From ‘On the Wheels’ by Y S Hirlekar

[Yashwant Shankar Hirlekar’s 6000 miles of cycle travel in India and Sri Lanka in 1935]

…..Portugese Territory ….Goa ……streets are quite full of bars and toddy shops; and no one here seems to be more sober than when drunk.

Oddly enough the Roman Catholic Churches flourish alongside the pubs.

……..Gersoppa Falls …..In point of abruptness of fall it is said to stand foremost in the world.

…..Colombo ……The people are mostly Buddhists. But the advent of the Portugese has made many Singhalese take to Christian names without conversion to that faith.

…Ceylon ….The scenery on the highlands is picturesque; but the tea and rubber plantations make it somewhat monotonous……The workers in these plantations, which are mostly European concerns, are all Tamilians, as no Singhalese will work under men of other castes – so independent and proud are they. Wherever a Singhalese accepts any job, he at once develops the feeling that he is a manager and begins to issue orders. Sometimes he does not listen even to his superiors-an attitude that makes him unwelcome as a worker and brings about his speedy dismissal.

The Singhalese male workers are lazy when compared to their women. There are several instances of women supporting the idle men from the fruits of their hard work.

Jaffna ….The people here are practically Tamils….The place is a Roman Catholic See and missionaries practically control the education. Hence most of the Hindu boys and girls who attend the Christian colleges get converted; but the parents have in several instances retained their religion. The poverty of the people is yet another potent factor in the conversion of a large number of Hindus here into Christians.