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තිත්ත කෝපි
The tea planted over hundreds of thousands of acres in Ceylon today stands on the graveyard of coffee, which flourished there in the last century. 'Th e bitter berry", which made fortunes and broke them, was suddenly smitten w ith a blight that swept the entire island and spelled the doom of thousands who had laboured under tremendous odds to Plant the jungle wastes. Here is a story to capture the imagination, and The Author has woven out of the li fe of these pioneer planters a notably fresh period novel. In 1859 two cousins who have not seen each other for years meet in a London fog. Hugh Neville, bronzed and prosperous from his life as a Ceylon plante r, fires his quieter cousin Tom with enthusiasm and persuades him to buy a coffee estate bordering on his own. Shortly before Tom follows his cousin t o Ceylon, he meets and marries the beautiful Sara Courtenay. What they find on their unknown estate and the courage with which they meet their difficulties is related here. There is the struggle to wrest a living from the land; the conflict between the two cousins; the entry of the strange Alison Farraday into their lives; near tragedy and disaster. Admirably the author conveys the Sense of Adventure as well as of hardship in life in the new country, and background and period are drawn with authority.
338 pages
First published January 1, 2002
9 people are currently reading
117 people want to read
About the author
Christine Spittel-Wilson
16 books11 followersChristine Spittel-Wilson (b. 1913) was a Sri Lanken writer and artist.
Coming from a family of doctors, artists and writers, she was active as a writer and an artist until comparatively recently. She published her autobiography, Christine, in 2007, and gave an exhibition of her paintings and ceramic art in 2009.
She was the author of three novels (The Bitter Berry, The Mountain Road and I Am The Wings), a biography of her father, Dr. R. L. Spittel, (Surgeon of the Wilderness), a cookery book (Secrets of Eastern Cooking), and a number of travel and assorted articles. She was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
As a young woman, she accompanied her father into the jungles of Sri Lanka, to gain an understanding of the ancient ways of the Veddhas. In 2008, a delegation of Veddhas made a special trip to Colombo to pay tribute to her. The visit was covered by both TV and print media.
Mrs. Spittel-Wilson spent her childhood and early adult years at Wycherley, the family home on Old Buller’s Road, and studied at the private girls’ school Roedean, in England. Her husband, Major Alistair McNeil-Wilson, passed away in June 2007.
Coming from a family of doctors, artists and writers, she was active as a writer and an artist until comparatively recently. She published her autobiography, Christine, in 2007, and gave an exhibition of her paintings and ceramic art in 2009.
She was the author of three novels (The Bitter Berry, The Mountain Road and I Am The Wings), a biography of her father, Dr. R. L. Spittel, (Surgeon of the Wilderness), a cookery book (Secrets of Eastern Cooking), and a number of travel and assorted articles. She was a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society.
As a young woman, she accompanied her father into the jungles of Sri Lanka, to gain an understanding of the ancient ways of the Veddhas. In 2008, a delegation of Veddhas made a special trip to Colombo to pay tribute to her. The visit was covered by both TV and print media.
Mrs. Spittel-Wilson spent her childhood and early adult years at Wycherley, the family home on Old Buller’s Road, and studied at the private girls’ school Roedean, in England. Her husband, Major Alistair McNeil-Wilson, passed away in June 2007.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
April 26, 2021
This book delves in to the period of 1880s when British people arrived to Sri Lanka, with dreams of starting coffee plantations in the fertile lands of Ceylon as it was then called.
Along with the hundreds of British young men who travelled to Ceylon with hopes of starting a new life in this small Island , Tom Neville , a man who had found his occupation monotonous, decides to try his luck with coffee plantations on the persuasion of his step brother Hugh, who, he accidently encounters on a misty night. Hugh impressively charms him into buy one of his lands to kick off a coffee plantation, by drawing a picture of a beautiful land with lush greenery and stretches of lands that would bring a productive harvest. The cold winds and the beautiful scenery of hill country won the heart of Tom , who without much ado , decides to sail to Sri Lanka and become one of the many British Coffee Planters.
