Nominated by:

Colombo Public Library, Sri Lanka

Publisher of nominated edition:

Samaranayake Publishers, Sri Lanka


Dilshan Boange      

2015 Longlist

The past can hold unsolved mysteries that can become lost to the human imagination.

What made the four tribes of the Siu Hela begin warring with each other?

What was the reason for the moguls to overrun “the eternal shrine” of Somnath?

What did Prince Rama want Sita Devi to acquire from his nemesis the demon King Ravana?

What was the means the ottomans used to turn Christian male children into fearsome janissaries?

Jaliya is a soloing backpacker from Sri Lanka. Rachana is soon to marry a parentally arranged suitor and migrate to Germany. On a nightlong journey, Jaliya and Rachana develop a bond neither can fully comprehend, knowing well they are meant to part ways as their journey ends upon reaching their destination.

But as the bus enters a stretch of outland, that runs interminably long, they get wrapped in the blackness of a night that leaves them to relate to the other going on the sound of the voice, the feel of the tone and the breaths and sighs that slip between them. Through their conversations and storytelling they begin to explore their own interiority and what they feel about their respective lives, and what awaits them as morning comes.

(from publisher)

About the Author

Dilshan Boange has authored three previous books: Consciousness: the Writer’s Primary pen, Textual Tapestry and Hola El Che!. His academic credentials include a BA in English from the University of Colombo and a Higher Diploma in International Relations from the Dandaranaike Centre for International Studies. He has worked as a television broadcaster, and is currently reading Law at the Sri Lanka Law College. Omunkashyu  is his first published novel.

Librarian’s Comments

This novel explores new frontiers in the sphere of storytelling and has a philosophical basis combined with postmodern literary theory. The concepts of individual identy and sensory perception, mythology, history and the “past” in the context of storytelling are dealt with in a unique way. It has a marked difference and notable literary merit as a postmodern novel from Sri Lanka.

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