A literary convention was organised by Kathak at World Literature Center to introduce Sri Lanka's foremost novelist Ashok Ferrey. The event was held on Sunday, November 19, 2017, at 6pm.
In the occasion, Bangladeshi eminent poets Mohammad Nurul Huda, Hayat Saif, Habibullah Sirajee, Jahidul Huq and Aminur Rahman recited some poems. The programme was moderated by poet Aminur Rahman who is considered to be the most well known poet in abroad from Bangladesh at present.
Mantaqa Mahir and Rejuana read some of the Ashok Ferrey's prose and quotes. They also read out some of the reader's review to make the event more interesting.
Poet Nurul Huda started his reciting with an English poem named Borders. He also talked briefly about Ashok Ferrey and his works. Then poet Habullah Sirajee, an eminent poet of 60s, read out poems -- Equation, Mohashunno, Ekjon Habibullah Sirajee etc. After the beautiful recitation of his poems, comes Jahidul Huq to read out his mesmerizing love poems. Hayat Saif started his speech with a brief talk about Ashok Ferrey and then recited a poem called Babar Moto. He ended his recitation praising Ferrey again.
"There is nothing arcane or mysterious to being a writer", says Ashok Ferrey. He sounded interesting and mysterious when he started reading the first line of his new book, "I was born ugly. That's what my mother always said." The book entitled The Ceaseless Chatters of the Demons. He read out the opening pages of the book. The audience was amused by his storytelling.
Ashok Ferrey is a writer and illustrator. Two of his books, Colpetty People and The Good Little Ceylonese Girl were shortlisted for the Gratiaen Prize, Sri Lanka's premier literary award. Colpetty People is currently the biggest selling book of adult English fiction ever published in Sri Lanka by a local author. His third book, Serendipity, was shortlisted for the State Literary Prize. Ashok is a guest lecturer at the Sri Lanka Institute of Architecture and the host of his own TV show, The Ashok Ferrey Show, an arts programme on national television. In his spare time, he is a personal trainer to the rich and infamous.
"When a man marries, he should take a good look at his mother-in-law first, to understand where life will take him," Ashok Ferrey, The Good Little Ceylonese Girl. His books and quotes show his proficient writing, his own experience of living abroad and his knowledge of the idiosyncrasies of his country, and a heady cocktail of humour, mystery and drama.
He mentions that Sri Lanka is a country full of superstition. He says, "Sri Lanka is full of good and evil. My new novel is all about witchcraft, and the good and evils. It is never our fault if anything goes wrong. It is always fault of the stars everything depends on other forces. That's how Sri Lanka works. So my book has these kinds of superstitious elements."
He read some of his distinguish writings and talks more about interesting sides of Sri Lanka. It shows the audience that Ferrey's penchant for humour and his literary mastery enable him to churn out delightful stories.
The Programme ended with the concluding speech of poet Aminur Rahman followed by his recitation of his poems from his poetry book Perpetual Diary.
