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Winner of the Gratiean Memorial Prize for the best work in English Literature by a Sri Lankan for 1993 Hilarious, affectionate, candid and moving, this is the story of the Burghers of Sri Lanka . . . Who are the Burghers? Descended from the Dutch, the Portuguese, the British and other foreigners who arrived in the island-nation of Sri Lanka (and ‘mingled’ with the local inhabitants), the Burghers often stand out because of their curiously mixed features-grey eyes in an otherwise Dravid face, for instance. A handsome and guileless people, the Burghers have always lived it up, forever willing to ‘put a party’. Carl Muller, a Burgher himself, writes in this quasi-fictional, engaging biography of the lives of his people; they emerge, at the end of his story, as a race of fun-loving, hardy people, much like the jam fruit tree which simply refuses to be contained or destroyed.
Imprint: India Penguin
Published: Oct/2000
ISBN: 9780140230314
Length : 224 Pages
MRP : ₹250.00
Imprint: Penguin Audio
Published:
ISBN:
Imprint: India Penguin
Published: Oct/2000
ISBN: 9789351180258
Length : 224 Pages
MRP : ₹250.00
Winner of the Gratiean Memorial Prize for the best work in English Literature by a Sri Lankan for 1993 Hilarious, affectionate, candid and moving, this is the story of the Burghers of Sri Lanka . . . Who are the Burghers? Descended from the Dutch, the Portuguese, the British and other foreigners who arrived in the island-nation of Sri Lanka (and ‘mingled’ with the local inhabitants), the Burghers often stand out because of their curiously mixed features-grey eyes in an otherwise Dravid face, for instance. A handsome and guileless people, the Burghers have always lived it up, forever willing to ‘put a party’. Carl Muller, a Burgher himself, writes in this quasi-fictional, engaging biography of the lives of his people; they emerge, at the end of his story, as a race of fun-loving, hardy people, much like the jam fruit tree which simply refuses to be contained or destroyed.
Carl Muller was born in 1935 in Kandy. As a young man he joined the Royal Ceylon Navy, then briefly served in the Ceylon Army and later joined the Colombo Port Commission. He moved into journalism and worked in the Middle East. He is a prolific writer having written poetry, fiction, a children's book, short stories, historical fiction, a collection of essays and monographs. He has won many awards and prizes for his writing. He is best known for The Jam Fruit Tree (1993), which won the Gratiaen Prize for that year. He lives in Kandy.