Rangoon Snooker

Sri Lanka. Peter A. Iseman, The Atlantic Monthly, Boston. Vol. 233. April 1974

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In 1815 at Kandy, the ancient hill capital, the last of the Ceylonese kings capitulated to the British, who ruled the island as a colony until it achieved independence in 1947.

It was a model colony and, in many ways, the culmination of the Anglo-Indian dream. With a flourishing and efficient plantation industry, and strong world markets in tea, rubber, and coconuts, the planters lived in a lordly manner in the high green hills around Nuwara Eliya, a day’s journey from Colombo. They would fish for Englishbred rainbow trout in the private streams of the Ceylon Fishing Club, and then retire to the Hill Club for an evening of Rangoon snooker, cards, and gin. An old menu for a routine weekday breakfast conjures up a world of Edwardian leisure: “Woodapple Cream, Sago Porridge, Salmon Vinaigrette, Cheese Omelette with Bacon, plus the usual trimmings.”