Having worked there as a creeper - trainee tea planter in the 60s one can say it is a magic country. Yet its dark side is the continuing persecution of the Tamils. A hard working sector of Sri Lankan society but used & abused to the advantage of the Ceylonese and, don't forget, the Buddhists; always lurking behind the scenes. Awful things have been done to the Tamils in the name of 'war' but it was really an engineered genocide.
Sri Lanka is a breathtakingly beautiful country, but its ethnic conflict(oppression of ethnic minorities) of the last 6/7 decades has been one of the most vicious and most protracted conflicts of 20/21C. It has also been affecting the North and the East and tourists visiting the South of the country go away sometimes without even realising that a section of the citizenry has been literally under the boots of the Army in the last six years sice the end of the war unless they follow the sessions of UNHRC.
It is hoped that the new government elected 80 days ago would resolve the conflict.
It is hoped that the new government elected 80 days ago would resolve the conflict.
1
I was surprised to see all your comments targeting the country and deviating from the topic. It's sad that you people still criticized and cry over loosing the war but then again couldn't expect any thing else from a fleeing terrorist! My advice is try to live with the fact that srilanka was the only country that defeated terrorism succfully and wiped out the Tamil tiger terrorists. Im a foreigner and lived in srilanka for many years. I know what happened there and am totally in agreement with the outcome.
I lived in Kandy for a year in late 90s. The sacred tooth of temple was bombed a day earlier before I landed in Sri Lanka. My resident is at the opposite side of lake where the temple is located.
I think you shall learn more on world history. To say Sri Lanka is only country defeat terrorism is not true, Malaysia had defeated the communist terrorist in 80s.
As a minority in Malaysia, I can feel what the Lankan Tamil suffers under the racist policy. Tamil was defeated in the battlefield, but not in the war. Another civil war will happen in future in Sri Lanka if systemic repercussion against Tamil is carried on like before and now.
Tamil Tiger made a blunder by murdering Indian Prime Minister. The rest is history.
I think you shall learn more on world history. To say Sri Lanka is only country defeat terrorism is not true, Malaysia had defeated the communist terrorist in 80s.
As a minority in Malaysia, I can feel what the Lankan Tamil suffers under the racist policy. Tamil was defeated in the battlefield, but not in the war. Another civil war will happen in future in Sri Lanka if systemic repercussion against Tamil is carried on like before and now.
Tamil Tiger made a blunder by murdering Indian Prime Minister. The rest is history.
1
Thank you for sharing your comments about my motherland Sri Lanka (Sanskrit meaning -"resplendent island") and I do really appreciate very well balanced contents of your article. I also would like to share appended URL which very well describe why you should visit my motherland:
Ten reasons why you should visit Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
http://www.srilankahighcommission.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&...
Ten reasons why you should visit Sri Lanka (Ceylon)
http://www.srilankahighcommission.co.uk/index.php?option=com_content&...
2
The British exploited the ignorance and naiveté of an island population .
They are the masters of the art of setting up one fraction of the population against the other, in order to make the natives impotent to confront the real intruder- the European alien. Better known examples of this Hegelian dialectic are Ireland, Palestine and India. Sri Lanka- then known as Ceylon had meager natural resources- yet the British complexly destroyed it's social fabric.
My direct ancestor Nallaperumarachige John Perera, was the first non-European to own a tea plantation ( High Walton, Matale, British Ceylon 1880's ) in the East India company colonies of India, Burma and Ceylon It was an era, when the native population was seen as imbecilic and barbaric.
They are the masters of the art of setting up one fraction of the population against the other, in order to make the natives impotent to confront the real intruder- the European alien. Better known examples of this Hegelian dialectic are Ireland, Palestine and India. Sri Lanka- then known as Ceylon had meager natural resources- yet the British complexly destroyed it's social fabric.
My direct ancestor Nallaperumarachige John Perera, was the first non-European to own a tea plantation ( High Walton, Matale, British Ceylon 1880's ) in the East India company colonies of India, Burma and Ceylon It was an era, when the native population was seen as imbecilic and barbaric.
