Whale you be my Valentine?
Celebrity Whale-watching at the GLF!:
by Nilma Dole
Rummaging through an ordinary
day scampering for stories, I was pleasantly surprised when I got an
unexpected call. Just when I thought I couldn’t even think of making it
to the Galle Literary Festival (GLF) this year, here I was given an
opportunity by Jetwing to rub shoulders with literary celebrities on the
official GLF whale-watching excursion!
 |
|
Sandhya Rao |
Setting off from the Jetwing Lighthouse hotel with yummy goodies, we
set off in the wee hours of Monday morning to get to Mirissa Harbour
where our whale-watching boat was docked.
Ian Rankin, his wife Marther and Indian writer Sandhya Rao stepped
aboard. The smiling faces also included Gill Westaway, some popular
foreign journalists from renowned British publications and yours truly!
Georgina, one of the photo-journalists attracted my attention with her
pink toe nails and Shehani from the Guardian started filming everything
and everyone in sight.
The first sea sightings were in the form of about 20 dolphins in two
shoals that swam quite close to the boat. Seeing plenty of dolphins
curving and gliding, we were treated to a young dolphin that showed off
its artistic moves.
The celebrity whale-watch was an artful excursion where not only we
found fun off the boat but onboard too! We saw three blue whales and the
memorable sighting was the whale that came close to us, giving us a
delightful performance by showing its long body and tail while diving
perfectly into the deep blue Indian Ocean. While gripping onto a peeling
black-painted pole in order to keep my balance, I dabbled in some pow-wow
with the great Ian Rankin himself.
 |
|
Ian Rankin |
Trying to hear him through the splashing waves, he did tell me that
it was good to be in Sri Lanka. Talking about his writing style, Rankin,
who has had six consecutive best sellers in the world of crime
fiction, said that his style was something he developed from the
beginning. Even though his book ‘Knots and Crosses’ had been rejected 6
times, he never gave up.
I asked him about the content and he said that it came with years of
researching since crime fiction isn’t written very much in his hometown,
Edinburgh. Relating a funny story about how he researches his books, he
said that on one occasion, he dressed up as a tramp and related how the
real Scottish police told him, “Let’s pretend you’re a suspect and bring
you over to the station for questioning.” And Rankin said, “Now I advise
people to be careful when researching because some of the things
you write actually come true.”
Sandya Rao, who seemed fascinated by Sri Lanka said she felt at home
the moment she stepped from the plane. “I feel absolutely thrilled about
visiting Sri Lanka for the first time and the whale-watching was the
highlight of my trip,” she said. Unfortunately, Rankin was a tad bit
seasick and we gave him oranges to sniff on.
 |
|
Artemis Cooper and Anthony Beevor |
Meanwhile, a vivacious Sri Lankan expatriate Anne was playing Rose in
Titanic by dangling her legs on the bow of the boat. So the next time
you want to tempt your lover in a romantic getaway, forget the roses
(that would make her sneeze) and chocolates (that would make her fat)
and go on a Valentine whale-watching weekend! The GLF celebrities did it
so why not you?
Sunday Observer with Jetwing will give two lucky couples a
Valentine’s dinner date at Jetwing Blue Oceanic and Jetwing Seashells
and two lucky couples an overnight stay at Jetwing Lighthouse and
Jetwing Beach. |
