Sri Lankan Author Pramudith D. Rupasinghe has been awarded the prestigious “Golden Aster Book” World Literary Award 2020 for “BAYAN”, his mellow work of historical fiction set in Ukraine following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Bayan follows the life of a delightfully bizarre and sagely protagonist named Ivan Nikolayevich into his old age, through memories, emotions, and self-discovery. The word Bayan actually refers to an Ukranian wind instrument like an accordion that demands considerable strength and dexterity to manage and complements the strength, resilience and joie de vivre of its owner.  This writing is deep and meaningful, and its philosophy takes time to sink in well.

The “Golden Aster Book” world literary prize by Aster Academy International was instituted to highlight both famous and emerging writers and poets from all over the world. Awardees are selected from French, Spanish, Italian, Portuguese and English language writers. Other acclaimed writers in this year’s shortlist include French writer Colette Mourey, Italian writers Mario Filocca, Gina Scanzani, and Salvatore Maiorana and Spanish writer Claudia Gioron Bermudez.  

Pramudith has combined experiences from a career as a humanitarian diplomat working in many parts of the world, with his passion for the art of storytelling to bring a number of his works to the reader,  including Footprints in Obscurity, Behind the Eclipse and Bayan.

Pramudith’s latest work in the pipeline The Girl Who Snatched the Moon, is a story of the tireless endeavour in reclaiming the life of a young girl fallen to the hands of human traffickers and sold to the world’s largest brothel village Kandapara in Bangladesh. Pramudith continues with his writing, exploring without borders, diverse stories on human resilience giving voice to the voiceless, and making Sri Lanka and all Sri Lankans proud of his contribution to humanity through this powerful and meaningful narrative. 

Bayan has been translated into Polish, French, German, Sinhala, and Burmese. The Russian, Ukrainian and Hindi translations are to be released soon. Bayan has also been reviewed by more than a hundred sites and magazines across the world. The Sinhala translation of Bayan ‘Sisira Geethaya’ (translated by Rohana Kaluarachchi) is available with book retailers across the island.