LOVE AND WOMEN

Nanda Pethiyagoda's latest literary offering

- BY TINA EDWARD GUNAWARDHANA

Respected journalist and writer Nanda Pethiyagoda turns her empathetic gaze to the hidden heartbreaks of Sri Lankan women in her latest tome Love and Women.

Published by PH publishing house, this book narrated true stories of romantic disillusionment and quiet resilience. Spending a lifetime of observing relationships-beginning with her own sisters' romances and inspired by conversations with friends Pethiyagoda explores the emotional experiences of women whose dreams of love did not materialize. However driven by duty, maternal love, and inner strength these women endured. Pethiyagoda gives voice to lives lived behind façades, affirming the quiet heroism of women who choose to hold families together, often at great personal cost.

WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO FOCUS ON STORIES OF WOMEN WHOSE EXPECTATIONS OF LOVE DID NOT MATERIALISE? WAS THERE A PARTICULAR EXPERIENCE OR OBSERVATION THAT SPARKED THIS COLLECTION?

The emotion of love has been of great interest to me from almost my childhood - then filial and love among friends. Growing up with three older sisters, romance was much in the air at home. In my late teens, love between girls and boys, men and women grabbed my attention. My friends were having romances with boys. We grew up in a conservative milieu and thus the forbidden (love between sexes) was extra attractive. Additionally, I found English literature focused so much on sensual love.

The particular observation that sparked this collection was the many women I knew who were in disappointing, often traumatic marriages. They kept going for the sake of their children and societal norms. Marriages must hold, even behind false facades.

YOU'VE HAD A LONG CAREER AS A JOURNALIST AND INFORMATION SCIENTIST. HOW DID THESE EXPERIENCES SHAPE YOUR APPROACH TO GATHERING AND TELLING THESE DEEPLY PERSONAL STORIES?