Colombo: A NovelColombo is in the throes of an explosion. Its face changes continuously, its vices are legion, its future as yet obscure and its paths speak of sunlight as well as of shadow.-' Carl Muller begins his quasi-fictional portrait of this beautiful, war-torn city by describing the great battles fought over it by European colonizers-. In AD 1505, a Portuguese fleet blown off-course took shelter in Galle, overthrew the local kings, fortified Colombo and decided to stay. The Dutch came along, ousted the Portuguese, made Colombo their capital and ruled till the British arrived and sent them packing. Muller intersperses the tales of the past into descriptions of the battles that are being fought in Colombo today"political battles in which vested interests play a major role as well as battles fought on the individual level in the struggle to survive: young women and children turning to prostitution to earn an extra buck, people begging in the streets to make ends meet, unemployed young men turning to crime in frustration, students demonstrating against atrocities, lovers pining for nightfall in order to push away loneliness if only for a few moments... Written in Muller's lucid style, Colombo: A Novel is a chronicle of a city's trials and triumphs. |
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Page 161
... Dutch were told : expel the Portuguese and hand over the forts to the king . In return , the Dutch would be allowed to hold a fortified position on the sea coast and enjoy the monopoly of the spice trade . Thus , in AD 1638 , a Dutch ...
... Dutch were told : expel the Portuguese and hand over the forts to the king . In return , the Dutch would be allowed to hold a fortified position on the sea coast and enjoy the monopoly of the spice trade . Thus , in AD 1638 , a Dutch ...
Page 162
... Dutch , although purportedly coming to the aid of Raja Sinha II , came clearly to advance their own commercial interests to take control of the spices of Sri Lanka . All the Dutch really wanted was to step into the shoes of the ...
... Dutch , although purportedly coming to the aid of Raja Sinha II , came clearly to advance their own commercial interests to take control of the spices of Sri Lanka . All the Dutch really wanted was to step into the shoes of the ...
Page 163
... Dutch were the masters of the low country . It was quite embarrassing , actually , for in the eyes of all other foreign powers the Dutch were the interlopers . They had no business being in Sri Lanka ; no business taking parts of the ...
... Dutch were the masters of the low country . It was quite embarrassing , actually , for in the eyes of all other foreign powers the Dutch were the interlopers . They had no business being in Sri Lanka ; no business taking parts of the ...
Contents
Under the Umbrella | 3 |
The Leafy Mango Tree | 14 |
Shabby People | 23 |
Copyright | |
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Angelbeck arms asked bastion blood boat British Buddha Buddhist building called canal Captain carried Ceylon child Church cinnamon coconut Colombo Company dark door dragged Dutch East elephants eyes father fire fish Galle Face Galle Face Green Galle Face Hotel garden Gate girls give Governor Grand Pass guns hands harbour head Hotel Hulft hundred India Jaya Kandy Kelani kill king knew Kochchikade Kollupitiya Kotte lake land Legrevisse light live London looked LTTE Malays Maradana military Minister mother moved Mutwal night officers Pettah police political port Portuguese Raja Sinha ramparts road Royal Asiatic Society rupees scream ships Sinhala Sinhalese Slave Island Sri Lanka stands station stood Street Tamil tell thousand told trade tree Trincomalee turned Vesak vessels W.H. Auden wait walk walls watch Wellawatte wife woman