HAPPY RICE. HAPPY LIFE

Rice, in one form or another, exists at the centre of most things in Sri Lanka. Sri Lankans consume an average of 11 kilos of curries, kothu roti, lamprais, hoppers, kiribath, and sweet puddings each month. And although healthier red rice varieties command more favour here than in most other countries, the country once supported over 2000 different strains, including heirloom varieties like Suwandel, Maa-Wee, and the dark Kalu Heenati (considered something of an aphrodisiac), which are now making a modest comeback.

The crop is planted in two seasons per year: the Maha (bigger) season from September to March, fed by the NE monsoon; and the Yala (smaller) season between May and August. Its cultivation, though improved by mechanisation and disease-resistant varieties, remains elaborate.

The overall paddy track, or Kumburuyaya, is subdivided into smaller plots – liyadi - around which ridges (niyara) are made, pierced by vakkadas to let water in. Often, small areas are left wild to feed the birds that might otherwise eat the paddy. Harrowing or preparing the land, once done by ploughs and oxen, is now mechanised. The land is levelled and seeds, often pregerminated, sown across the watery track – the water itself is typically kept at around 5 cm above the soil. Then the wedding begins. And never stops: patience was ever a virtue best exhibited by rice farmers.

Harvesting is usually a manual process, followed rapidly by drying, storage, and milling; rapid drying is the most critical step. Many people juggle regular jobs with maintaining small pieces of family paddy, tucking their farming work into off-time and weekends, and enlisting family members to help out. And this is just what Maju, our supervisor and butler, does with his piece of family paddy near the estate. The paddy is fed by one of the district’s main streams – the Kospotu Oya, which flows even during the driest of dry seasons.

Together with his wife, Shyamalee, our head housekeeper, and his sons, the paddy is carefully managed. It lies just below the compound where his mother and other family members live – his sister, brother, uncle, aunt, and nephews - and the immediate garden around their houses, shaded by mango trees. Surrounded by his neighbours' plots and encircled by forest and hamlets, it is a perfect picture of authentic country life. And a good place to come to see the crop up close and contemplate its singular importance on the island.