Temples, Tea, and Forever England

Sri Muthumariamman Temple -  ceremonial (Gopuram) gateway

Hinduism was originally the dominant religion in Sri 
Lanka before the arrival of Buddhism in the 3rd century BC. Today the Tamils make up the main Hindu population in Sri Lanka. 

Over 70% of Sri Lanka's population practice Buddhism. Just over 12% are Hindu, almost 10% are Muslims (mainly Sunni), and 7.5% are Christians (mainly Roman Catholic) Less than 1% are atheists. 

The tower of this temple, covered in 1008 statues of Hindu deities, was a wondrous piece of Sri Lankan Hindu architecture to view, especially to our unaccustomed western eyes.  

The Sri Muthumariamman temple is dedicated to Mariamman, the goddess of rain and fertility. The prefix 'Muthu' means pearl. 'Mari" means rain and 'Amman' means mother. 

It was interesting to learn that this temple is used by both Hindus and Buddhist. 

SriRamajayam Hindu Temple also known as Ashok Vatika is believed to be situated in the very forest where Sita, wife of Lord Rama, was kept captive by King Ravana after he abducted her from India. 

The temple is an important stopping place for Hindu devotees as they pass through the valley. Many climb down behind the temple where the Hindu belief is that rocks in the valley below represent where Sita lived and the flowing stream is where she bathed during her abduction.   

Further downstream there is said to be a large footprint on the riverbank made by Lord Hanuman, a devotee of Lord Rama. He came to her and gave her King Rama's ring and promised that King Rama would save her. 

Lord Hanuman
It is a complex, epic Hindu tale but if you are interested you can read about it here

We headed on into the mountains above Kandy where tea plants grow and flourish.

In 1867, 17 year old James Taylor from Scotland, introduced the tea plant to Sri Lanka. He had learnt the rudiments of growing tea in southern India, and so began the birth of the Ceylon tea industry. The plants prospered on the hillsides of Kandy, and quickly established themselves as an important source of revenue. 
Thomas Lipton, a Scottish millionaire, made his fortune by owning and running a chain of grocery stores across the British Isles. He visited British Ceylon in the 1890s whilst on a journey to Australia. There he met Taylor, and it was agreed that Taylor would supply Lipton with tea for all of his British stores. The arrangement eventually led to Lipton distributing Ceylon tea throughout Europe and the USA.  

The tea picking work is carried out by the local Tamil population, but the task is far from easy. They climb up and down the high mountains all day long carrying sacks of tea strapped around their heads. The tea pickers pluck what is called a 'flush' (two leaves and a bud) from each plant, but the leaves have to be picked carefully. If they are too big they are too tough; if they are too small they are not economically viable. Once their sacks are full they then take them down to the plantation where they are processed within the hour. 

Having visited all of the different stages involved in sorting, drying, and preparing the leaves before they are packed to sell, we finished off the visit with 
'a nice cup of tea'

 

Travelling on even higher up into the mountain we finally reached our destination, Nuwar Eliya, which sits 1,868m (6,128ft) high on Mount Pedro, which is 523m (1,715ft) higher than Ben Nevis in Scotland. The town was established by the British in the early 19th century, and is known as Sri Lanka's 'Little England'. British Colonists travelled up regularly from Colombo to Nuwar Eliya to enjoy the benefits of having a fresher, cooler climate and thus escape the hot oppressive weather in Colombo.
Nuwar Eliya appears to have retained much of its Victorian appearance. There is a well maintained park, named after Queen Victoria, a fine 18 hole golf course, and a large mock tudor Post Office still dominates the centre of town. Curiously, life in Nuwar Eliya continues much as it did during its British heyday. The racing stables still train jockeys, breed horses, and race them around the Royal Turf Club racecourse - the highest track in the world. There are many outdoor programmes available such as Trekking, Cycling, Bird-watching, Fishing and Air rifle shooting.

We stayed at the Grand Hotel built in the 1800s, a large mock Tudor style mansion which previously was the former residence of Sir Edward Barnes, the Governor of Sri Lanka from 1830-50. It is located in the hills looking down over Nuwar Eliya, and set within perfectly manicured gardens. The all male staff have impeccable manners and wear elegant white Mandarin style tunics with long white sarongs. The building itself still retains all of its bygone grandeur with carved wood panel lined walls, marble fireplaces, elegant chandeliers, and the food is both delicious and beautifully presented. 

Yes, that is a large football at the entrance to the hotel - Sri Lanka too was suffering from World Cup Football fever!