Tom Neville, meets Sarah in England just few weeks , he was due to sail to Ceylon and shy Tom falls in love with her, and as a young Bride Sarah follows Tom into Ceylon after sailing for months and months in the sea.
The couple face much difficulties soon as they land, and seek shelter at homes of few known British friends , who includes Edwin and Allision Faraday, and the McLloyds. Yet this was just the beginning of hardships for Tom and Sarah.
The small house they build their home as a married couple in the vicinity of Lanthana plantation which Tom with much fearlessness, and hope takes over to bring it back to a fertilized state from it's neglected state by its previous owner. Many times he fails, decides to give up , feels stressed and depressed, but each time Sarah stands by him and motivates him to keep going.
I was so much impressed by Sarah's character, she never complains, even with the most minimal luxuries, in the midst of insect ridden , small house built from clay, she remains as a
beacon of positivity for Tom. She gives him hope when he feels lost and learns to cook and take over household work with much enthusiasm even when things look dark and hopeless.
She is a a friend to everyone and curious and brave , at a scale the reader would be so much amazed by.
Book also beautifully reveals, the state of Ceylon , before British independence, how people used to cross the Mahaveli river to get across to cities, when bridges did not exist, how horses and bullock carts were the main modes of transportation before railroads were built, the poor state of worn down roads that delayed rice and other necessities to the inhabitants of plantations specially the Tamil laborers. We also see how Tamils were brought into Ceylon to make up for the lack of workers to work in these plantations run by the British.
We also see , how ,with British planters' interference, railways and roads were developed to ease transportation and how these planters, contributed vastly to the economy of the country.
All in all, one of the most beautiful, romantic stories I ever read about bravery, and not giving up and how far a little of kindness can take you. Book also conveys that anything is possible if you set your mind to it with determination, just like Tom did and if you have a supportive wife, who would share both the good and the bad with the same amount of enthusiasm and hope, just like Sarah, even the most harsh beginnings will be alright at the end.
Along with the hundreds of British young men who travelled to Ceylon with hopes of starting a new life in this small Island , Tom Neville , a man who had found his occupation monotonous, decides to try his luck with coffee plantations on the persuasion of his step brother Hugh, who, he accidently encounters on a misty night. Hugh impressively charms him into buy one of his lands to kick off a coffee plantation, by drawing a picture of a beautiful land with lush greenery and stretches of lands that would bring a productive harvest. The cold winds and the beautiful scenery of hill country won the heart of Tom , who without much ado , decides to sail to Sri Lanka and become one of the many British Coffee Planters.
Tom Neville, meets Sarah in England just few weeks , he was due to sail to Ceylon and shy Tom falls in love with her, and as a young Bride Sarah follows Tom into Ceylon after sailing for months and months in the sea.
The couple face much difficulties soon as they land, and seek shelter at homes of few known British friends , who includes Edwin and Allision Faraday, and the McLloyds. Yet this was just the beginning of hardships for Tom and Sarah.
The small house they build their home as a married couple in the vicinity of Lanthana plantation which Tom with much fearlessness, and hope takes over to bring it back to a fertilized state from it's neglected state by its previous owner. Many times he fails, decides to give up , feels stressed and depressed, but each time Sarah stands by him and motivates him to keep going.
I was so much impressed by Sarah's character, she never complains, even with the most minimal luxuries, in the midst of insect ridden , small house built from clay, she remains as a
beacon of positivity for Tom. She gives him hope when he feels lost and learns to cook and take over household work with much enthusiasm even when things look dark and hopeless.
She is a a friend to everyone and curious and brave , at a scale the reader would be so much amazed by.
Book also beautifully reveals, the state of Ceylon , before British independence, how people used to cross the Mahaveli river to get across to cities, when bridges did not exist, how horses and bullock carts were the main modes of transportation before railroads were built, the poor state of worn down roads that delayed rice and other necessities to the inhabitants of plantations specially the Tamil laborers. We also see how Tamils were brought into Ceylon to make up for the lack of workers to work in these plantations run by the British.
We also see , how ,with British planters' interference, railways and roads were developed to ease transportation and how these planters, contributed vastly to the economy of the country.
