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 185
... Tamil ? This was a time of reckoning . This was a time when the communities must destroy each other .... Nurse ... Tamils ? It was a witch hunt spawned by people of partisan character and politics . Why , many asked , and especially ...
... Tamil ? This was a time of reckoning . This was a time when the communities must destroy each other .... Nurse ... Tamils ? It was a witch hunt spawned by people of partisan character and politics . Why , many asked , and especially ...
Page 192
... parody of a popular limerick doing the rounds among the Tamils of Colombo . Of course , it would be a matter of racial pride if the Tamil militants were to triumph . Such an outcome would bring on its own ' nuclear COLOMBO NIGHTS / 192.
... parody of a popular limerick doing the rounds among the Tamils of Colombo . Of course , it would be a matter of racial pride if the Tamil militants were to triumph . Such an outcome would bring on its own ' nuclear COLOMBO NIGHTS / 192.
Page 193
... Tamil pride and thicken Tamil phlegm . Yet , Colombo knows that the tide has turned . And this is why the Tamils wryly say : India's plan was bright in the beginning Then the boys spoiled their chances by gunning , We trust that the ...
... Tamil pride and thicken Tamil phlegm . Yet , Colombo knows that the tide has turned . And this is why the Tamils wryly say : India's plan was bright in the beginning Then the boys spoiled their chances by gunning , We trust that the ...
Contents
Under the Umbrella | 3 |
The Leafy Mango Tree | 14 |
Shabby People | 23 |
Copyright | |
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