Mountain magic

By Aditha Dissanayake

[email protected]

The sound of barking greets me as I press the doorbell of a white two storied house situated in fairy land; dew covered cypress leaves, roses, butterflies, mountains surrounded in mist....at around ten on Monday morning. I am on a mission of a different kind this week. I am in Thalawakelle to write about a tea estate which has been in the news during the past few weeks for setting an all time record price at the tea auctions.

The barking subsides. A white clad figure whom I (correctly) guess is Appu the Butler greets me with a warm smile and ushers me into a spacious room filled with the morning sunlight.

As I wait for my host, the Group Manager, under whose instigation the record price was set, I sneak a look at the photos on the mantelpiece.

Yes, the mantelpiece, there really is a mantelpiece as well as a fireplace in the room, which together with the Victorian armchairs make me feel as though I have stepped inside a page of a Jane Austen novel.

I assume the two people smiling at the camera from various scenic backdrops in the photos are the inhabitants of this sprawling mansion, but two people who seemed to have been travelling all over the world rather than live in these magical surroundings. “If I were you I will live here forever” I mutter to the photos and jump out of my skin when a voice from behind me says “Excuse me”.

The first thought that crosses my mind is that I have been caught talking to myself by Mr. Darcy of Pride and Prejudice fame. But the thirty-something figure, clad in a denim and jungle green shirt extends his hand towards me saying “I am Nishantha Abeysinghe, welcome to the Great Western Estate”. Fine. I recognize him from the photos. But who is the girl? Where is she?

I check myself. Work comes first. Nishantha Prasanna Abeysinghe, Group Manager, Great Western Estate waits patiently till, rummaging in my cloth hold-all inside which things have an amazing way of disappearing, I find my note book, pen, tape recorder before he asks “So what do you want to know about the Great Western Estate?”

The basics first. How large is the estate? How many workers? How long has he been here? “Its five years since I took over the estate. There are 1200 acres and 950 workers. Great Western is the largest tea estate owned by Thalawakelle Plantations Limited.

Could he comment about achieving this record price at the auctions. “A new all time record price for a western high grown BOP grade was achieved by Great Western Estate Talawakelle. Rs. 660 and 680 per Kg were established for two invoices, surpassing the previous best of Rs. 610. These two invoices were brokered by Forbes and Walker Ltd and purchased by Enura Trading Company and L.F.Holdings Ltd on behalf of their overseas clients”.

What is the secret behind his success? He answers with two words “team work”, and continues. “Beginning with the second in command, Deputy Manager, Channa Ikiriwatte to Tharanga de Silva (Assistant Manager), to P. Balakrishna (Factory Executive) and all the staff in the factory not to mention every worker who contributed in every way possible everyone was responsible for the success achieved by Great Western Estate at the auctions.

Next comes a lesson on the art of making a good cup of tea. “Like spring summer etc in other countries we too have our own season up here which is called the flavoury season” says Abeysinghe.

The Season begins in late December with the onset of the dry, cold period which peaks in February.During this period the Tea bushes undergo certain chemical changes due to climatic conditions.

These changes in the green leaf contributes towards the development of unique charactors in the Tea produced at this time. They are light in the cup and has excellent seasonal flavour.

The challenge for an Estate during this period is to harness this nature’s gift with utmost care during manufacture in order to preserve what is available in the leaf. This is what we did during this season to set the all time record.

Finally, talking about his vision for the future of the tea industry, he says “We at Great Western Estate will ensure that we continue to produce excellent Teas with typical Ceylon character which has attracted many overseas buyers who compete regularly for these teas at the Colombo auctions.

By emphasising that the quality of the tea we manufacture is more important than the quantity we hope to promote Ceylon Tea as something unique and special from other teas that are freely available world wide at cheaper prices”.

The end of the interview. I wish him luck and bid good bye to Patch, the Dalmatian who had greeted me two hours ago and who had now become my friend. She licks my hand in farewell.

But the question I really wanted to ask remains unanswered.

Who is the girl in the photos? Where is she?