Sri Lanka is about to step into the spotlight on one of the region’s most respected television platforms with the premiere of Jayaflava: Celebrating Sri Lanka, a six-part travel and food series hosted by Tasha Marikkar and airing on National Geographic South Asia.
Premiering on February 20 at 8 PM (Prime Time), with a prime-time repeat every Sunday at 1PM, the series will broadcast across India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Nepal and the Maldives, placing Sri Lanka’s story directly in front of one of the most valuable travel audiences in the region. At its heart, Jayaflava is not simply a food show. It is a cinematic, funny, and deeply modern love letter to Sri Lanka, told through the flavours that define the island, the landscapes that shape its communities, and the people who keep its culture alive.
Inspired by Tasha Marikkar’s Harper Collins-published cookbook Jayaflava, the series takes a signature approach: each episode begins with one iconic dish, then follows it outward into a city, a coastline, a village, a kitchen, a conversation, a story.
Tasha, a Sri Lankan author and food storyteller who lives between London and Colombo, brings a voice that is both intimate and global, deeply rooted in the island, yet perfectly fluent in how to translate it for international audiences. The series is directed by Afdhel Aziz, who comes into Jayaflava following his hugely successful documentary Genius of the Place, which explored the legacy of Sri Lanka’s greatest architect, Geoffrey Bawa.
Across six half hour episodes, the series travels from Colombo to Jaffna, Hiriketiya to Puttalam, Bentota to Galle, and along the South Coast, presenting Sri Lanka not as a single postcard, but as a living, layered place. Mastercard joins as Main Sponsor, supporting the project as part of its commitment to initiatives that strengthen Sri Lanka’s tourism economy and increase international awareness. Flying Ravana Adventure Park comes on board as Sponsor, bringing a fresh and exciting dimension to the series by spotlighting Sri Lanka’s growing adventure tourism sector — reinforcing that the island is not only beautiful, but thrilling, dynamic, and evolving. The series is further supported by advertisers including Noritake, SriLankan Airlines, and the Sri Lanka Tourism Promotion Bureau (SLTPB).
Jayaflava: Celebrating Sri Lanka premieres on National Geographic South Asia on February 20 at 8 PM, with repeats on Sunday at 1PM.
Source: Daily News