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| Sunday, 30 May 2004 |
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Seeni Mudiyanse's sweet success by Piyadasa Wickrema Seneviratne In a serene atmosphere at Nagoda on the Galle-Mapalagama road in the Galle district, overlooking river Gin Ganga, there is an old colonial-style building which stands as a living memory to one of the industrious and enterprising personalities in Sri Lanka. This mansion popularly known as Nagoda Walawwa was the magnificent abode of an illustrious son of Sri Lanka called Mudliyar Don Eliyas Amarasiri Jayasinghe whom the villagers called Seeni Mudiyanse, a fitting description combining his colonial designation and the sugar industry to which he devoted the better part of his life.
Unique in its construction with mortar and molasses of sugarcane syrup as a base, it is still preserved in its original condition and in the same colonial style. It is said that a similar mortar mixture was used to build the old Dutch Fort in Galle. When talking about the sugar cane industry in Sri Lanka there is evidence that sugar cane was cultivated in the island as far back as the first century B.C. An inscription in Tissamaharama dating back to the fourth century states that the king granted lands for sugarcane cultivation. But in more recent times the pioneer sugarcane cultivators and industrialists were Mudliyar Don Eliyas Amarasiri Jayasinghe of Nagoda, Mudliyar D. J. Amarasekera of Hanwella and George Winter who had been an Editor of the Ceylon Observer. But among them it was Mudliyar Jayasinghe who played a more prominent role and his pioneering efforts in this field could be seen until more recent times when sugarcane cultivation in the Gin Ganga valley was a thriving business until it was gradually replaced by commercial crops such as tea and rubber which yielded better income. It completely disappeared from the soil with the emergence of the open economy in the recent past when cheap sugar imports began.
At the time when Mudliyar Jayasinghe launched this ambitious project, the farmers were engaged mainly in the cultivation of paddy and cash crops. At the beginning, it was no easy task to persuade the villagers to take to this entirely new cultivation. Therefore he himself gave the lead. In this venture he had to face various odds. Infrastructure facilities available then were of the barest minimum. The few miles of motorable roads were gravelled V.C. roads and tar was unknown. The chief mode of transport of goods to Galle was the Gin Ganga with its Dutch built outlet called Keppu Ela, which was the landing point at Mahamodera close to the Galle town. The availability of adequate manpower was a contributory factor for the success of this venture then. People could devote their time between the cultivating and harvesting seasons. Mudliyar Jayasinghe thought that their excess time could be profitably used in this venture. With his relentless efforts almost all the flat bare owita lands were brought under sugarcane very soon. With the close connections he had with the colonial administration, import of machinery and technology needed for the sugar industry was not difficult. The milling machinery was imported from Birmingham in England and the factory was sited at Nagoda where the present Police Station stands. This was popularly known as "Dum Mola" (steam mill) Sugarcane from the neighbouring villages were transported to the site in bullock carts and boats. The landing point in the Gin Ganga was a place called Dessowita where the ruins of the facilities provided were seen until recently. Considering the state of the prevailing industrial atmosphere at the time it may be surprising to hear that the Mudliyar produced even white sugar in the factory and it is said that the Governor-General Sir Arthur Havelock who visited the factory had tea at the Walawwa with the sugar produced at the factory. He described Nagoda as "Little Manchester" as it was a hive of activity following the introduction of the sugar industry. In 1886 an exhibition of goods and articles produced in the colonial territories was held in London and white sugar produced in Seeni Mudiyanse's factory was sent for this exhibition and it won a bronze medal and a certificate accompanied by an invitation from Queen Victoria to visit England to receive the prize. However due to his poor health at the time travel by sea was not advised and it is said that D. J. Wimalasurendra who also had an invitation to receive and award for his distinguished contribution to the generation of hydro electricity received the medal and certificate of the Mudliyar on his behalf. In another exhibition held in 1912 he received a silver medal. Shanthilal Jayasinghe, a lawyer who is a great grandson of Mudliyar Jayasinghe and the present incumbent of the Nagoda Walawwa is the proud owner of these valuable medals and certificates. According to him during the latter part of the life of Mudliyar Jayasinghe the sugar industry was abandoned by his great grandfather due to the availability of cheap imported sugar and the inability to obtain a replacement for the damaged main axle of the mill. Later what remained of the machinery and equipment were sold to George Winter who made a further attempt to develop this industry in the Baddegama area in the lower reaches of Gin Ganga. The last phase of this pioneer agriculturist and industrialist was spent in Godewatta Walawwa, the residence of another son of Mudliar Jayasinghe called Dharmadasa Amarasiri Jayasinghe, grandfather of its present incumbent Miss Sujatha Jayasinghe. According to her, she is in possession of a wealth of correspondence which the Mudliyar had with various social service organisations regarding his social service activities. There are some papers which mention his contribution to the development of the Mahinda College buildings. This enterprising personality who pioneered an industry against all odds in and era when decentralised budgets and subsidies and infrastructures of the present day were unknown deserves a place in the annals of the industrial history of Sri Lanka. It is noteworthy that Mudliyar Jayasinghe received recognition from the colonial masters not by any conversion to an alien faith or by betraying national interests to achieve narrow personal ambitions as was the order of the day but by his dedication and devotion to the service and well-being and uplift of the masses of the area. (Special thanks to Mr. Shanthilal Jayasinghe, Attorney-at-Law and Miss Sujatha Jayasinghe for the valuable information given). |
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