• Viduni Basnayake on her record of the North through place, people, and ordinary moments

Trained as a medical doctor and shaped by nearly a decade in northern Sri Lanka, Viduni Basnayake has spent years observing Jaffna beyond the familiar frames of conflict and recovery. 

Her debut book, Uthuru Kone Arumesiya, brings together close, attentive writing on place, memory, and everyday life in the North, drawn from her experiences as a medical student and later a doctor at the University of Jaffna and Jaffna Teaching Hospital.

In a conversation with The Daily Morning Brunch, she spoke about how Jaffna entered her life, how medicine shaped her way of seeing, and why ordinary moments mattered enough to become a book.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

You are a medical doctor by profession, yet your writing has focused deeply on place, memory, and people. How did your journey as a writer begin, and at what point did Jaffna become central to that journey?

I was born and raised in Kandy, where I completed my schooling and sat for the GCE Advanced Level examinations. My journey to medical school was not a straightforward one. In my first attempt in 2015, I obtained a Z-score that placed me close to a district rank of 10,000 from Kandy. Even entering the science stream felt like a miracle, but my ambition was firmly set on medicine. My second attempt resulted in BBC grades, which still fell short of the requirement. Becoming a doctor seemed increasingly distant, but I persisted. On my third attempt, I finally achieved eligibility for medical faculty admission. That perseverance shaped me long before my writing ever did.

Entering the medical faculty meant leaving home for the first time. I was assigned to the University of Jaffna nearly 400 kilometres away from Kandy. I lived at the Kondavil Hostel during my first year. Our daily journey from the hostel to the faculty passed a small ‘helabojun’, a modest food stall affectionately known as ‘Ammachchi’. There, we could experience authentic Jaffna food that was both healthy and affordable. In hindsight, that everyday stop was where my curiosity truly began. I started observing people, places, food, and rituals more attentively, trying to understand the world around me rather than merely adjusting to it.

After completing our first professional examination, we moved to a hostel in Jaffna town. With this move, my exposure to the city expanded significantly. The Jaffna Public Library was only about ten minutes away, and I began spending many evenings and weekends there. The books I encountered many written during the British colonial period offered rich insights into Jaffna’s history, culture, landscape, and social memory. Reading them felt like opening doors to layered narratives that extended far beyond the medical curriculum.

Guided by those texts, I began exploring nearby landmarks such as the Jaffna Fort, standing majestically facing the Pannai Causeway. I became deeply attentive to everyday scenes like women with pottu and flower garlands in their hair, men in vetti with sacred ash on their foreheads and rudraksha beads around their necks. These observations led me to engage more deeply with Hindu culture and Tamil social life, not as an outsider, but as a learner.

Towards the end of my second year, I had the opportunity to stay with a Tamil family. The elder sister of that household whom I still consider an encyclopedia, an avid reader and a Sri Lankan Tamil writer, a journalist Sharmila Vinothini raised my enthusiasm about Jaffna through her stories and experiences. Through long conversations, she shared stories from literature and history, and introduced me to places and cultural practices through an almost anthropological lens. Listening to her interpretations and witnessing life through her perspective profoundly influenced me.

It was during this period that writing quietly entered my life not as a planned pursuit, but as a natural response to place, memory, and people. Jaffna did not merely become a setting; it became central to how I began to see, think, and write. My journey as a writer began there, alongside my journey as a medical student, each shaping the other in ways I continue to understand even today.

You studied at the University of Jaffna and now work at Jaffna Teaching Hospital. How has living and working in Jaffna over these years shaped the way you see the region beyond headlines and stereotypes?

I first came to Jaffna in December 2018 as a medical student, and I completed my MBBS in December 2024 at the University of Jaffna. Following this, I worked as a temporary demonstrator in the Department of Psychiatry at the same faculty, an opportunity that allowed me to grow professionally in a setting I had come to deeply respect and understand.

Each step after completing my MBBS was intentional. I was driven by a clear sense of purpose and a belief in my own potential, and I was fortunate to encounter mentors particularly my teachers who shaped my career through guidance, trust, and example. Equally influential were my patients, whose stories offered insights no textbook could provide. Throughout this journey, my parents’ unwavering trust in my work and the freedom they gave me to make my own choices became a quiet but powerful source of strength, enabling me to move forward with confidence and independence.