Thanks for the beautiful comments ,please visit srilanka , it is the best .i can guarantee that. i have being to so many countries in the world but SRI LANKA is a amazing country with kind hearted people.
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Hi, son Mark, and daughter-in-law Julia, at this moment visiting Sri Lanka! And thanks, Mark, for your email reply, "Your article pops was so appropriate, very good reading before the next three days," to my emailing you the link to this New York Times article on Sri Lanka. Soon enough, you will both be back in the cold of Scotland! Love, Richard (and thanks, NYT!)
Great Article, wonderful read!!
We should have a lot more people like you Robert to let the world find the beauty of ceylon!
We should have a lot more people like you Robert to let the world find the beauty of ceylon!
1
Thetea plantation worker are the most poorly paid and most poorly served by government services of health, education and other social services:
‘’The plantation workers are still predominantly Tamil—poor, mostly unorganized, living in minimal conditions on the estates. Once you know the immense suffering that made these places what they are, it is impossible to drink tea again in the same way, or to look in the same way at the rows of tea bushes as they roll over the hilltops like the undulations of ocean swells. They are a beautiful sight, but too much pain and deprivation has been sacrificed for them to be beautiful and nothing more .....’’ - Conversations in a Failing State, Patrick Lawrence(2008)
‘’The plantation workers are still predominantly Tamil—poor, mostly unorganized, living in minimal conditions on the estates. Once you know the immense suffering that made these places what they are, it is impossible to drink tea again in the same way, or to look in the same way at the rows of tea bushes as they roll over the hilltops like the undulations of ocean swells. They are a beautiful sight, but too much pain and deprivation has been sacrificed for them to be beautiful and nothing more .....’’ - Conversations in a Failing State, Patrick Lawrence(2008)
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Sri Lanka is a wonderful place to visit. Full dislosure = I visited the entire country before the tsunami. Haven't been there since, but asume that after years of recovery, it is still wonderful. Tea tea plantations are wonderful--especially for anyone who has ever had a cup of Ceylon tea--our main source for so many years. The rest of the country has all the exotic interest of India without all the misery that offsets the good parts of India. Don't miss the Bo tree, reportedly grown from a sprout of the tree under which Gautama Buddha sat. Also of great interest is the big rock of Sigiriya, a palace built on top of a massive rock as big as a mountain. Also of interest is Polonnaruwa and the Cave of Knowledge, the former capital of ancient Ceylon. There's much much more...
1
''The rest of the country has all the exotic interest of India without all the misery that offsets the good parts of India.''
What about the North and the parts of the East that were highly militarised since the end of the war?
What about the 38 camps of IDPs displaced since 1990 by 6,500 acres of High Security Zone in Jaffna? I
It's only last week thenew President handed over 450 acres of land to the owners.
IDPs displaced since 2006 by HSZ in Trincomalee ?
UN is denied access to war-ravaged returnees who are under tarpaulin?
The occupation army has taken over many economic activities that should have been taken up by the war-ravaged people who are struggling to eke out 1/2 meals a day.
What about the North and the parts of the East that were highly militarised since the end of the war?
What about the 38 camps of IDPs displaced since 1990 by 6,500 acres of High Security Zone in Jaffna? I
It's only last week thenew President handed over 450 acres of land to the owners.
IDPs displaced since 2006 by HSZ in Trincomalee ?
UN is denied access to war-ravaged returnees who are under tarpaulin?
The occupation army has taken over many economic activities that should have been taken up by the war-ravaged people who are struggling to eke out 1/2 meals a day.
The lede, "In the lush interior of the island nation, among the relics of the past, some of the world’s finest tea is grown," is conceptually juvenile, even Brittanic. It might reasonably say, "In the lush interior of the island nation, among the relics of the past, some of the world’s finer tea is grown." It could reasonably say, "In the lush interior of the island nation, among the relics of the past, fine tea is grown." As stated, however, it raises an unresolved issue, what the heck is some of the world's finest tea? Because that unresolved issue is off the beaten track of the article, the lede is inappropriate and unlike the suggested substitutes, misleading or misdirecting, choose one. Never mind “relics of the past.”
