The sharper edge to traveling in Asia

WoWasis book review: of tea plantations in Sri Lanka

Written By: herbrunbridge - Feb• 11•12

Herman Gunaratne is a well-known Sri Lankan tea planter, executive, and politician, who worked himself up through the ranks at the lowest levels in plantation life. He has written his fascinating memoirs in The Suicide Club (2010, ISBN 978-955-0000-02-9), the title of which refers to an exclusive and informal club, of which his illustrious grandfather was a member. In addition to being a highly regarded tea planter, his grandfather was an inveterate gambler, who essentially lost the family fortune by gaming it away. 

The book consists of a series of essays that comprise his memoirs of days on the plantations, nine of which employed him, or were owned by him. It provides a fascinating glimpse into the relations between English tea company owners and agents and Sinhalese and Tamil tea workers, and explains well the political situation surrounding planting life, which particular focus on workers unions and national elections. 

Many of his stories revolve around the social clubs involving various tea plantations, describing behavior, dress, and perhaps most interestingly, eating habits (the Sinhalese made it a practice to determine how to best work with formal English eating protocol and table habits, as a necessary means to promotion). The book is a fast read, has some wonderful anecdotes, includes a few famous people, including Lord Louis Mountbatten of Burma and a number of historically important Sri Lankan political leaders, and all in all is a wonderful description of a life that no longer exists. By the end of the book, the author is making legendary Virgin White tea on his own tea plantation in Handunugoda. 

The book could have used a table of contents and index, and the reader struggles to find actual years associated with the events in the book, but overall, it represents a successful foray into the old Ceylonese plantation tea world, and is recommended reading. The book is available in Sri Lankan bookstores, including those in the departure area at Colombo’s airport, or through the publisher’s website, at www.sriserendipity.com  And for a memorable exerience in Sri Lanka, don’t forget to visit a road side tea house, enjoy a cup, and think for a moment or two of how people like Herman Gunaratne helped to create an industry.

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