Tea Time

We left Peradeniya and began our climb in search of Sri Lankan tea. On our way, Lankesh educated me. There are three groups of tea in Sri Lanka.
•Low Grown Tea (Pahatha rata) is grown at altitudes of less than 600 m (1900ft) above sea level.
•Mid Grown Tea (Medarata) grows in areas from 600 to 1200 m above sea level.
But, Lankesh assured me, the best tea is
•High Grown Tea (Udarata), grown above 1200m.
This area was our day’s destination.
The British had introduced tea to Ceylon in the mid-nineteenth century by importing plants from China. Several years later, they were glad they had when the coffee plantations, thriving at the time, were destroyed by a fungal disease. Plantation owners had to switch to tea or go out of business.
The Singhalese were not keen to work on the plantations so the British “imported” Tamils from India (not the same as the Tamils up north who arrived much earlier in the history of the country). Their descendents are still the main workers in today’s industry.
I found out later that the tea workers are some of the poorest people in Sri Lanka –-perhaps not surprising in a labor-intensive industry that employs mainly women and girls – some as young as twelve – who come largely from a minority ethnic group. Tourists don’t get told everything. They want us to be happy.
Early in the afternoon, we arrived at Mackwoods Tea Factory, on the Mackwoods Labookellie Estate. (The Sri Lankan government nationalized the tea estates about 40 years ago; hence the “old” British name is linked to the “new” Sri Lankan one.)



Here I learned that there is more to tea than just picking, packing and shipping.
First, tea leaves are “plucked”.


The same field can be plucked about once a week all year long.
The pluckers choose two soft leaves and a bud over and over again.



Bags of leaves come to the factory three or four times a day.



Yes this is one man carrying up to 80 kg (176 lb) of tea leaves.
The next step in the process is “withering”



The tea leaves are laid out in troughs and for 10 to 14 hours air is circulated in them to dry out any surface moisture and concentrate and break down the tea juices.
Then, the withered tea leaves are sent down this chute



to the room below. Here the leaves are rolled (twisted to bring the juices to the surface) and passed through another machine which separates the rolled from the not-yet-rolled leaves. The not-yet-rolled are sent back to try again.



The rolled leaves are put into fermentation vats for a few hours.



Did you know that tea was fermented? I certainly didn’t. But this is what makes the leaves turn brown. Then the fermented tea leaves are dried for 20 or 25 minutes.



Finally they are graded



and remaining impurities – like bits of twig – are removed.




Finally the tea is ready to be packed up and sent to Colombo to the tea auctions.



My head whirling from all this new information, I was happy to go out to the terrace and enjoy my complimentary taste of the result of all this work



and the view of the tea leaves that still had all this in their future



with a vow never to gulp down a cup of tea thoughtlessly ever again.

Strolling in the Garden

I knew there was a Botanical Garden near Kandy but it wasn’t mentioned on my official itinerary. I’m not a gardener and I don't know a lot about plants and flowers, but I’ve always enjoyed Botanical Gardens – maybe because I crossed Hope Gardens in Jamaica every day for four years on my way home from school. When I mentioned to Lankesh that I’d like to visit the Garden, he told me that, despite my itinerary, he had already planned to take me there for a few hours before we left Kandy.
The Peradeniya Royal Botanical Gardens were established by the British in 1821 on the site of a 14th century queen’s pleasure garden. The purpose, at first, was to test a series of crops imported from other English colonies -- coffee, tea, nutmeg, rubber, among others -- to see if they could thrive in Ceylon before planting them commercially. The British also planted many varieties of coconuts here – those indigenous to the Island and others -- and grew Cinchona from which Quinine, the anti-malarial drug, comes.
Plants are still studied at Peradeniya -- by the students of the nearby university and School of Tropical Agriculture among others. But, like many botanical gardens, this one has also become a tourist attraction as well as a place where foreign Heads of State are brought to plant trees in commemoration of their visit.
I knew from my first view of Peradeniya that I was going to enjoy myself.





And I did. First, I went into the plant house



where I saw dozens of different tropical plants, carefully tended .



I visited the orchid house which contains over 300 varieties of these breathtaking flowers.



These were my favorites.