1
We spent a month in Sri Lanka last December and loved it. Too bad you missed the Botanical Gardens - the orchids are the least of it - the huge tropical trees are amazing, and it is beautifully maintained. If it is raining, or even if not, , Sri Lankan lovers sit together under umbrellas for a bit of privacy; the gardens are full of them! We had a drink at Helgas but stayed at the Sharon Inn, nearby and justly famous for its curries. Sue and Fais are wonderful hosts. We loved Ella, too, and walking in the tea plantations, then down to the game parks and beaches on the South Coast. Lovely people, good food, interesting landscape, gorgeous ancient Buddhist art...Id go back in a heartbeat.
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The civil war had nothing to do with the Indian Tamils living in the tea plantations. The conflict was between the ethnic Sinhalese and the ethinc Tamils who live in the North East of the Island and are distinct from the plantation Tamils and have a history on the island going back several thousand years.
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Disenfranchisement of the plantation workers was the start of the infamous Lankan conflict. The British brought workers from India in the eighteenth century.The so-called Indian Tamils (aka Up-country Tamils) were fifth generation plantation workers in 1948 - the year Sri Lanka (Ceylon before 1971) got independence. The then government disenfranchised about a million plantation workers in 1948. It is accepted that the reason behind this action was to reduce the democratic power of minorities. In 1956 Sinhalese was made the only official language. The rest is history.
2
There's a great old British golf club in Kandy that you can have lunch at w/o membership. Felt like a time machine. Interesting to see how the colony's overlords once played.
3
In 2006 during a lull in the fighting thanks to peace talks (unsuccessful) we decided to visit a Sri Lanka. We'd traveled to India many times but everyone we met said Sri Lanka was very different. It was and we loved it. There was almost no tourist infrastructure at that time so we cobbled together a trip to try to see a good sampling starting in Colombo. We hired a car and driver to take us up to Kandy and organized things as we went. I'm happy we spent time In Nuwara Eliya before the tourist influx others mention because it was peaceful and beautiful. We were the only visitors to the Tea Plantation (Pedro Estate) and were given a nice tour. Another highlight was the Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage, NE of Colombo and the Kandy Botanical Gardens was gorgeous. We hired another car and driver to take us back down to the beach area. We found a small hotel in Hikkadua and it turned out to be directly next door to the home of the late sci-fi author Arthur C. Clarke. There was still a lot of damage from the Tsunami including a heavily damaged train car parked near the tracks at Hikkadua station which we saw when we took the train into Galle for a lovely afternoon. We're glad we saw Sri Lanka before the onslaught of tourism but this article shows it would be wonderful to see again in peacetime. Everyone we met was so proud of their country and they wanted us to tell our friends to come.
2
He described the roads as relatively empty and safe--so this could not be the Sri Lanka just south of India. Orchids are a small part of the botanical gardens in Kandy. The gardens are amazing and reason enough to visit Sri Lanka
Haha... you hated Helga's Folly didn't you. Carefully avoided stating it explicitly, but counseling the annoying techie to go there was kind of a giveaway...
It was moldy and had the smell of wet taxidermied animals when we arrived there. And the design was more at the high school art graffiti level than so called Bauhaus.
But the tea on the trip everywhere was excellent.
It was moldy and had the smell of wet taxidermied animals when we arrived there. And the design was more at the high school art graffiti level than so called Bauhaus.
But the tea on the trip everywhere was excellent.
The roots of ethnic hostilities ("communal issues" in the argot of Sri Lanka) are more complex than the author or the commenters has suggested.
I will not attempt to parse them in the space of this comment, but I will point out that most analysts of Sri Lankan communal politics date the modern problems between the Tamils and the Buddhists to the Prime Minister-ship of an Episcopalian (Anglican): SWRD Bandaranaike.
This Christian Sri Lankan hit upon the Karl Rovian insight that the Sinhalese majority could be turned into a vote bank by appealing to their baser instincts. The insight proved correct and he won his election.
The downstream consequences were several. SWRD was assassinate by a Buddhist Monk. His political party framed the ethnic conflict that led to the decades of civil war.
