“‘Catching Fire’ occurred to me as I watched a fire-eater and twirler perform for some revelers and passersby on a beach in Colombo. All eyes were trained on him until suddenly various fireworks lit up the sky and everybody’s gaze turned upward, away from the solitary fire eater. The spectacle in the night sky, from fireworks set off by some boys down the beach, changed the fire-eater’s circumstances. Nobody cared anymore about his performance. Nobody threw coins in his hat. At the same time I was thinking of a few lines, of starting a new poem, a solitary exercise, without an audience, without feedback. The lines were passionate, overflowing. But I feared they would fall unheard, as I had no props, no microphone or audience or fireworks, nothing to dazzle and divert the passersby.” 
—Indran Amirthanayagam