s a novel, a painting or a film – is created within the society where it is brought forth to. True, we hear people often complain that some great works go unseen while works with less literary merit are being highly recognised in this wave of popularity,” she said. “What we should really look into is who creates these values; in fact, isn’t it the very society that determines the value of each of those? Therefore, I think the readers should determine the quality, meaningfulness and value of a literary piece. They should be rational enough to choose what they want to read without the intervention of a third party.

“However, we cannot forget the role of literary critics as well in this. They can make it easier for the readership to choose a better-suiting book with their criticisms. Unfortunately, though, we see that even critics are not performing their duty properly now. Many get caught up in agendas to promote some books accounting to their personal flavours and cults. Only a few critics who write genuinely with the intention of making a meaningful impact are there now. It is quite disheartening,” she furthered.

“No matter how many flowers bloom, it is meaningless if people cannot smell the scent. No matter how loud you would tell them that the flowers have bloomed, they will not care. Nevertheless, those who know the art of enjoying the scent would know it even without anyone telling them.”