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A ringside view of some decisive moments in Sri Lanka.
In 1959, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Solomon West Ridgeway
Dias Bandaranaike was gunned down by a Buddhist monk,
changing the course of politics in the country. E. C. T.
Candappa was a journalist covering Parliament at the
time. In this first-time fictionalisation of the event,
the author uses authentic information given by some of
the leading players of the time and exclusive interviews
with Bandaranaike's late widow, Sirimavo, as well as the
surgeon who operated on him. A sensitive, scholarly
attempt to unravel the historic causes of the ethnic
conflicts in Sri Lanka, the novel provides insights into
the peace initiatives now underway in the island state,
war-torn for more than two decades.
E. C. T. (Manny) Candappa was born in Colombo,Sri Lanka
in 1930. He joined mainstream journalism at the age of
twenty-one. In a career that spanned fifty years, he was
editor, sub-editor, Parliamentary Lobby Correspondent,
reporter as well as correspondent to several prestigious
publications oversea.
Regarded as one of the finest writers in Sri Lanka of
the time, Candappa is author of several books of poetry,
short stories and plays.
He migrated to Australia in 1987 and lives in Melbourne,
writes regularly, finds delights in sing-alongs with
friends and occasionally cooks wide-ranging cuisines. |
