Smriti has made a career out of talking to strangers. In over a decade as a prolific freelance writer, she has followed her diverse interests across a number of subjects ranging from the arts, in particular literature, to science reportage and travel writing. Her longform pieces have explored the intersections of culture, politics, development and history. She has a Bachelor’s Degree in Mass Communication, English Literature and Psychology, a Master’s Degree in English Literature and a diploma in Peace and Development Reporting.
Her work has appeared in Al Jazeera, VICE, The Caravan, The Sunday Times, Scroll.in, SciDev.Net, The Hindu, The Hindu Business Line, National Geographic’s GeoTourism site, Open Magazine, Condé Nast Traveller, Mint, Times of India (Crest Edition), the Commonwealth Writers Foundation blog, Adda Magazine, Roads & Kingdoms and Gourmet Circle among other publications.
She has moderated sessions for the British Council, ColomboScope, the Galle Literary Festival and the Colombo Art Biennale, among many others. She made her film debut in Oscar-winning director Gerardine Wurzburg’s documentary Wretches and Jabberers, for which she interviewed two autistic men on a road trip around the world.
She was named Feature Writer of the Year by the Editors Guild of Sri Lanka in 2013 and in 2015, was chosen by Commonwealth Writers to represent South Asia as one of four Regional Correspondents from across the globe. She was a Falling Walls Science Journalism Fellow in 2016.