A WALK THROUGH THE THEN COLOMBO

Kodi gaha yata mama upanne, Nama giya thenaki rate, Kolambaya kiyalai kiyanne, Mulu lokaya hatara wate. Hedata wedata hari soorayo, Apith kolamba kollo,

Hedata wedata hari soorayo, Apith kolamba kollo.

‘Kodi gaha yata mama upanne,’ an all time pop hit by singing legends M. S. Fernando and H. R. Jothipala from the 1971 classic Sinhala film ‘Hathara denama sooraya,’ brings to one’s mind the pride of those who were born in the heart of the city of Colombo or if metaphorically stated the champions who were produced beneath the flagpole of a country’s capital city, with necessary blessings and talents, compared to another ordinary countryman.

Invaded by the Portuguese, the Dutch and the British, the then Ceylon and its capital Colombo had been influenced for over four centuries by those foreign cultures, cuisine, styles, way of living and of course the architecture. Although, present Sri Lanka’s capital had been relocated to Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte chiefly for administrative purposes the Colombo city remains as the commercial hub with its grand remnants of a bygone era of pre-independence.

KOLAMBA KODIGAHA (COLOMBO PORTUGUESE FLAGPOLE)

Kodigaha or the flagpole, which is considered a historically significant landmark of a capital city or a country, was first placed in Colombo of the then Ceylon during the beginning of the Portuguese period in 1505.

The Portuguese flagpole, which is now situated at Aluthkade or Hulftsdorp next to late President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s statue, had originally been erected by the Portuguese along the Flag Staff Street behind the Presidential Palace in Fort facing the Colombo Harbour.

It is believed that the incoming ships and vessels would identify the then Colombo Harbour (centuries before the city map was significantly changed with the addition of the current Port City) when the flagpole along the shoreline was sighted. Kodigaha was then relocated to its present location in Aluthkade on the orders of former President Premadasa in the late 1980’s, where it remains to date as a historic landmark.

LIGHTHOUSE CLOCK TOWER ON CHATHAM STREET

When one walk along the Flag Staff Street towards Upper Chatham Street he or she would encounter the Lighthouse Clock Tower on the roundabout of the crossroads of Chatham Street and Janadhipathi Mawatha.

Built during the British regime and opened by Governor Sir Henry C. Ward in 1857, the Lighthouse Clock Tower is significant in many ways to Colombo. This monumental structure is not only considered to be the first clock tower in Ceylon but also said to be older than the world renowned ‘Big Ben’ in Westminster, London.

With a height of 96 feet, the tower’s clock had been imported from Britain in 1814 for 1, 200 sterling pounds. A decade after the launch of the clock tower, an oil lamp was lit on the pinnacle of the tower covered by a glass as a beacon for the visiting naval community of the Colombo Harbour. This was later transformed to a gas lamp and then to an electrical one in 1932 earning its name of Lighthouse Clock Tower and one of a kind in the world, as some historians say.

However, only a few would know the most intriguing fact about this monument that it was the centre point in Western Sri Lanka where the distance is counted in miles to all three ends of the country in the North, South and East. This Lighthouse Clock Tower is also considered to be the zero milepost in the country.

GALLE FACE GREEN AND MILEPOST ONE

Colombo’s much loved seafront of the Indian Ocean or the breathtaking Galle Face Green was not so sweet about four centuries ago when it was used as an execution ground to behead criminals during the Dutch period in the 17th century. At a time when the crowds passing by were scared to look at this ground, British Governor Edward Barnes ordered it to be developed as a racecourse in 1821 and the country’s first horse race was held in 1840 on Galle Face Green.

However, heavy rains transformed this racecourse into a swamp afterwards and the succeeding Governor Henry C. Ward’s wife had developed it into a leisure land for the ladies and children. The horse races had been then transferred to the lawns of the Cinnamon Gardens and the green was also used for cricket matches between England and Australia.

When the British invaded Ceylon in 1796 they also captured the lush lands that belonged to the natives in remote Sri Lanka to cultivate their choicest crops and spices of cardamom, cinnamon, pepper and of course tea and coffee. To transport these crops they needed a network of roads and by 1800 they started surveying the country for this purpose.

The British constructed 35 A grade roads starting from zero milepost of Lighthouse Clock Tower and the first road to be developed was the A1 road connecting Colombo and Kandy in 1830, followed by the A2 road from Colombo to Wellawaya and the A4 road from Colombo to Batticaloa.