For the rest of the story, visit Sri Lanka. You'll need at least a year to sort out all the interesting and conflicting political viewpoints you will hear.
But you will enjoy the education!!!!!
I will not attempt to parse them in the space of this comment, but I will point out that most analysts of Sri Lankan communal politics date the modern problems between the Tamils and the Buddhists to the Prime Minister-ship of an Episcopalian (Anglican): SWRD Bandaranaike.
This Christian Sri Lankan hit upon the Karl Rovian insight that the Sinhalese majority could be turned into a vote bank by appealing to their baser instincts. The insight proved correct and he won his election.
The downstream consequences were several. SWRD was assassinate by a Buddhist Monk. His political party framed the ethnic conflict that led to the decades of civil war.
For the rest of the story, visit Sri Lanka. You'll need at least a year to sort out all the interesting and conflicting political viewpoints you will hear.
But you will enjoy the education!!!!!
3
Thanks for presenting a decent article. I would like to visit Sri Lanka one day since it's our neighbour yet I haven't visited so far.
2
Kandy is one of the most magical and spectacular places I have ever seen. Driving up the twisty narrow, mountainous roads filled with buses, trucks, and the odd Tuk-Tuk (did I mention narrow) is harrowing. When we arrived at the Tea Plantation my wife had plowed furrows into the forearm of our host. She asked in anyone had Ativan and fortunately I try to be a pharmacopeia when traveling afield. The tea pickers are such a beautiful sight the dress in bright traditional garb, in many rows picking the leaves that are ready. They work barefoot and must learn to move carefully. The cannot see the ground in front of them for the plants and many highly poisonous snakes such as the Russell Viper. Up until a couple of years ago I know Sri Lanks had more snake bites deaths per capita than anywhere. It may still be true.
I would recommend that any one thinking of going to Sri Lanka to put it on the short list. Our friends who live in Colombo tell us the country is booming in a good way. If you want to see in a bit more pristine condition, now's the time to go.
PS When you come back to NYC you will be ruined for fruit. Even Eataly's produce will look a bit tired.
I would recommend that any one thinking of going to Sri Lanka to put it on the short list. Our friends who live in Colombo tell us the country is booming in a good way. If you want to see in a bit more pristine condition, now's the time to go.
PS When you come back to NYC you will be ruined for fruit. Even Eataly's produce will look a bit tired.
7
I was there in january this year, Sri Lanka is an amazing country. Don't miss to climb the holy mountain Sri Pada (Adams Peak) from december to march (pilgrims season), 5000 steps are winding to the top, the sunrise is amazing and the temple at the top has an unique atmosphere. If your are looking for the perfect, empty beach go to the east cost around Passekudah, it's wonderful. Traveling by train is really fine, second class in the hills is perfect, traveling third class on other routes gives you a special experience as you will have intense contact to the super-nice Sri Lankean people and families while an steady amazing countryside is passing along your window. There are many other highlights, I've been there 3 weeks but I will come back cause I have not even seen 50% of the country. Its truly paradise and very easy travelling.
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Looks like they rolled out the red carpet for you Mr. Draper. Good to see that your trip was sufficiently moving and inspiring because it is really not that hard to love Sri Lanka. Perhaps that is why the brutality of its civil war still seems unfathomable even now. How could such vile evil manifest in a place that could count as a paradise on earth?
If only it were possible to write a travel diary without referencing the injustices -- present even to this day and observed by you -- that lead to violent conflict. Perhaps economic growth and greater prosperity will heal the wounds. If so, such articles will help.
If only it were possible to write a travel diary without referencing the injustices -- present even to this day and observed by you -- that lead to violent conflict. Perhaps economic growth and greater prosperity will heal the wounds. If so, such articles will help.
6
'Paradise Poisoned' is the title of the book that is the product of 17-yr research of the conflict by Prof John Richardson of American University.
I run a youth, summer travel program in Sri Lanka and am on the board of the Sri Lanka Wildlife Conservation Society. I have traveled around the world and I have to say that Sri Lanka is one of the most amazing places on the planet. Though it is in the shape of a teardrop it is the most joyous and loving country I have ever known. The natural wonders of Sri Lanka are unparalleled and the people are kind, warm, welcoming and worth the trip.
