Sri Lanka’s legacy of English planters and Ceylon tea goes a long way back to when Sri Lanka was Ceylon, a British colony.
Ceylon tea is the worl’s favourite beverage – tea continues to be consumed in almost all countries of the world. Behind the legacy of Ceylon tea is the imprint of English planters in the island, whose names, stories and quintessentially English bungalows can be found still, dotting the picturesque hill country.
It used to be a tropical haven for the English who lived here – the hot months of March and April were spent in the salubrious climes of Little England, Nuwara Eliya, with its mist covered hills where tea was grown.
Sri Lanka’s legacy of English planters and Ceylon Tea –
The planter community in Ceylon is still recognized as a unique group of pioneering individuals whose lives were shaped by the essence of plantation life. The majority of the Scottish and the English planters came to Ceylon in the 19th century, at a time when tea was replacing coffee which became diseased and had to be uprooted. They were mostly men who had to deal with a rugged life on the hills being cleared to pave way for tea ; often sleeping out in the clearings, putting up camp while dealing with wildlife and thick jungles.
Gradually, as plantations took form, these communities went on to include Ceylonese as they were known at the time and planting became a highly sought after profession at the time.
Sri Lanka’s legacy of English Planters is historic – the legacy they have left behind still speaks of a unique way of life, surrounded by white clad domestic workers, cooks, an army of helpers and spotless gardens where roses and gardenias bloom all year around. Inside the sprawling bungalows, with their massive fireplaces lit with wood from the estate, dinners and parties were held, often into the late hours of the night.
That was the way to live it up on the hills on a colonial outpost at the time.
The tennis on the lawn, the tea on the terraced gardens and rugby on a muddy pitch – each element was a part of the carefully nurtured planter life. The kitchens were manned by expert cooks known in the plantations as appus, white clad men sweating it out at old fashioned stoves cooking everything from Sri Lankan favourites to British dishes.
The typical planter feast would feature string hoppers, mulligatawny soup and desserts served right out of culinary skills mastered by men who learnt their skills without recipe books and training. The roaring fire in the hearth would warm the room where white crisp table cloth would hold flowers from the garden and a great big dinner service fit for a party of fifty.
The gardens of the estates grew everything from vegetables to fruits and flowers, flowing in all their glory(Sri Lanka’s legacy).
Sri Lanka’s legacy of planting life and the plantations themselves form unique tourist attractions with their powerful recollections of how the communities once lived in these havens away from the majority of the civilisation.
Sri Lanka’s legacy of plantation life was a unique footprint of history. Planter’s life was essentially lonely, with only other planters to keep you company as they would visit each other and also visit the clubs which were where the action happened. Some of those well known clubs still exist, as Darawala Club as you climb the hill country by car or train.
The hill country of Sri Lanka still has functioning and restored plantation bungalows that speak to the traveller who likes to go back in time. This is where you can find cucumber sandwiches on the perfectly manicured lawn and take your tea as the English of yonder years did(Sri Lanka’s legacy). In your room designed the old fashioned way, you can find a roaring fire in the fireplace and as the cold night closes in with a mist, imagine what the plantations back then had on their busy schedules.