Galle Face Green received its name as the lawn was facing the road to Galle, whilst the Milepost One could still be seen at the entrance to Hotel Taj Samudra. History enthusiast and pavement vendor Jinadasa Liyanage aka ‘Ahinsaka’ who wrote letters to the late Queen Elizabeth showed us another first milepost close to Gasworks Junction in Pettah.

COLOMBO FORT AND DELFT GATEWAY

Although, Colombo is renowned for its Fort there is no sign of a fortress to be seen today except for the only remaining evidence of a fort entrance called Delft Gateway or ‘Layden Bastian Gate.’

Located in the Commercial Bank building premises in Fort linking Bristol Street and Duke Street the Delft Gateway is preserved as a historic monument of the now destroyed Fort of Colombo.

Built by the Dutch during its colonial rule from 1640 to 1796, the ramparts of the Fort were removed by the British when they took over control to acquire space for their administrative buildings. However, the British left this gateway unharmed.

HULFTSDORP AND SANTHA BASTHIYAMA

Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court Complex is situated at Aluthkade or formerly known as Hulftsdorp. It is a bustling yet silent area due to the scattered court complexes with hordes of lawyers in black attire who can be seen on the move during the day time. Hulftsdorp gets its name after the Dutch General Gerard Pieterz Hulft, who was sent to Ceylon from Amsterdam in 1655 with a fleet.

Situated on an elevated terrain in Colombo, one could witness the surrounding areas even up to the harbour from Hulftsdorp at a time when hardly any tall buildings were present in the city.

A few yards from the Aluthkade Court Complex lies the

historic St. Sebastian Church, which has been revered by the residents for a long time as Santha Basthian Palliya or Santha Basthiyama. Along this area flows the Santha Basthiyama Ela or Sebastian Canal.

Santha Basthiyan Ela, which branched off as a distributary of the Kelani Ganga from Nagalan Veediya (Nagalan Street) in Grandpass joins the Beira Lake from the point where the present Pettah Floating Market is, along the Bastian Mawatha and its private bus stand.

BEIRA LAKE, KOLON GANGA AND KOLONTOTA

The Beira Lake, which spans across a greater area of the Colombo City attracting many tourists and adding to the scenic beauty of the city, was not a natural lake as many thought. according to a book by Portuguese priest Father Fernao de Queyroz, when Vijayabahu laid siege to Colombo in 1522, the Portuguese Captain Lopo de Brito pursued the attackers, slaying and wounding them until they reached a stream, which was later dammed into a lake for better fortification of the city.

The stream, a distributary of the Kelani Ganga, was known as Kolon Ganga, had branched off the Kelani Ganga from Sedawatha area and had flowed through Dematagoda, Kolonnawa and into the sea at a point north of the present harbour. This point is famously known as Kolontota, the place where the Portuguese were believed to have landed in 1505. The popular Sinhala song by maestro Pandith W. D. Amaradeva ‘Kolomthota natha mahalu vee’ refers this place.

DAM STREET AND KAIMAN DORAKADA (KAYMAN’S GATE)

Although, such stream or river had ceased to exist way back, the name Dam Street continues to exist because of the road that was built on the old dam of the Beira Lake in Pettah. However, some historians say that both Santha Basthiyan Ela and Kolon Ganaga are one and the same.

The old Colombo Fort of the Portuguese period had several entry points to it both by land and water. The previously mentioned Delft Gate or the Layden Bastian Gate could be recognized as land entry point, whilst the famous Kaiman Dorakada could be identified as the water entry point or what is believed to be some as Kolon Ganaga.

When one walks along the Main Street towards Gaspaha Handiya or the Gasworks Junction, comes a point called Kaiman Dorakada or the Kayman’s Gate. An old bell tower, which is situated on the side of the Main Street, called Kayman’s Gateway Bell Tower is the only sign to identify the Kaiman Dorakada today.

During the Portuguese period the Kolon Ganga flowed outside the Colombo Fort walls and this river was said to have been infested with crocodiles, to ward off unwanted visitors or invaders. The gate used to open at 6.00 in the morning and close at 6.00 in the evening. The bell was rung to warn the entering and exiting visitors through this guarded post about the opening and closing times of the Kayman’s Gate.

Another popular Sinhala song by Sunil Edirisinghe called ‘Paru palamen kolambata gal peliya sepath wuna,’ mentions many of these places including the lines ‘Santha basthiyan ele paru padimu selesthina,’ and ‘Kaiman dorakada indapan mang enathuru selesthina.’

Influenced by three invasions Colombo continues to witness the setting sun every evening, yet with a forgotten part of its history concealed in its heart with an unsung affection.