A Doctor's Heart Sutra

Here I post my recent interview with the Asian Review Magazine  Writing and reading possess the power of healing. When writing comes out of a healer? It can be both for self-healing and healing others. The Asian Review presents today a medical doctor who embarked on a writing journey for both self-healing and healing others. Dr. Bodhini Samarathunga is a Sri Lankan writer who works across several genres. She writes in both Sinhala and English, and has been translated into third languages. She is currently based in Sweden. “Writers are not born or made; they erupt accidentally like volcanos.” How did your writing life begin?  I was drawn to books from a young age and have been eager to write since school. During my medical student years, I started expressing my creativity through poems and short stories in web forums and personal blogs with the encouragement and guidance received from friends. The curiosity ignited by reading evolved into a fiery passion to create my own tales....

We all gasped and held our breath,praying and pleading, calling those we knew, with pounding hearts while watching the live streams of mobs attacking the peaceful protesters in Galle face Sri Lanka yesterday the 9th of May 2022.  When the mobs who came to support the Prime minister yelling out slogans asking him to stay in power, started attacking the peaceful protesters, the workers from workplaces around the area came to the Galle face grounds to protect their fellow protesters. It was breathtaking to see how health workers ran towards the protesting grounds from the National hospital Sri Lanka, which was a few kilometers away. The health workers dressed in scrubs, whites, manual workers in their jumpsuits, and office workers, lawyers in their attire filled the space and chased the mobs away. Sri Lanka has always been a nation with gratitude and hospitality. When the war ended, they treated the leading politicians with so much gratitude that some even worshiped them. ...

Daily news article by Prof. Sunanda Mahendra In a war-torn society, nothing looks bright. Humans are driven to poverty and grave need, inclusive of medical care. But with changes in a post war situation, certain social factors are lightened up. Medical care too is registered to reach a certain degree of restoration. With a strange vein of luck, I came across a collection of human notes. It is a collection recorded by a young medical doctor sent to serve in a government hospital in north. As was recorded in her blog, these notes are denoted by a broad titled ‘The Other One’ or the ‘The Other End’, and titled in English as ‘a doctor’s heart sutra’. The notes from the blog have come down now as a book packed with human interest stories, written by Dr Bodhini Samaratunga (Thatcher Publishers 2014). In the first episode you come across how this doctor is posted to a particular hospital without Tamil language skills. But as the events unveil, the reader feels that the narrator has the inner ...

Back in the post war era, when i wrote the blog anithkona, in my native language (Sinhala) anonymously , beneath the wanni sky, I never imagined that I would sit leisurely and discuss what we went through with an audience in south.  Mine and Vetrichelvi's, (a writer from mannar), pathways crossed once during the post war era when there were no two sides but a bunch of internally and externally displaced people...lost in their own world of chaos, trying to find their destiny !  This discussion panel took place at the AK lit festival on oct 20th 2019, vetri, myself along with Prashani (the author of asiri's quest which unweils her magical writing wrapping up mythical creatures of our traditions and culture.) And Smriti moderating the panel.

October 15th brings back many memories from the past.  I remember a mom from wanni the north of Sri Lanka who was super excited to have her caesarian section on a 15 th.  When I asked her why she requested it to fall on 15th I heard the weirdest reason I've ever heard. "Doctor, we believe in birth number luck...6 is a good number for a girl, she will be pretty, fair and have a nice comfortable family life too, you see, When you add 1 and 5 it's number 6" she said. " Aha... I'm 2 and 4, so I'm a number 6 too." I said.  "Your face says it all doctor."  I burst into a laugh in my mind of course, while examining her, for this was something ridiculous to hear.  "Will you do my c section...the child will be fairer then"  "Oh it doesn't work like that Amma, fairness isn't contagious. Let's wish for good health, bravery and strength. I hope your daughter will grow up to become an independent, strong woman, and most of al...

