EMPIRES CHILDREN: CHAPTER 1
Some of you asked for a teaser – so here it is. Chapter 1 – hope you like it! If you do – you will LOVE the rest of the book. May 1957 Watakälé, Sri Lanka Eight-year-old Shiro Rasiah skipped down the dirt path leading from her house to the tea factory. ‘There once was an ugly duckling, with feathers all stubby and brown. And the other birds said in so many words – get out of town.’ Her sweet, high voice spiralled into the majestic hills of central Sri Lanka, robed in the emerald green of tea bushes. The aroma of fresh picked tea leaves blended with the fragrance of fermenting tea wafting up the hill from the tea factory in the valley. This was Shiro’s playground and her father’s livelihood. Shiro loved everything around her. The mountains that...
Book Club Notes
Empires Children explores themes of: Cultural practices and norms in Sri Lanka. Varied expressions and outcomes of desire (power, riches, career, freedom, sex). Power dynamics of colonial Sri Lanka. You will read about: Family expectations and duty Arranged marriages Tea plantation life in Sri Lanka Search for atonement Attached is a chapter guide for discussion – Enjoy BookClubNotes_Empires_Children (4)
Tea Manufacture
All tea comes from the leaves of the Camellia sinensis plant. The basic process of tea manufacture involves: Plucking, Withering (allowing the leaves to wilt and soften), Rolling (to shape the leaves and wring out the juices), Fermentation /Oxidizing (enzymes in the tea leaf interact with oxygen), Firing (Drying) Sorting, classifying and packing Step 1. Plucking: The leaves are harvested by hand, usually ranging between just the unopened bud to the top three leaves and the bud, depending on the tea being created. In order to make hand plucking possible, the tea “trees” are pruned into waist-high bushes. After plucking, the leaves are sorted for uniformity and any stems, twigs, broken leaves, etc. are removed. Step 2. Withering: The leaves are laid out...
1964: Anthony and William leave the manor for Sri Lanka
The autumn sunshine filtered through the red gold canopy of the ancient lime trees. The dry autumn leaves drifted down on the bay gelding hunter and added to the thick brown carpet on the ground under the horse’s hooves. Anthony rode with his fingers soft on the reins. The muscles in his leg rippled as he nudged his mount. The horse neighed and tossed his head. The thick almost-black tail twitched. “Whoa! Pegasus,” Anthony ran his hand over the shining brown mane. The horse grew quiet under his master’s touch. He trotted along the avenue. Rider and horse had been together for the four years that Pegasus had been part of the manor stables. He was Anthony’s personal horse. Anthony continued to fondle the strong neck. “I’m sorry old friend. I’ll be gone tomorrow.”...
1962 Anthony and Bob Kirkland in Bakewell, England
The late evening summer sunshine slanted through the frosted glass windows of the Bell and Ivy. The Victorian limestone building dated back to the eighteen hundreds. The building in Bakewell had been in the Kirkland family for over a hundred years, the last ninety as the local pub. The people of Bakewell had come to judge the seasons by the changing colour of the ivy that clung to the exterior of the two story building. A large brass bell hung just inside the mahogany and glass door with the etched-glass Kirkland crest. It rang out across the town to announce Kirkland births and deaths. It had been rung twice in this generation, twenty-six years ago when Robert was born and four years later for Elizabeth. The interior of the pub with the dark wood panelling and...