Then Lankesh and I strolled around the main part of the garden. (It extends for 147 acres (60 hectares). so would take more time and energy than I had to explore thoroughly.) I contented myself with some beautiful exotic flowers,



the small and tranquil Japanese garden



and the garden’s showpiece – a Java fig tree brought in as a sapling over a hundred years ago which now covers over 600 square meters (over 6,500 square feet) – with branches propped up at regular intervals so they don’t break. It was impossible to take a picture of the whole tree, so I contented myself with this partial view from below.



Soon it was time to leave. I caught a glimpse of this gazebo



and imagined a Sri Lankan queen or a Victorian botanist sitting in it and watching us enjoy their beautiful garden. “Thanks for sharing,” I whispered.

Auspicious Days

I woke up the next morning to the sound of --- well it sounded like drums. Must have been the end of a dream about the dancing, I thought.
When I went down to breakfast – served in the top garden area – the other (female) tourists and I were delighted to see that a bridal party was having a photo session in one of the lower gardens.





As we all clustered around to take our own photos, I noticed another wedding party in another of the hotel’s gardens.



By the time breakfast was over, I had counted four different groups.
Since Thursday didn’t seem like a normal wedding day, I assumed these couples were just having photos taken in a gorgeous location, as brides and grooms do in France – sometimes days before or after the wedding. When I went to look for Lankesh after breakfast, I received proof (as if I needed more) that one should never make assumptions about the customs of a country you are just discovering.
First of all, I discovered that I probably had been woken up by drums – because there they were at the entrance to the hotel.



They were there to welcome the wedding guests as they arrived – even if it was Thursday.



As we drove away, Lankesh explained that this was a Kandyan wedding. (He knew from the turbans worn by the men and boys in the wedding party.) He told me that the dates of weddings in Sri Lanka, at least among the majority Buddhist community, traditionally take place on days an astrologer declares auspicious. Slightly embarrassed, Lankesh insisted that nowadays this is mostly done to please the older generation. Most weddings occur in September and May and most of them take place on weekends. But today was the 9th of September (09/09) -- always an auspicious day.
Hotels like those I stayed in organize as many weddings as they can manage for those who could afford them. Some even target the foreign, non-Buddhist market for westerners who want an exotic wedding, though all those I saw during my stay were Sri Lankan.
The Buddhist wedding ceremony, called Poruwa, is conducted by a Master of Ceremonies. (Interestingly the otherwise ubiquitous Buddhist monks do not perform weddings which are more legal and social events than religious ones.) The first day’s celebration -- the actual ceremony followed by a feast -- takes place at the bride’s house (or the hotel the family has chosen to represent it). Lankesh explained (with a grin but no details) that sometimes people “play tricks” on the wedding couple in the evening after the feast is over. But, he added reassuringly, mostly hotels do not allow this because of other guests. Several days later, again following the astrologer’s advice, another party is held at the groom’s home (the homecoming).
I, regretfully, saw no actual wedding but, in successive hotels, I did see beautifully decorated hotel entrances,



the special ceremonial couch where the happy couple couple sits to be greeted and entertained after the ceremony,



and a waiting wedding cake.



Some, at least, decorate their cars like westerners do.



And all of them have wonderful pictures as memories of their Auspicious Day.

Temple of the Tooth

If you are a Buddhist, you don’t go to Kandy to see the dancing, but Sri Dalada Maligawa – the Temple of the Tooth. Buddhists believe that one of Buddha’s teeth was taken from his funeral pyre and smuggled into Sri Lanka in the hair of a princess. From the time of its arrival in the 4th century, the tooth was placed in a series of nested and jeweled reliquaries and displayed on special occasions. Since Sri Lankan kings believed that whoever held the relic would be the true governor of the country, they moved it with them from capital to capital as the centuries passed. The Tooth reached its permanent home in Kandy -- the last capital of the Kings --in the 17th century. The old wooden temple, severely damaged during the colonial wars against the Portuguese and Dutch, was rebuilt in stone afterwards. This is the temple that Buddhist pilgrims – and Western tourists – visit today.



