The end of the nineteenth century was the period when Sri Lanka was a colony of the British. The village of Ampitiya is located a short distance from the main capital of the Kanda Udarata Kingdom. A beautiful village in every sense of the word. It is a pleasant sight to watch the sun rise in the morning over the little hill. Small streams that flow continuously throughout the year help to harvest the prosperous fields of the village. That's all, the flowery forest bordering the village is full of wild animals. Bees and butterflies fly from flower to flower looking for nectar. Who doesn't like to listen to the songs of birds, while listening to them, all sorrows are forgotten. Like a meditation. However, this beauty is not without sadness. This story is like that. There was a pit in the middle of this village where farming was the main livelihood. Everyone called the owner of this pit as Ralahami of Ampitiya. There was a secret that few family members knew. That is that Ralahami of Ampitiya is a descendant of Sinhalese royalty. Even so, he is now a slave of the white imperialist rulers and is contented with a small fortune. The work of the government tax officer was also assigned to him. In Arachchila's cave, there were only his wife, daughter, and a man named Banda who helped with the housework. The daughter, who was about ten years old, was displaced from Rupa Soba. She was baptized as a child, so she was named Dona Catharina. She had studied well in school and was taught local martial arts by her father. By this time, the foreigners who ruled the country had oppressed the people from all sides. People had to pay taxes whether they cultivated land or not, such as land tax, paddy tax, and fallow tax. Not only that, he also paid a body tax for living. There is also a tax on the dog kept as a pet. What to do, many people used to pay all these taxes silently. 

Only a few people among you expressed their views against this and started rebelling against the government. Another duty assigned to Arachli was to find information about the rebels and notify the government. In any case, because Ampitiya Ralahami is a member of the real Sinhalese dynasty, why did he betray his own people? The government was suspicious of Ralahami about this. You know, there are some people who take advantage of the opportunity. So another person living in the same village who was watching Arachchila started to gossip to the locals that Arachchila was related to the rebels. The government, which was suspicious, thought that this was true and planned to arrest him. This information came to his ears from people close to Arachli. Now what to do? Those who opposed the government were mostly killed. Ralahami didn't feel sad even though she thought that the same fate was going to happen to her. But he was afraid that he would cause trouble to his wife and daughter. As usual, that morning the sun peeked out from the top of the rock. The village is crying and the pit is deserted. Two people had left the cave early in the morning. It is none other than Panchi Menike, that is, Bandai, who was helping Dona Catherine. Big Manik was told to go too, but she stayed in the cave with Ralahami. Little Menik and Bandai, who had walked a long way through the Russa forest for many days, told those who met them at Magathota that they were father and daughter. 


In the end, these two entered a village where they worked cleaning clothes. This is the village square where Banda grew up as a child. During the time of the Sinhalese king, these workers, who were considered as government service, were called by the local people who came later as caste heenas, so they were treated with less care even in the general society. In any case, she had removed her clothes and dressed in a cloth and a top, but everyone had a question as to whether the black-clad Banda was her daughter. Banda lied to this village that she came back to the village because her mother suddenly died of an illness and passed away. Now, several years had passed since Banda and Little Manik had settled in this same village doing the same job of washing clothes. Meanwhile, the government decided to impose a new tax. That is, except for the aristocratic families holding positions in the government, if all women wear a top, they have to pay a tax to the government, and if they don't, they have to keep their top bare. It was a death blow for the poor as the fixed tax was also very high. This tax was called breast tax. 

With the imposition of this tax, many women are confined to the house. Girls who were going to school also put an end to their studies. No one came forward to say a word against this even if they were putting up temples because they knew very well that opposing the government would be considered as opposing the Queen of Britain and that they would have to submit to the death penalty. Since Sinhalese men were appointed as tax officers, British soldiers started visiting the villages from time to time to check whether the law was being followed properly. That is why the tax officials also checked the area several times a week and looked for those who violate the law.

 

After a while, she was in front of the desk in the office of the prosecuting monk. First he asked her who she was. She replied that she belonged to an aristocratic generation and told how her family had to suffer because of a false accusation that her father had joined the rebels and everything that happened since then. Moreover, at the time of leaving the house, she also presented the ring with the state insignia given by her father to the plaintiff. Later, the proceedings started again and when the moment of announcing the verdict came, the entire court became silent like a mouse.

 She was acquitted of all charges, freed from the breast implant imposed on the village where she lives, and should be informed in writing to the British government requesting the necessary approval for the tax freedom of the entire country, moreover, she also requested the authorities to appoint her as the leader of the village where she lives. After a while, the breast implants were completely freed, but anemic women made it a habit to keep their upper body naked for a long time. So it became a norm in the society. (Names and some events are imaginary.)