All in all, one of the most beautiful, romantic stories I ever read about bravery, and not giving up and how far a little of kindness can take you. Book also conveys that anything is possible if you set your mind to it with determination, just like Tom did and if you have a supportive wife, who would share both the good and the bad with the same amount of enthusiasm and hope, just like Sarah, even the most harsh beginnings will be alright at the end.
April 27, 2021
Since I have not read the original book, I cannot determine how successful the Sinhala translation of Bitter Berry was. But I realized that the content of the book was more concise. I enjoyed this more like a history book than a story. This is a story about a British couple who came to Sri Lanka as pioneer coffee planters.
You can enjoy this as an interesting story and learn important historical information such as origins of coffee cultivation in Sri Lanka, cultivation methods, labor control, problems faced by coffee cultivation, British rule, and how cultivation affected Sri Lankans.
I think this is based on a true story. This is because the original author, daughter of Dr. Spittle, had a good understanding of this era, as can be seen from her other works.
You can enjoy this as an interesting story and learn important historical information such as origins of coffee cultivation in Sri Lanka, cultivation methods, labor control, problems faced by coffee cultivation, British rule, and how cultivation affected Sri Lankans.
I think this is based on a true story. This is because the original author, daughter of Dr. Spittle, had a good understanding of this era, as can be seen from her other works.
November 5, 2017
ටොම්, එංගලන්තයේ සිට ලංකාවට පැමිණ දියුණු වීමට වෙර දරණ තරුණයෙක්.
සාරා, සියලු දුක් කරදර මැද ටොම්ට ධෛර්යයක්, ශක්තියක් වන ඔහු ගේ බිරිඳ.
තම ඉලක්කය කරා හඹා යන ගමනේ මුහුණ දෙන බාධක මැඬගෙන අධිෂ්ඨානයෙන් ජීවත් වන යුවලකගේ කතාවයි
සාරා, සියලු දුක් කරදර මැද ටොම්ට ධෛර්යයක්, ශක්තියක් වන ඔහු ගේ බිරිඳ.
තම ඉලක්කය කරා හඹා යන ගමනේ මුහුණ දෙන බාධක මැඬගෙන අධිෂ්ඨානයෙන් ජීවත් වන යුවලකගේ කතාවයි
September 3, 2020
Are you a coffee lover..? ☕
So, wherever you are, will refreshing your body and the heart from the smell of the coffee..?
Also, if you get a chance to spend a moment alone in the cold mountains, in a garden which full of coffee smells..?
I can understand what you're thinking at the moment.
So, today I'm taking you to Tom and Sarah's Coffee Estate in the mountainous of Ceylon, covered with cold winds and mist. This is the story of Tom & Sarah!
This is where the story begins, in 1859s in a cold, gloomy night in England by meeting two cousins who haven't seen each other in years. At that time in Ceylon, Hue Neville, who had a reputation as a successful planter, met his cousin Tom as a clerk in an insurance company. Hue invites his cousin to be his neighbor by selling the ownership of a large estate in that golden island. Although lives in the city, Tom Neville is a person who loves to the nature and this earth.
Meanwhile, making Tom's life perfect, he met beautiful Sarah as his soul mate and married.They match each other so much that Sarah also loved to the nature and a kind-hearted woman. Finally, they decided to start a new life in the cold misty mountains in Ceylon and said goodbye to the queen's land. Days, weeks and months after a difficult journey, at last they came to the Lantana Estate, their future. There is a little cute clay house, in the middle of the land which is 500 acres in size and its their new home. Thus, they started their new life journey with the Coffee.
Machinery that needs to be modernized, labour issues, troubles of wild animals and environmental issues of the land.. How does Tom solve these problems on his own because he is a beginner for coffee plantation. How does Sarah live in an isolated house in misty mountainous in Ceylon which she came from England..? All these are new experiences to both of them. Once upon a time, in the midst of trouble, Sarah & Tom were lucky to see the coffee flowers like snow in their estate. The whole estate is just like a paradise when the coffee flowers bloomed like snow. Pretty Sara is the fairy of this paradise. Making that paradise more beautiful, a little fairy has come to the nest of Tom & Sarah. Whatever the difficulties, they loved to this golden land by the bottom of their hearts. Their entire lives were tied with coffee.