To my surprise, we had to go through security outside the Temple – not only opening our bags but being patted down by security agents. This was because some Tamil Tigers had placed bombs here twelve years ago, damaging the façade and the roof. These have since been rebuilt but the security remains. The agent inspected my bag and patted me down quite seriously, but I was amused that she also took time to admire my Sri Lankan necklace.



Perhaps a sign that peace has come after the long civil war.
After we took off our shoes, the crowd of tourists and pilgrims flowed into the temple. Evening is one of the three times daily worship services take place and it's a favorite time to visit.
Drums and lights add to the spectacle for the tourists, though I imagine the tourists detract from the experience of the pilgrims who come at the same time.



We made our way through several corridors richly decorated with the story of the Tooth’s arrival in Sri Lanka, and rooms containing Buddhist relics and holy books



until we reached the reliquary itself which is shown to the faithful (and the tourists) during the worship period.



Pilgrims and tourists who have made reservations, sometimes months in advance, can get a better view.



After visiting a few more rooms in the temple, it was time to leave.



Our walk back to the car was peaceful compared to the hustle and bustle inside.



A last goodbye to Buddha and it was back to the hotel to rest before the next day’s adventures.

Kandyan Culture

The must-see event for tourists in Kandy is the traditional dance show put on at 5:30 every evening in the Kandyan Cultural Centre Hall -- on the other side of the Lake from my hotel. A number of my friends have visited Sri Lanka – some over 15 years ago. All saw the same Kandyan dances in the same venue. Now it was my turn.
We pulled up in front of the Hall at just after 5 p.m. along with numerous buses, vans and cars. Guides shepherded their charges to the ticket table where, along with our ticket, we were given a sheet of paper in the language of our choice. This was both our program and our explanation of what was to follow.
We then flowed into the auditorium and found our seats – wooden arm chairs – while fending off, or succumbing to, the temptations of souvenir sellers. Spectators chatted to their friends, readied their cameras and soon -- the conch shell blew.
I’ll let pictures and the words of “Programme English” describe to you what followed.
1. BLOWING OF THE CONCH SHELL AND DRUM ORCHESTRA
Traditional Welcome: The Orchestra has Five Traditional Instruments (PANCHA THURYA) Usually played three times. During the services at the Temple of the Sacred Tooth Relic



2.POOJA DANCE
A Dance paying Homage to the DEITIES and the GURU (Dance Teachers)





3.PANTERU NETUM
The name off the Dance is Derived from the Instrument used. (PANTERU) This is a close akin to the Tambourine. The rhythm is provided by the accompanying Drums



4.COBRA DANCE
Depicts the movements of the Cobra, and the Taming of it by a Snake Charmer.





5.MASK DANCE
Low Country (South Sri Lanka) Mask Dance, showing the killing by the GARUDA (A Bird) of a Cobra. This is usually performed to drive away Evil Spirits It is still being used as a method of Psychiatric Treatment.





6.MAYURA WANNAMA
This Dance belongs to the Kandyan “VANNAM” Tradition. It shows the graceful movements and the ways of a PEACOCK.





7.RABAN DANCE
This Dance comprise of a Rhythmic Pattern, woven to the beat of a Single faced Drum, which is skillifully spun in the air and balanced in a group of several Drums. It is also accompanied by Ballad singing







8.VES DANCE
VES is the Traditional attire of the Kandyan Dancer, Sixty Four ornaments complete the Dress. It takes years of rigorous Training before a Dancer, can attain the status of a full fledge VES Dancer.



THE SRI LANKA NATIONAL ANTHEM (PLEASE STAND UP)



9.FIRE DANCE
Showing the power over FIRE

(This was performed on the floor in front of the stage. Those in the first rows kept their seats. The rest of us sat on the stage steps or went to the balcony.)
They set up.



They “danced"



10.FIRE WALKING
The Artistes get into a Trance and walks over burning coals. The Devotees who perform this act seeks the blessings of the Goddess PATHTHINI, before performing this Ritual.

The coals. I was close enough to feel the heat.



I was too close for a good picture but I tried.



An enjoyable hour. If you want to see a short medley of the dances, click here.

After a last round of applause, we drifted to the door and looked for our respective guides who were ready to take us on to our next event.