My work and travels took me well beyond the Jaffna peninsula to Mullaitivu, Mannar, Kilinochchi, and all seven inhabited islands of the Northern Province. Seeing how people live, the challenges they face, and the structural inequalities that persist especially in health and public services fundamentally changed my perspective. Over time, as my Tamil language skills improved, I was able to listen more deeply and engage more meaningfully with people as they shared their lived experiences, concerns, and hopes.

These experiences compelled me to write. Through articles in Sinhala and English newspapers, I highlighted disparities in service distribution and health outcomes compared to other parts of Sri Lanka, advocating for development that truly reaches the margins. More than anything, Jaffna taught me to listen to feel the human pulse behind statistics and narratives and that has shaped not only how I see the region, but how I approach medicine, psychiatry, and my role as a professional within society.

Uthuru Kone Arumesiya brings together your observations on Jaffna’s environment, history, lifestyle, and people. What made you decide that these scattered reflections needed to come together as a book?

Uthuru Kone Arumesiya grew out of my personal explorations and lived experiences in Jaffna over the past seven years. The book is essentially a chronicle of six formative years spent in the North as a medical student, written from the perspective of a medical student from southern Sri Lanka encountering Jaffna with curiosity, openness, and reflection.

Initially, these observations took the form of short written pieces shared on social media, often accompanied by photographs I captured during my visits. Each place I encountered prompted questions and deeper contemplation. The Jaffna Public Library became an especially important resource for me, reflecting my long-standing love for reading. I spent considerable time engaging with old texts written by British and Tamil authors, through which historical landmarks, social structures, and layered narratives of the region revealed themselves with remarkable depth and clarity.

Over time, I felt a growing need to bring these scattered reflections together in a more enduring form. I wanted to reach readers who may approach Jaffna with preconceived notions or distant perceptions. This land has been profoundly shaped by war, yet it continues to stand with resilience bearing scars, practicing tolerance, and holding onto renewed hope. I believed that this moment called for understanding and connection, and that a simple, reflective narrative could help bridge divides. Uthuru Kone Arumesiya is my attempt to contribute to that understanding by inviting readers to see Jaffna through lived experience rather than assumption.

All those are a collection of my explorations experiences and what I have seen during the last seven years at Jaffna. This is a chronicle of a six year-journey at Jaffna where a medical student from southern Sri Lanka wrote. Years back, I started writing these small paragraphs in social media with a few photos of mine captured in each visit. The places I visited made me think in a curious way and the public library at Jaffna was the resource for me. Because I love to read books. Also I spent my time wandering through the old books written by British and Tamil writers. So the landmarks during that time were easily noted in those with deep information. I felt the need of a book like this to reach people who have a separate mind set up regardless of Jaffna. This land was totally affected by war and now with the tolerance and scars standing with a refreshing hope. So this is the time to understand each of us through this kind of simple narrative.

As a doctor, you encounter people at their most vulnerable. Has your medical work influenced how you write about communities, loss, resilience, or everyday life in Jaffna?

Yes, very much so. My medical work in Jaffna has profoundly shaped the way I observe and write about communities, loss, resilience, and everyday life. As a Sri Lankan doctor, my nearly eight-year journey of studying, working, and living in Jaffna has placed me in close and continuous contact with a community different from my own, yet deeply connected through shared national histories.

Being a doctor is not only a profession for me; it is also a position of deep listening. On a daily basis, I encounter people at their most vulnerable, hearing their stories alongside their symptoms. Through clinical work and community visits, I have come to understand the pulse of the region, the unspoken histories behind places, the quiet endurance of individuals, and the layered realities that are not always visible on the surface.

Even after living in Jaffna for so many years, I remain conscious that fully grasping its complexities is an ongoing process. This awareness has encouraged humility in my writing, urging me to acknowledge realities as they are experienced by people themselves, rather than imposing conclusions. My medical training has therefore sharpened my sensitivity to human suffering and resilience, and this sensibility naturally extends into how I write about life in Jaffna.

Your book pays attention to ordinary moments rather than grand narratives. Why was it important for you to document these quieter aspects of life in the North?