When after read this book, I felt the losses, sadness, happiness, comfort and love, but they were not like the feelings that I have from other books and it is so special. The reason is that, I am also a citizen of this golden Ceylon who was born and raised. Whenever you read this book, the smell of the coffee will sink down inside of your body by touching your soul. At this moment, from wherever you are tasting a cup of coffee, there is a huge and priceless effort in the behind of this coffee cup and probably this why the name of the book is called Bitter Berry.
My thanks to the translator who brought Sarah & Tom story by Christine Wilson into the hands with us in Sri Lanka (Ceylon <3 )
So, wherever you are, will refreshing your body and the heart from the smell of the coffee..?
Also, if you get a chance to spend a moment alone in the cold mountains, in a garden which full of coffee smells..?
I can understand what you're thinking at the moment.
So, today I'm taking you to Tom and Sarah's Coffee Estate in the mountainous of Ceylon, covered with cold winds and mist. This is the story of Tom & Sarah!
This is where the story begins, in 1859s in a cold, gloomy night in England by meeting two cousins who haven't seen each other in years. At that time in Ceylon, Hue Neville, who had a reputation as a successful planter, met his cousin Tom as a clerk in an insurance company. Hue invites his cousin to be his neighbor by selling the ownership of a large estate in that golden island. Although lives in the city, Tom Neville is a person who loves to the nature and this earth.
Meanwhile, making Tom's life perfect, he met beautiful Sarah as his soul mate and married.They match each other so much that Sarah also loved to the nature and a kind-hearted woman. Finally, they decided to start a new life in the cold misty mountains in Ceylon and said goodbye to the queen's land. Days, weeks and months after a difficult journey, at last they came to the Lantana Estate, their future. There is a little cute clay house, in the middle of the land which is 500 acres in size and its their new home. Thus, they started their new life journey with the Coffee.
Machinery that needs to be modernized, labour issues, troubles of wild animals and environmental issues of the land.. How does Tom solve these problems on his own because he is a beginner for coffee plantation. How does Sarah live in an isolated house in misty mountainous in Ceylon which she came from England..? All these are new experiences to both of them. Once upon a time, in the midst of trouble, Sarah & Tom were lucky to see the coffee flowers like snow in their estate. The whole estate is just like a paradise when the coffee flowers bloomed like snow. Pretty Sara is the fairy of this paradise. Making that paradise more beautiful, a little fairy has come to the nest of Tom & Sarah. Whatever the difficulties, they loved to this golden land by the bottom of their hearts. Their entire lives were tied with coffee.
When after read this book, I felt the losses, sadness, happiness, comfort and love, but they were not like the feelings that I have from other books and it is so special. The reason is that, I am also a citizen of this golden Ceylon who was born and raised. Whenever you read this book, the smell of the coffee will sink down inside of your body by touching your soul. At this moment, from wherever you are tasting a cup of coffee, there is a huge and priceless effort in the behind of this coffee cup and probably this why the name of the book is called Bitter Berry.
My thanks to the translator who brought Sarah & Tom story by Christine Wilson into the hands with us in Sri Lanka (Ceylon <3 )
March 5, 2020
A novel first published in 1957 which traces the lives of early coffee plantation settlers in the highlands of Ceylon near Kandy from 1859 to 1871. Much in the mode of mid 20th century writing, using an historical setting for romantic fiction, it is based on research of the lives of early coffee and tea planters in Ceylon.
Whilst the love stories are laboured, the reflections on 19th century Ceylon are vivid - the lives of Scottish and British bachelor planters, the traders, the colonial officers and civil servants, the labourers from Tamil Nadu, the displaced Sinhalese villagers, and not least the pioneer women who came from England ‘to the east’.
It is an easy read which at times cause a wince, but is worth pursuing. It helps one understand the former colonial economy and the systems of governance which still linger. It also helps one understand the various ethnic distinctions, hierarchies, and hidden antipathies and how they still have impact.