3
Wonderfully written in a nice language pleasing to a tourist. But please get one fact straight: just as all that glitters is NOT gold, the damage caused to a Buddhist temple in Kandy came at the end of destruction of some 2000 Hindu Temple and Christian churches in the north and east of the country by the Sinhala Only military during the bitter ethnic and religious strife.
The country is presently trying to come to grips with its torrid past based on ill governance based on language and religious intolerance but when it is finally sorted out the island has yet greater potential to be the Pearl in the Indian Ocean.
The country is presently trying to come to grips with its torrid past based on ill governance based on language and religious intolerance but when it is finally sorted out the island has yet greater potential to be the Pearl in the Indian Ocean.
5
Every country is having some problem or the other. Why don't we grab the positive side and enjoy.
1
What about those oppressed by their own governments? What do they ''enjoy''?
Besides the beautiful hill-country, one must also spend time in Colombo - a pretty port with old colonial buildings and lots of charm. The locals are friendly and welcoming. The local bars have a very active live music scene. And the food, although spicy, is very fresh and good.
Great story, and evocative of my 3 visits to the island. I was lucky while planning my first visit to make a friend online who offered to arrange a driver and guide me - but there was a catch; he was best man in a wedding that took place in the middle of the week of my visit, in the hill country region of this article. So I got to experience a Sri Lankan wedding, and all the food that comes with a wedding feast! My second visit was less than a month after the tsunami; the fellow who was my guide was now leading a youth group. They had volunteered to travel down to the coast to do clean up for three days in the tsunami zone. As a reward he asked if I would pay to rent a bus to take them on an outing afterwards. We went to a historic tea estate, a botanic garden, and ended with a picnic by the lake in Nuwara Eliya. (I was twice the age of everyone on the outing, and the only foreigner but I never felt more welcome!) The third visit was to finally see Galle and the coast which are much more heavily touristed. As this article does, I encourage anyone going to Sri Lanka to visit the hill country.
2
Fine tea can also be grown at lower elevations. South Carolina, under the leadership of 19th century dentist Dr. Charles Sheppard, who traveled to China in search of the best shrubs of Camellia sinensis (tea), established a thriving tea farm in Summerville, SC. African-American students harvested its pekoe (the top three new leaves of the buds, picked by hand to avoid bruising) in two week rotations through the fall; the money they earned applied to their tuition at a sturdy pine school Dr. Sheppard built for their education. Photographs show attentive boys in knickers, posing thoughtfully, and girls in smart smocks, some shy at how tall they were.
The tea, nourished by the right combination of sun, humidity, and rain (this same environment produced world class rice and sea island cotton) won several awards at Exposition competitions (including St. Louis' in 1904.
Tea was revived as an SC industry in 1987, when Mack Fleming and Bill Hall created a 127 farm from cuttings preserved at Clemson University. Their brand, American Classic, is the US and North America's only home grown tea.
My grandfather, Charles B. (Barnwell/"Barney") Rhett, was the last surviving student from Dr. Sheppard's original farm. He became a master mason. One of his iconic buildings in Charleston is soon to be demolished by local developers, seeking to expand the city's commercial and residential footprint. His six acre farm survives, planted under the tutelage of his 100 year old son, John.
The tea, nourished by the right combination of sun, humidity, and rain (this same environment produced world class rice and sea island cotton) won several awards at Exposition competitions (including St. Louis' in 1904.
Tea was revived as an SC industry in 1987, when Mack Fleming and Bill Hall created a 127 farm from cuttings preserved at Clemson University. Their brand, American Classic, is the US and North America's only home grown tea.
My grandfather, Charles B. (Barnwell/"Barney") Rhett, was the last surviving student from Dr. Sheppard's original farm. He became a master mason. One of his iconic buildings in Charleston is soon to be demolished by local developers, seeking to expand the city's commercial and residential footprint. His six acre farm survives, planted under the tutelage of his 100 year old son, John.