I have always been drawn to the beauty embedded in ordinary moments and to the quiet significance of everyday life. Paying attention to these small details allows experiences to be conveyed in a more intimate and narrative way, enabling readers to feel as though they are present within a particular moment rather than merely observing it from a distance.

I believe that simplicity has a unique power. Ordinary moments are often more accessible and emotionally resonant than grand or complex narratives, allowing readers to absorb and reflect more deeply. By focusing on these quieter aspects of life in the North, I aim to capture lived reality as it unfolds naturally through routine interactions, subtle gestures, and unremarkable yet meaningful experiences. This commitment to simplicity defines my writing style and reflects my belief that profound truths often reside in the most understated moments.

Jaffna is often discussed through the lens of conflict or post-war recovery. From your perspective, what parts of its present-day reality are still misunderstood or overlooked?

Jaffna is often spoken about through the narrow frames of conflict or recovery, but these perspectives rarely capture the fullness of its present-day reality. From my own journey of studying, working, and living there, I have come to understand Jaffna as a place defined not only by its past, but by the everyday lives that continue with quiet determination.

What is frequently overlooked are the ordinary rhythms of life, learning, caregiving, friendships, humour, and hope that persist alongside memory and loss. These moments do not deny history; rather, they exist in conversation with it. The strength of Jaffna today lies in this balance: in how people carry their experiences with dignity while continuing to build meaningful, grounded lives.

I believe misunderstandings arise when we approach Jaffna with fixed expectations instead of openness. Its reality cannot be reduced to a single narrative. It is layered, evolving, and deeply human, shaped by individuals who are negotiating the present while remaining mindful of the past. To truly understand Jaffna, we must look beyond labels and listen closely to lived experiences as they unfold in everyday life.

Did writing Uthuru Kone Arumesiya change the way you personally relate to Jaffna, either as a place you live in or as a subject you write about?

Writing Uthuru Kone Arumesiya did not change my relationship with Jaffna as a subject, because I never approached it as one. Instead, the book emerged from a personal perspective, an exploration shaped by the experiences of a student who wandered through Jaffna with curiosity and attentiveness.

Through writing, Jaffna became less a place to be interpreted and more a space to be lived in, observed, and quietly understood. The process deepened my awareness of everyday moments, conversations, and landscapes, not as material to be analysed, but as experiences to be acknowledged. In that sense, the book reflects a relationship grounded in presence rather than distance, and in lived encounters rather than structured interpretation.

Uthuru Kone Arumesiya is therefore not an attempt to define Jaffna, but to record how it revealed itself over time through movement, observation, and personal reflection.

What kind of reader did you have in mind when you were writing this book, especially those who may have never visited Jaffna?

At the very beginning, I did not set out to write with a specific reader in mind. Writing began as a personal hobby, something that brought me genuine joy especially when my articles, accompanied by my own photographs, were published as full-page features in weekend newspapers. Those early moments of recognition affirmed the value of recording and sharing these experiences.

I am particularly grateful to Mr. Thushara Goonarathna and Mr. Kapila Punchimannage of Free Media Independent Networks (Pvt) Ltd., whose encouragement and support played an important role during this journey. Over time, it was the readers of my weekend newspaper articles who suggested that these individual pieces be brought together in the form of a book.

As a result, Uthuru Kone Arumesiya is written for readers who are curious, especially those who may have never visited Jaffna, as well as those who wish to explore its beauty, culture, and everyday life more deeply. I welcome all readers who approach the book with an open mind and a willingness to experience Jaffna through observation, reflection, and lived moments.

Looking ahead, do you see writing remaining a parallel journey alongside medicine, and are there more stories from the North that you feel compelled to tell?

Writing has always moved alongside medicine in my life, not as a separate pursuit but as a parallel journey. Both disciplines are rooted in listening, observation, and an engagement with human experience, and each continues to inform the other in meaningful ways.

There are still many stories from northern Sri Lanka that I feel compelled to tell. The region holds a wealth of lived experiences, quiet narratives, and everyday realities that deserve thoughtful attention. My next book will be a continuation of this journey, a collection of stories drawn from the North, shaped by the same curiosity, respect, and reflective approach that guided Uthuru Kone Arumesiya.