Whilst the love stories are laboured, the reflections on 19th century Ceylon are vivid - the lives of Scottish and British bachelor planters, the traders, the colonial officers and civil servants, the labourers from Tamil Nadu, the displaced Sinhalese villagers, and not least the pioneer women who came from England ‘to the east’.
It is an easy read which at times cause a wince, but is worth pursuing. It helps one understand the former colonial economy and the systems of governance which still linger. It also helps one understand the various ethnic distinctions, hierarchies, and hidden antipathies and how they still have impact.
July 16, 2019
"...ඔබ කැමතිද අමාරුකම් මැද්දෙ අවුරුදු කීපයක් බලන් ඉන්න ?
ම එක පාරක් නෙවෙයි , දෙතුන් පාරක් වුනත් කමති යි ."
ම එක පාරක් නෙවෙයි , දෙතුන් පාරක් වුනත් කමති යි ."
July 10, 2024
Bitter Berry by Christine Wilson (1957)
පරිවර්තනය: තිත්ත කොපි - අනුල ද සිල්වා (2003)
මෙම නවකතාවේ මුල් පරිවර්තනය කාලයකට පෙර C A විජේසේකර විසින් සිදුකරන ලදී.
ලංකාව යටත් විජිතයක් වූ පසු, 1860 දී පමණ බ්රිතාන්ය වැවිලි කරුවන්ගේ ලංකාවේ කෝපි වගාවට අවතීර්ණ වීම; පාරම්පරික ඉඩම් අහිමිවීම, ප්රථමික වනාන්තර විනාශවීම, ජල මුලාශ්ර අපවිත්ර වීමනිසා කන්ද උඩරට ජනතාව අපහසු තාවයට පත්වීම සිදු විය.
යටත් විජිතකරණයෙන් පසු ඒ හා බැඳුනු විදේශීය ආයෝජන ලාභදායි වැවිලි කර්මාන්තයට වැඩි වැඩි යෙන් යොමු විය. කැලිෆෝර්නියා වේ හා ඕස්ට්රේලියාවේ රත්රන් වලට තිබු පොරය මෙන් ලංකාවේ ඉඩම් වලට පොරයක් තිබිණ.
මෙම නවකතාවේ ප්රධාන චරිත වන ටොම් සහ හියු, නෙවිල් පවුලට අයත් සොහොයුරන් විය. හියු ඉක්මනින් තරහ ඇවිස්සෙන පසුව පලිගන්නා සහ ටික කාලයකදී පරණ කෝන්තර අමතක කරදමා යලිත් හිතවත් වන පුද්ගලයෙකි. ඔහු කිසිම උවදුරක් ගැන සැලකිලිමත් නොවන, එම මොහොතේ පමණක් සතුටින් ජිවත්වන පුද්ගලයෙකි. මොහුට ප්රතිවිරුද්ධ චරිතයක් වූ ටොම් තම වගකීම් කරට ගෙන, මහන්සිවී වැඩකර, තම සේවකයන් හා හිත මිතුරන් හට අවංකව සේවය කරන පුද්ගලයෙකි.
ටොම් සහ සාරා, හියුගේ උපදෙස් පිළිගෙන වැවිලි කර්මාන්තය ගැන කිසි අවභෝධයක් නැතිව මුදල් ඉපයීමේ පරමාර්ථයෙන් කෝපි වගාව පිනිස ලංකාවට පැමිණි අලුත විවාහ වුන යුවලකි.
විශාල බලාපොරොත්තු තබාගෙන ලංකාවට පැමිණි වැවිලි කරුවන් හට බලාපොරොත්තු වුන සුව පහසු ජිවිත හෝ ලාභාංශ නොලැබුණි. ඔවුන් බොහොමයකට වැවිලි කර්මාන්තය පිළිඹඳ වෘතිය දැනුමත් නොතිබිණ, තම නිෂ්පාදන වෙළඳපොළට ගෙනයාමට යටිතල පහසුකම් නොතිබිණ, යන්ත්රෝපකරණ මිල අධික විය, වතු කම්කරුවන් පාලනය කිරීම අපහසු විය, කෝපි ශාකයට වැළඳුන දිලිර රෝගය නිසා වගාව විනාශ විය.