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Thank you, Mr. Rhett. I will share this link with many friends from my 33 yrs. in Columbia, South Carolina.
2
I loved this comment.
There's a fascinating book here, Walter. And you are clearly the person to write it!
There's a fascinating book here, Walter. And you are clearly the person to write it!
4
My wife and I have, in view of climate change, begun to grow tea in Purcellville, Virginia. Our seeds are in the hot house right now and some older North Carolina varieties are happily growing and awaiting their Korean brothers this spring. we will be a demonstration farm to show that the right type of tea plant can flourish here.
It seems as tough the author took a quick look around this resplendent area of a resplendent island and decided he just couldn't bring himself to linger there. Had he done so he would have surely visited a location known as World's End and waited for the winds to blow the mist away, thereby exposing one of the most heart-stopping spectacles to be encountered on this planet- a precipitous drop from the Horton Plains approx 2300 feet down to the forests below. Also, if he has a decent pair of legs, he might have done the nighttime hike up Adam's Peak, which is very close to Hatton, arriving at the summit in time for a glorious sunrise. And in Kandy, he might have also spent a few profitable hours doing a circuit tour of three additional Buddhist temples of some great antiquity- the Gadaldeniya, Lankatilake and Embekke Devale, each quite different from the others and each beautifully designed and constructed. And having done all of this (and I've only listed a bare minimum of the area's must-see destinations), he might have felt as though he had truly earned the great accommodations and the excellent cuisine.
34
The Knife's Edge, on Maine's Mt. Katahdin (Baxter State Park) has a similar sheer dropoff (2000+ feet), expect you are in the middle of the air surrounded by the drop off, along the narrow trail front and back. You are above the birds, looking down at their wings! It feels like being on God's fingertip!
15
Beautifully described. Thank you.
1
Baxter's my favorite place on earth!
"Shortly after the British awarded Ceylon its independence in 1948, the new Sinhalese government stripped the Indian Tamils of their voting rights, setting into motion ethnic grievances that would eventually lead to war".
The conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamils goes back a little further than that. The Buddhist Sinhalese kingdom has been invaded, conquered and subjugated repeatedly by South Indian Hindu princes for 2,000 years. So its less than surprising that the Sinhalese would be wary of power sharing with the Tamils imported by the British to pick their tea more cheaply. One more contribution of the British Empire.
Based on the locals I talked to from Colombo, it sounded to me like the Sri Lanka government was making an effort now to create a more inclusive society, including Tamil language and culture instruction in the public schools starting at the elementary level.
I hope the Sri Lankans succeed because they are a wonderful people in a beautiful country.
The conflict between the Sinhalese and Tamils goes back a little further than that. The Buddhist Sinhalese kingdom has been invaded, conquered and subjugated repeatedly by South Indian Hindu princes for 2,000 years. So its less than surprising that the Sinhalese would be wary of power sharing with the Tamils imported by the British to pick their tea more cheaply. One more contribution of the British Empire.
Based on the locals I talked to from Colombo, it sounded to me like the Sri Lanka government was making an effort now to create a more inclusive society, including Tamil language and culture instruction in the public schools starting at the elementary level.
I hope the Sri Lankans succeed because they are a wonderful people in a beautiful country.
35
You are mistaken about the origins of Tamil.
There are indigenous Tamils who have lived in the island (northern and eastern provinces) for Millenia. And there are those who live in the hill country who were brought from south India to work in the tea plantations over 200 years ago. It is a mistake to label the latter as Indian Tamils because the last 3-4 generations of them were born in Sri Lanka and have never set foot in India.
As to war between south India and Sri Lanka it goes both ways - historically each have attacked the other.
If you speak to only a Sinhalese you get only one side of the story.
You are indeed right about how beautiful the island is.
There are indigenous Tamils who have lived in the island (northern and eastern provinces) for Millenia. And there are those who live in the hill country who were brought from south India to work in the tea plantations over 200 years ago. It is a mistake to label the latter as Indian Tamils because the last 3-4 generations of them were born in Sri Lanka and have never set foot in India.
