Sri Lanka’s better halves!
by Nilma Dole
  It was just another breezy Galle
Literary Festival session when I happened to meet the effervescent Daisy
Perry. Dabbling in some journo pow-wow with me, she then proceeded to
uncover a gem of a guidebook she wrote with Juliet Coombe about Sri
Lanka’s Northern, Eastern and Central provinces.
Aptly titled ‘Sri Lanka’s Other Half’, even I was surprised to know
about our crazy superstitions and secret hideouts neatly packed into
nearly 300 pages of witty and completely idiosyncratic bliss.
An experienced writer and photographer, Juliet says that “More than
Sri Lanka’s diversity, it is your complexity that is the real
attraction.”
A Lonely Planet photographer and co-founder of La Belle Aurore travel
media in 1989; Juliet has published four travel compendiums. She
launched the Get Lost! travel magazine in April 2004 and chairs industry
talks in Australia and the UK, including the Telegraph Adventure Travel
Show. Quite an armful considering the fact she has mothered two cute and
naughty children who literally have ants in their pants!
Writer Daisy Perry, on the other hand, is deliciously single and has
co-authored ‘Around the Fort in 80 lives’ with Juliet. She loves her
Galle Fort life and came back to stay after doing her English Literature
degree at UCL (University College London). She says, “Travel is about
all generations and it caters to everyone.” So it’s no surprise that
Daisy’s best friends are senior citizens who send her letters all the
time.
Born in England, having lived in Australia and now married to a Sri
Lankan, Juliet said that it was in her stars to come to Serendip. “When
I was young, I used to read all the books in the library voraciously
that my father asked my mother what would happen if I ran out of books
to read. She replied that I would write my own,” smiles Juliet who
travelled with her two-year-old son Samad and younger baby Amzar during
the making of the book.
 “In fact, we got to know more about the superstitious side to Sri
Lanka by talking to the nannies and women who kept asking to take care
of the baby so it was an eye-opener” said Juliet. Together, they
ventured to ancient cities like Nalanda, Sigiriya, Polonnaruwa,
Anuradhapura and then to Jaffna and Kalpitiya. On the Eastern front,
Pigeon Island, Batticaloa and Trincomalee make appearances.
“We took a look at the human-interest angle to write essays about
what the locals would do,” said Daisy. No doubt the guidebook offers
much more where you get a 360 degree angle of our lesser known Sri
Lankan counterparts. “We were happy to say that we got full cooperation
from the armed forces in our mobility around Jaffna just as it was
opened up after the dawn of peace” said Juliet.
More than writing and publishing themselves, Juliet and Daisy are
keen to publish Sri Lankan authors to an international audience. In
fact, they are even looking into publishing some Gratiaen prize entrants
too and are happy to help those with ideas to tackle writing.
The
dynamic duo will see themselves on their next book called ‘Generation
Tea’ where they will venture into the hidden depths of our nation to
uncover the secret of our staple beverage. Daisy is also cooking up
another delight in the form of a homemade rice and curry recipe book and
a street food guide.
Daisy Perry and Juliet Coombe are fitting examples of how foreigners
can be enthralled by Sri Lanka and how, without warning, they can add to
better our diversity and complexity!
Please check them out on www.sriserendipity.com. You can even get
‘Sri Lanka’s Other Half’ signed by them at ODEL (Alexandra Place) on 15
May from 10am to 7pm.
Location: Nuga Gama,
Cinnamon Grand
Clothes courtesy
Prasanna Batiks |