මෙම අපහසුකම් නිසා සමහර වැවිලි කරුවන්ගේ පවුල් ජිවිත කඩාකප්පල් විය, සමහරු මත්පැනට ඇබ්බැහි වුහ, හමිලියා වට්සරින් නමැති දිලීර රෝගයට ගොදුරුවී කෝපි වගාව විනාශවීමෙන් සමහරු බන්කොලොත් වුහ. සමහරු කිසිම ඉතිරිකරගත් මුදලක් නොමැතිව තම මවු රටට ගියහ.
වතු ආර්ථිකයෙන් සාර්ථක වුයේ කොපි වගාව අත හැර තේ වගාවට අවතීර්ණ වූ වැවිලිකරුවන් පමණි.
ඉතා දුක් මහන්සි වීමෙන් ටොම් සහ සේරා තම කෝපි වගාව දියුණු කරගෙන නය බරින් මිදී සාර්ථකත්වයට පැමිණි නමුත් පසුව දිලිර රෝගය වැළඳීම නිසා වගාව විනාශ විය.
දිලිර රෝගයෙන්ත විනාශවූ තම අරලිය වතුයාය ගැන හියු පැවසුවේ "පුළුවන් විදිහට ගෙනියනවා, බැරිනම් ඔය තියන විදිහට තියෙන්න හරිනවා" යනුවෙනි. නමුත් හියු ගේ පුතා ඩේවිඩ් තම බ්රිතන්ය අද්යාපනය සම්පුර්ණ කර ඇසැමයට ගොස් තේ වගාව හදාරා පැමිණි අයෙකු විය. ඔහු නිරිභිතව පියාගේ විනාශ වූ කෝපි වගාව සුද්දකර තේ වගාවට අවතීර්ණ විය. ඔහුගේ උපදෙස් පරිදි ටොම් සහ සේරා ද තේ වගාව ආරම්භ කළහ.
C A විජේසේකර විසින් පරිවර්තනය කරනලද මෙම වනකතාව මම 1975 පාසල් ශිෂ්යයකු ව සිටි සමයේ කියවා තිබුණි. පරිවර්තකයා ඉතා ජව සම්පන්නව එය සිදුකර තිබුනිසා එය එකදිගට කියවාගෙන ගියෙමි. තවමත් එය මගේ මතකයේ පවතී.
පරිවර්තනය: තිත්ත කොපි - අනුල ද සිල්වා (2003)
මෙම නවකතාවේ මුල් පරිවර්තනය කාලයකට පෙර C A විජේසේකර විසින් සිදුකරන ලදී.
ලංකාව යටත් විජිතයක් වූ පසු, 1860 දී පමණ බ්රිතාන්ය වැවිලි කරුවන්ගේ ලංකාවේ කෝපි වගාවට අවතීර්ණ වීම; පාරම්පරික ඉඩම් අහිමිවීම, ප්රථමික වනාන්තර විනාශවීම, ජල මුලාශ්ර අපවිත්ර වීමනිසා කන්ද උඩරට ජනතාව අපහසු තාවයට පත්වීම සිදු විය.
යටත් විජිතකරණයෙන් පසු ඒ හා බැඳුනු විදේශීය ආයෝජන ලාභදායි වැවිලි කර්මාන්තයට වැඩි වැඩි යෙන් යොමු විය. කැලිෆෝර්නියා වේ හා ඕස්ට්රේලියාවේ රත්රන් වලට තිබු පොරය මෙන් ලංකාවේ ඉඩම් වලට පොරයක් තිබිණ.
