Chapter 2 – Veddah game!



The whole village was agog to the next day because everyone wanted to be able to find the boys who had broken the watchman’s house. Some people thought that it must have been a gang of boys who came from another village. But the watchman’s mother said that two of the robbers looked like Upali and Dangadasa. But nobody said anything about Jinna. But Upali’s parents didn’t punish them because they didn’t know for sure whether they were the boys who broke the watchman’s house. Upali’s parents began to keep an eye on Upali and his friends. Upali and his friends didn’t do any mischievous things, but continued to play their usual games such as “Kalli”. About 2-3 weeks passed. People forgot about that house breaking incidence. And the watchman was no longer angry with them. Upali’s step mother stopped scolding him. And they began to play in the jungle again.

One evening, when they were playing in the jungle, someone suggested that “we will be Veddahs today”. They were wearing leaves as their clothing. Upali had a big strong bow with arrows which are made of strong pointed bamboo. But others had smaller bows and their arrows were made of mere eakle.

One day a girl was filling water from the pond in the jungle to her pot. Upali and his friends saw that and Upali said to other friends “shall we shoot her with our arrows?” Upali shot her and her leg was wounded. She shouted and sat down on the ground. Upali’s friends shot four more arrows and two fell into the water. Two hit the girl and fell onto the pond. Upali and his friend shouted happily saying “we did it!” and they rushed and they saw that the injured girl held her bleeding leg and mourned / whined. And they lifted her and carried her into the jungle. She began to whine more and more. But she couldn’t recognize them. The Veddahs threatened her a little bit. She was quiet and frightened / scared and started to cry.

“What shall we do now?” asked one of the boys.

Upali replied “We will have to get some medicines for the wound and if she can’t walk we will have to carry her back.”

She looked around frightened and said “really, I can walk. Please don’t carry me again”

Upali tore a strip of Jinna’s sarong and she didn’t like to do that and she crouched away. And Upali threatened her again to shut her mouth. They forcefully wrapped her wound with the strip of cloth. And someone said “She can’t walk yet. We will have to carry her”. She again shouted and said “people might see. I can walk now.”

“Quiet!” Upali said fiercely / aggressively.

“Why do we care about people? We are Veddahs.”

Upali and other friends carried off her into the jungle.


That girl, Lalitha, went to the village and said about that to some people in the village. She said that “I realized that the boys were playing a game, so I was not sad”. Some women who heard that blamed her. An old woman said that she is also a playful girl. Another woman said that the boys are not the culprits, but Lalitha is the one to be blamed.

Upali and the friends were not the ones who were blamed by the villagers, but it was Lalitha who got the blame. Lalitha didn’t go near that pond in the jungle for nearly 6 months. Upali’s father beat him and locked him up for 3-4 days. That punishment didn’t make him feel sorry. Upali’s father didn’t allow him to go to play with his friends. Father kept him in the house and Upali had to learn from his book. Usually everyday Upali goes to play soon after the school.

These days his father did not allow him to play with his friends. A month later, Upali thought of running away from home with Jinna.   But Jinna didn’t agree. Upali wished he could join the men who went mining for gem in Ratnapura jungles. After that his father heard that he is planning to run away. His father thought that his son will be a bad man if he stays in this village. His father planned to accommodate him in a principal’s house in Welikanda. That principal was a friend of him. And his step mother liked that idea too.

One day his father went to Welikanda by bus with Upali. The friend welcomed Upali and his father and he said that he was happy to be of some help to father. He hadn’t forgotten how far Upali’s father helped him when he was at the same school. / when they were schooling together.

Upali’s father said to his friend that Upali is a mischievous boy. His friend said “my son is also doing mischievous things. I don’t allow that. This boy will become a good boy if he stays here” 

After a few days, the principal started to scold Upali “You must not do mischievous things”. Upali was admitted to a new school in Welikanda. One of the students in that school threw a paper ball at the back of Upali’s head. The class was very noisy, as the students were very loud. “Silence” said the principal, striking his desk with his cane.





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