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
... Rajavaliya — a Sinhalese chronicle which referred to the Portuguese who ate bread and drank wine ) , disputes arose between Raja Sinha II and the Dutch . The Dutch held on to the forts and territory they had captured . The king demanded ...
... Rajavaliya — a Sinhalese chronicle which referred to the Portuguese who ate bread and drank wine ) , disputes arose between Raja Sinha II and the Dutch . The Dutch held on to the forts and territory they had captured . The king demanded ...
Page 252
... Raja Sinha was a clever campaigner . He had previously ordered his chief officer , Ekanayaka , to take a body of men , elephants and cavalry and ravage the environs of Colombo . Starve out the capital . As we remarked earlier ... the ...
... Raja Sinha was a clever campaigner . He had previously ordered his chief officer , Ekanayaka , to take a body of men , elephants and cavalry and ravage the environs of Colombo . Starve out the capital . As we remarked earlier ... the ...
Page 253
... ( Raja Sinha ) would have succeeded in his aims if in it he had taken the soldiers unawares and exhausted by the ... Raja Sinha's camp on fire . This turned the tide somewhat , and as Raja Sinha withdrew , the Portuguese began a most ...
... ( Raja Sinha ) would have succeeded in his aims if in it he had taken the soldiers unawares and exhausted by the ... Raja Sinha's camp on fire . This turned the tide somewhat , and as Raja Sinha withdrew , the Portuguese began a most ...
Contents
Under the Umbrella | 3 |
The Leafy Mango Tree | 14 |
Shabby People | 23 |
Copyright | |
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