මෙම නවකතාවේ ප්රධාන චරිත වන ටොම් සහ හියු, නෙවිල් පවුලට අයත් සොහොයුරන් විය. හියු ඉක්මනින් තරහ ඇවිස්සෙන පසුව පලිගන්නා සහ ටික කාලයකදී පරණ කෝන්තර අමතක කරදමා යලිත් හිතවත් වන පුද්ගලයෙකි. ඔහු කිසිම උවදුරක් ගැන සැලකිලිමත් නොවන, එම මොහොතේ පමණක් සතුටින් ජිවත්වන පුද්ගලයෙකි. මොහුට ප්රතිවිරුද්ධ චරිතයක් වූ ටොම් තම වගකීම් කරට ගෙන, මහන්සිවී වැඩකර, තම සේවකයන් හා හිත මිතුරන් හට අවංකව සේවය කරන පුද්ගලයෙකි.
ටොම් සහ සාරා, හියුගේ උපදෙස් පිළිගෙන වැවිලි කර්මාන්තය ගැන කිසි අවභෝධයක් නැතිව මුදල් ඉපයීමේ පරමාර්ථයෙන් කෝපි වගාව පිනිස ලංකාවට පැමිණි අලුත විවාහ වුන යුවලකි.
විශාල බලාපොරොත්තු තබාගෙන ලංකාවට පැමිණි වැවිලි කරුවන් හට බලාපොරොත්තු වුන සුව පහසු ජිවිත හෝ ලාභාංශ නොලැබුණි. ඔවුන් බොහොමයකට වැවිලි කර්මාන්තය පිළිඹඳ වෘතිය දැනුමත් නොතිබිණ, තම නිෂ්පාදන වෙළඳපොළට ගෙනයාමට යටිතල පහසුකම් නොතිබිණ, යන්ත්රෝපකරණ මිල අධික විය, වතු කම්කරුවන් පාලනය කිරීම අපහසු විය, කෝපි ශාකයට වැළඳුන දිලිර රෝගය නිසා වගාව විනාශ විය.
මෙම අපහසුකම් නිසා සමහර වැවිලි කරුවන්ගේ පවුල් ජිවිත කඩාකප්පල් විය, සමහරු මත්පැනට ඇබ්බැහි වුහ, හමිලියා වට්සරින් නමැති දිලීර රෝගයට ගොදුරුවී කෝපි වගාව විනාශවීමෙන් සමහරු බන්කොලොත් වුහ. සමහරු කිසිම ඉතිරිකරගත් මුදලක් නොමැතිව තම මවු රටට ගියහ.
වතු ආර්ථිකයෙන් සාර්ථක වුයේ කොපි වගාව අත හැර තේ වගාවට අවතීර්ණ වූ වැවිලිකරුවන් පමණි.
ඉතා දුක් මහන්සි වීමෙන් ටොම් සහ සේරා තම කෝපි වගාව දියුණු කරගෙන නය බරින් මිදී සාර්ථකත්වයට පැමිණි නමුත් පසුව දිලිර රෝගය වැළඳීම නිසා වගාව විනාශ විය.
දිලිර රෝගයෙන්ත විනාශවූ තම අරලිය වතුයාය ගැන හියු පැවසුවේ "පුළුවන් විදිහට ගෙනියනවා, බැරිනම් ඔය තියන විදිහට තියෙන්න හරිනවා" යනුවෙනි. නමුත් හියු ගේ පුතා ඩේවිඩ් තම බ්රිතන්ය අද්යාපනය සම්පුර්ණ කර ඇසැමයට ගොස් තේ වගාව හදාරා පැමිණි අයෙකු විය. ඔහු නිරිභිතව පියාගේ විනාශ වූ කෝපි වගාව සුද්දකර තේ වගාවට අවතීර්ණ විය. ඔහුගේ උපදෙස් පරිදි ටොම් සහ සේරා ද තේ වගාව ආරම්භ කළහ.
C A විජේසේකර විසින් පරිවර්තනය කරනලද මෙම වනකතාව මම 1975 පාසල් ශිෂ්යයකු ව සිටි සමයේ කියවා තිබුණි. පරිවර්තකයා ඉතා ජව සම්පන්නව එය සිදුකර තිබුනිසා එය එකදිගට කියවාගෙන ගියෙමි. තවමත් එය මගේ මතකයේ පවතී.