As to war between south India and Sri Lanka it goes both ways - historically each have attacked the other.
If you speak to only a Sinhalese you get only one side of the story.
You are indeed right about how beautiful the island is.
2
Any people that are oppressed will wait for the day they can rise up in revolt and avenge the past. The longer it takes, the greater the frustration and eventual carnage. Todays Sinhalese Sri Lankan government will do well to learn from the lessons of the past and strive towards an inclusive society. They were never threatened or ruled by the minority Tamils but they have oppressed them for centuries. Hopefully the new government will do better.
1
The Sinhalese Buddhist desire to monopolize power and strip its Tamil citizens of their language and even citizenship rights (in the case of the so-called Indian Tamils....let's not forget the Sinahlese themselves are about 40% Tamil in their DNA, and trace their ancestors also to India) has nothing to do with what happened 2,000 years ago and everything to do with the ugly face of Religious Nationalist Racism, Buddhist style. It also has to do with the fact that the so called Jaffna Tamils were more sober and industrious than the Sinhalese, and that because of Buddhist Sinhalese nationalism the Americans and British set up their Universities in the Jaffna Tamil areas, whose students, like the Jews of Europe, excelled and, being more docile and hard worked, made better civil servants. The reason the Brits imported poor landless Indian peasants from Tamil Nadu to Lanka to work the tea and rubber plantations was because the Sinhalese were uninterested in such hard work, when there was abundant rice, coconut and fish in the water blessed land. Much of Lanka was also sparsely inhabaited; most Sinhalese Buddhists lived in the South on the coastal areas, the so-called Lowland Sinhalese.
Driving my rented motorcycle to Kandy I stopped by one of these tea plantations and was given an little course on picking just the right tea leaves at the right time. An extremely warm day for me as I breathed in the aroma of tea I thought of me floating in cup of tea the size of this valley. Then on to the tooth.
7
Did you get a glimpse into i.how ethnic minorities are treated and ii.the wages and the life of the tea pluckers?
''Had Sri Lankan judges and lawyers taken the path that their counterparts in Pakistan were to adopt, particularly in 2007, the independence of the judiciary and the larger history of Sri Lanka may have taken a different turn. The judiciary may have retained its capacity to intervene in important national issues and thereby reduce the extreme polarizations and disintegration that was to come in subsequent years.....
A psychiatrist who studied the Tamil communities affected by the war in the north and the east uses the term "existential fear". To suffer fear engendered by displays of unpredictable, unknowable power is now part of what it means to be Sri Lankan.....
Once you know the immense suffering of tea plantation workers it is impossible to drink tea again. The rows of tea bushes are a beautiful sight, but too much pain and deprivation has been sacrificed for them to be beautiful and nothing more .....'' - Conversations in a Failing State, Patrick Lawrence(2008)
''Had Sri Lankan judges and lawyers taken the path that their counterparts in Pakistan were to adopt, particularly in 2007, the independence of the judiciary and the larger history of Sri Lanka may have taken a different turn. The judiciary may have retained its capacity to intervene in important national issues and thereby reduce the extreme polarizations and disintegration that was to come in subsequent years.....
A psychiatrist who studied the Tamil communities affected by the war in the north and the east uses the term "existential fear". To suffer fear engendered by displays of unpredictable, unknowable power is now part of what it means to be Sri Lankan.....
Once you know the immense suffering of tea plantation workers it is impossible to drink tea again. The rows of tea bushes are a beautiful sight, but too much pain and deprivation has been sacrificed for them to be beautiful and nothing more .....'' - Conversations in a Failing State, Patrick Lawrence(2008)
Planning a January trip to Sri Lanka and this article was very helpful. Also confirmed why I want to go there. Thx.
