The Tobacco Farmer
Veerakathy
The 105-year-old Veerakathy is very likely the oldest man in Jaffna. The tobacco farmer from Velanai has already outlived six of his sons. He talks about a Jaffna way of life that has helped him live a very long life.
Transcript and translations
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Subjects discussed
But I am still here
I was born in 1906. I moved to Galle when I was ten years old and ran a shop there. In 1920, I came back here and started farming. I got married in 1930. When we had three sons, my wife observed kanthsashdi viratham *, so we could get daughters (laughs). Then I got four daughters! (Laughs).
I have 8 sons. Six of them are dead…two are still living. But I’m still here… I have no complaints. My children look after me well. At five o clock I have my milk tea…then a plain tea around nine o’clock. Then at ten, they give me a good breakfast. At around one, I get rice. In the evening, a cup of tea and some string hoppers, pittu or thosai, whatever is there.
The toddy tapper sells fresh toddy, as soon as he gets it from the panai. It has an incredible taste. I also take arrack. I drink… (Laughs). I eat meat… I eat cuttlefish, crab and kool **. (Laughs).
Those days, I bought a piece of land for 75 cents, now that is worth 25,000 rupees. I bought one egg for two cents, now it’s twenty rupees. Paddy was four cents. Rice was imported to Galle from India. Muthusamba rice was ten cents, seeraga samba nine cents and raw rice was eight cents. Now how much for a kothu *** of paddy? Times have changed. What can we do?
One man says only those who commit sins live longer, because they won’t be reincarnated at the right time. But another says only people who have done good in their past lives get a long life. Which is right? I don’t know.
* kanthsashdi viratham is a period of fasting observed by Hindus for six days during late October or early November.
** kool is a traditional Jaffna broth made from palmyrah flour and seafood.
*** A kothu is a traditional scale used to measure paddy.
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