January 13, 2024
"කම්කරුවන් වරෙක ටොම් තරහ ගැස්සවීය. වරෙක හිනාගැස්සවීය. සිංහල හා ද්රවිඩ කම්කරුවන් අතර චිත්ත ස්වාභාවය අතින් ඇති වෙනස්කම් ඔහු ඉක්මනින්ම හදුනාගත්තේය. සමස්තයක් වශයෙන් ද්රවිඩ කම්කරුවන් වැඩෙහි දක්ෂයන් වූ අතර තේරුම් ගැනීම පහසු විය. සිංහල කම්කරුවන් බුද්ධිමත් වූ අතර වැඩ කලේ ඕනෑවට එපාවටය."
තිත්ත කෝපි
පරිවර්තනය : අනුල ද සිල්වා
(Bitter Berry - Christine Wilson)
හතර හෝ පහ ශ්රේණියකදී සුදු ගෝණා සහ සුදු වැද්දා පොත් මා ඉතා ආසාවෙන් කියවනවා දැක අප්පච්චීගෙන් මට ඒ පොතේ රචකයා වූ දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ චරිතාපදානය වු "වන වැදුනු දොස්තර" පොත තෑගි ලැබුණි.
පුංචි මම දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ වචන වලින් යටත් විජිත සමය අවසානයේ ලංකාව සහ ලාංකිකයන් ගැන බෝහෝදැ උගත්තෙමි.
මිනිසුන්, ලාංකික පරිසරය පමණක් නොව දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ පොත පුරා ආදරයෙන් ලියවුනු ඔහුගේ දියනිය ක්රිස්ටිනා ස්පිටිල්, (ක්රිස්ටිනා විල්සන්) මගේ ළමා මනසේ තදින් කාවැදුනු චරිතයකි.
දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ තම දියණියගේ ලේඛන හැකියාව ගැන විස්තර කර ඇති අයුරු කියවූ පසු කාවදා හෝ කියවිය යුතු ලැයිස්තුවට තිත්ත කෝපි පොත ද එකතුවී තිබුණි.
වසර 20කටත් වඩා පසු කලෙකදී හෝ මෙම පරිවර්තන කෘතිය කියවීමට ලැබීම නැවතත් යටත් විජිත සමයෙන් පසු ලංකාවේ සමාජ හා සංස්කෘතිම තත්වයන් පිලිබද අවබෝධය වැඩි කරගැනීමට උපකාරීවුවායැයි කිවහැක.
තිත්ත කෝපි
පරිවර්තනය : අනුල ද සිල්වා
(Bitter Berry - Christine Wilson)
හතර හෝ පහ ශ්රේණියකදී සුදු ගෝණා සහ සුදු වැද්දා පොත් මා ඉතා ආසාවෙන් කියවනවා දැක අප්පච්චීගෙන් මට ඒ පොතේ රචකයා වූ දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ චරිතාපදානය වු "වන වැදුනු දොස්තර" පොත තෑගි ලැබුණි.
පුංචි මම දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ වචන වලින් යටත් විජිත සමය අවසානයේ ලංකාව සහ ලාංකිකයන් ගැන බෝහෝදැ උගත්තෙමි.
මිනිසුන්, ලාංකික පරිසරය පමණක් නොව දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ පොත පුරා ආදරයෙන් ලියවුනු ඔහුගේ දියනිය ක්රිස්ටිනා ස්පිටිල්, (ක්රිස්ටිනා විල්සන්) මගේ ළමා මනසේ තදින් කාවැදුනු චරිතයකි.
දොස්තර ස්පිටිල්ගේ තම දියණියගේ ලේඛන හැකියාව ගැන විස්තර කර ඇති අයුරු කියවූ පසු කාවදා හෝ කියවිය යුතු ලැයිස්තුවට තිත්ත කෝපි පොත ද එකතුවී තිබුණි.
වසර 20කටත් වඩා පසු කලෙකදී හෝ මෙම පරිවර්තන කෘතිය කියවීමට ලැබීම නැවතත් යටත් විජිත සමයෙන් පසු ලංකාවේ සමාජ හා සංස්කෘතිම තත්වයන් පිලිබද අවබෝධය වැඩි කරගැනීමට උපකාරීවුවායැයි කිවහැක.
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