5
If only tourists pay a bit of attention to the politics beneath the superficial beauty:
''This study in the very least alludes to, if not proves, some level of institutional culpability on the part of the judiciary with regard to the slow burning crisis that eventually snowballed into ethnic conflict’’ - The Judicial Mind In Sri Lanka; Responding To The Protection Of Minority Rights, Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Gehan Gunatilleke(all Sinhalese barristers), 4 February 2014
''This study in the very least alludes to, if not proves, some level of institutional culpability on the part of the judiciary with regard to the slow burning crisis that eventually snowballed into ethnic conflict’’ - The Judicial Mind In Sri Lanka; Responding To The Protection Of Minority Rights, Jayantha de Almeida Guneratne, Kishali Pinto-Jayawardena and Gehan Gunatilleke(all Sinhalese barristers), 4 February 2014
In tea country, stay away from Nuwara Eliya -- all the tours seem to think that because it was once British, you (as a white foreigner) might still like it. It is a nothing town. Maybe once there was a British wave in the distant colonial past, but it is now long gone. Kandy is still delightful.
By the Temple of the Tooth Relic there is a little museum to the elephants who have been part of the annual parade for many years.
By the Temple of the Tooth Relic there is a little museum to the elephants who have been part of the annual parade for many years.
5
Years ago the company I was working for was sold to another company and I found myself with a lot of money and decided to travel around the world for 3 or so months and ended up traveling for almost a year. While traveling I always met similar travelers and one highly recommended visiting Sri Lanka. Instead of going to the hills, I went to Galle and the small beach resort, Unawatuna.
I found a small beach side hotel and their restaurant I was told ws superb was in a small open sided thatch covered structure on the beach. I stopped by to look around and happen to meet the chef/cook who had just gotten back from the local fish market with the catch of the day. Yes Sri Lanka is noted for it's tea and cinnamon but there are also a whole range of excellent spices and they really know how to use them. For the next week I got to know the surrounding area and went with the chef on his morning fish buying tour.
What an experience - if you are traveling in third world countries, go to the local markets and most have a market day every week - then the cornucopia really opens up.
The local people I met were always fascinating and friendly. In a year of traveling mostly in third world countries - I found Sri Lanka is very special and well worth a visit and please see the wonderful beachs and all that goes with them.
I found a small beach side hotel and their restaurant I was told ws superb was in a small open sided thatch covered structure on the beach. I stopped by to look around and happen to meet the chef/cook who had just gotten back from the local fish market with the catch of the day. Yes Sri Lanka is noted for it's tea and cinnamon but there are also a whole range of excellent spices and they really know how to use them. For the next week I got to know the surrounding area and went with the chef on his morning fish buying tour.
What an experience - if you are traveling in third world countries, go to the local markets and most have a market day every week - then the cornucopia really opens up.
The local people I met were always fascinating and friendly. In a year of traveling mostly in third world countries - I found Sri Lanka is very special and well worth a visit and please see the wonderful beachs and all that goes with them.
40
Your comment is nice except for the use of " third world ".
2
Loved your short details, but what's up with the 'third' world label? What defines the word, 'third'? I thought we crossed the 20th and entered the 21st century more than a decade ago. Honestly speaking, these countries have so much history, so much past, beautiful cultures from thousands of years, their pristine land and unfake personality of people, that they deserve the 'first' world label, not us.
Yes, visiting the morning market that sells fish, meat, veggie, fruits etc in these countries, is an experience of a lifetime! You laid it down beautifully.
Yes, visiting the morning market that sells fish, meat, veggie, fruits etc in these countries, is an experience of a lifetime! You laid it down beautifully.
10
Tamil fishermen are being pushedinland and either Sinhalese fishermen are planted there or a tourist hotel is set up. I can give weblinks but they may not be printed here. In 2008 France24 produced a video of a group of Sinhala fishermen with their new houses on the Eastern coast from which Tamil fishermen were pushed inland - the Sinhala fishermen are given protection by a new army camp:
http://genocidesrilanka.blogspot.com/2010/04/tamils-on-probation-by-fran...
Thousands of Tamil fishermen are in camps in Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee right now.
Dear tourists, you're enjoying the livelihood grounds of the oppressed and the poor.
http://genocidesrilanka.blogspot.com/2010/04/tamils-on-probation-by-fran...
Thousands of Tamil fishermen are in camps in Jaffna, Mannar and Trincomalee right now.
Dear tourists, you're enjoying the livelihood grounds of the oppressed and the poor.