Mayura

Before becoming Selective Asia’s key Financial Support, and organiser extraordinaire, Mayura held a variety of senior positions in the retail industry, working with many of Britain’s top brands in the garment and fashion field. She loves to travel and has been all over her home country of Sri Lanka as well as visiting India, Dubai, Singapore and the UK, with each trip bringing a totally new experience.

In her words

I love being by the water and always head straight to any beach, lake or waterfall I see, making sure to get my feet wet. I’ve visited almost all of the rivers and waterfalls in Sri Lanka, which is quite a few, even though it is a fairly small island.

“Living on an island has its perks, since there are so many beaches, rivers and little forests with wildlife to see and explore.”

The rural countryside experience, and being able to taste so many different kinds of food in different areas across Sri Lanka, still amazes me. Even the traditions and the lingo really differ across the island.

Although the spices are the same, the methods of cookery and flavours in each area are so different. If you have a fish or crab curry down south, in Tangalle, it tastes so different to the crab or fish curry in Jaffna in the north of the country. Sri Lanka has a long history of different invaders, so there’s a diverse culture, and each part of the country has its own unique tastes.

“I’m a total foodie! I love to try out new and different kinds of food, whenever I can.”

My other hobbies are swimming , reading and art, particularly drawing and painting.

Q&A

Countries visited in Asia:

All over my homeland of Sri Lanka, including Galle, Tangalle, Unawatuna, Trincomalee, Hikkaduwa, Negombo, Nuwaraeliya, Jaffna, Udawalawe, Horton plains, Bandarawela, Matara and many more. I’ve visited most places in the country!

Singapore, Dubai, India (Madras, Tirupur and Delhi), UK (Leicester and London)

Favourite Asia-related book?

‘Gamperaliya’ (Uprooted) , by Martin Wickremasinghe. This fantastic read is mostly about Sri Lankan rural culture and traditions.

Favourite place in Asia?

I love going to the beach, especially a secluded beach in Dodanduwa (near Hikkaduwa) which is amazing. There is a beach hut set up by a friend, and staying there for a weekend is so much fun and carefree. I get to see all the fishing boats going out to sea late at night, and they get back at the break of dawn. It is such a sight! And the feeling is amazing.

I also love Singapore. The country is small, but there’s so much to see and do. Every time I go there, it seems to have changed and expanded – it’s an amazing country, with amazing cuisine too.

Favourite Asian food?

I love Sri Lankan rice and curry, especially chicken curry, eggplant chutney and dhal. Korean ramen and gimbap are both really tasty, and I also love noodles, chicken soup, sushi… I can’t choose!