When ever I'm free from routine mundane workload, I used to sit, draw or create designs and patterns. Drawing has been my hobby since childhood . No one beleives me when I say that I have never studied art as a subject during school years. I chose to study kandyan dancing (traditional dancing of hill country of sri lanka) And kandyan drumming instead. I continued drawing what ever came to my mind, even though I had no aim or potential to excel in arts. When I was 18 years old, my neighbour, a relative, who is also a teacher introduced me to his mother who was going to the national art gallery on week ends to draw.  Back then i was a teenager who was highly enthusiastic to draw what ever came to my mind. I preferred black and white painted art and one of the senior artists at the ar gallery who was a  tutor as well told me that i should keep up with this unique style of mine, which was more into modern art. I did not understood anything back then as i ha...

She is my kind of superhero! It was somewhere in 2001 when I first met her for real. But before that, I only saw and knew her from her books. She was one of the prominent writers who filled the children's world when there were no television or digital facilities.  Her stories took me on splendid journeys since I was a child, and I am sure she is one of those key creators who planted the creative seed in me. Even though I used to draw, I never studied art as a subject. However, I used to draw on paper and even on the walls of my house. Anurudh Ekanayake, a relative having seen my paintings, urged me to go to a national art gallery with his mom, a painter there. Since then, I have gone to the national art gallery every Saturday to learn to draw.   Even though I was physically there among the other artists who drew various kinds of historical art, my mind always wandered to the kids’ section where all the kids flock around this tiny lady, Sybil Wettasingha, who would narr...

My 2 cents on Thanamalvila Kollek - තණමල්විල කොල්ලෙක් From Thanamalwila to Europe Having heard about this momentous heart stopper drama from many friends, I started watching the missed episodes from youtube and soon became a fan of it. The story line a friend summed up in a few words made me wonder how it can be of any interest as it was about a timid guy from a village called Thanamalwila who ends up in europe. I, myself who had studied and worked in Europe for a considerable time, have met several youth from rural villages of south and north. They all carried a story of their struggles on the path to find comfort in a European country. That struggle was never easy. The word "thanamalvila" at once, brings up its popularity for a plant which everyone knew about but never spoke out in the open. "Thanamalwila kollek" which "happened" for real on television, have made a huge impact on this and silently created a mark for the society to remember th...

An answer to those who want to shed darkness over a healing nation.  a note to say NO to racial divisions !  In July 2018 I saw a poster on face book which said “Dear friends, we are deeply sorry!” I saw many of my friends posting or sharing their view on this poster. An elderly who didn’t agree to this statement on 83 riots, said “ it is easier for your generation to say so because you did not bare scars or memories of it”. He argues, that it is hard to let go of those painful memories. What I have learnt during my years of service in post war areas in north, is that, even though apologizing and forgiving does not erase the pains or thoughts, it will surely decrease the intensity of hurt and the mind would find it easy to reconcile with present. and it will definitely dissolve the silence.  T his is not about the past but the present and the future of a nation which was shattered time to time with ethnic, religious hatred towards one another.  ...

By Shenal Rajakarunanayake She knits unheard stories through the threads of heart-felt words. Her writing conciliates the readers with indispensable love for humanity and emancipates the perennial barriers which are barricading the truth. Her stories are heart wrenching and often make you dewy eyed, yet it never stops your urge to read through. She weaves the reality of the society through her stories with a unique touch of compassion bringing the readers to an astonishment. She cures the scars of 30 years of civil war through her gifted healing therapy while mixing her heart sutra with others. Basically it isn't merely a book which stimulates your mind, yet a road map which drives you all around to see the unseen and address the unaddressed. Truly, "Anith Kona" (The Other End) is a story which unfolds how strangers became family in an unknown environment, undoubtedly everybody must read. Q: Let's begin with "Anith Kona" (The Other End): What made you to w...

UNFDA, launches their web based media plattform ivoice.lk and I was honored to be apart of it as to give my opinion on social media, youth and its use I feel that anyone with the necessary tools can reach out to the community through social media and we have been seeing that it can improve the socio-economic well being of a community. Having said that I feel reluctant to say that its an all good deal, but I guess it all depends on the user it self. If we look at its ability to reach and connect, social media tops the list  it serves as an emergency response tool to form a sort of a highly resourceful communication network during devastating times to mobilize youth and resources. We have seen this during floods, landslides and many incidents and catastrophes that youth with their informative response through social media has formed various kinds of volunteer services and this has helped the community while taking the social services to a greater level  As...