Colombo: A Novel'Colombo 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, Colomb |
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Page 136
workers in the informal sector are in any case outside the ambit of labour
legislation. Although the government has ratified the convention on the rights of
the child, 45 per cent of the children live in poverty and although all children have
access ...
workers in the informal sector are in any case outside the ambit of labour
legislation. Although the government has ratified the convention on the rights of
the child, 45 per cent of the children live in poverty and although all children have
access ...
Page 138
Twelve Colombo's Child Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child knows all
that' s base, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child is bruised and sore
, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child will slave for a living, And ...
Twelve Colombo's Child Monday's child is fair of face, Tuesday's child knows all
that' s base, Wednesday's child is full of woe, Thursday's child is bruised and sore
, Friday's child is loving and giving, Saturday's child will slave for a living, And ...
Page 306
'Yes, Ammi. They are all nice.' In 1994, the UNICEF 'Progress of Nations' report
stated that there were 30,000 child prostitutes in Sri Lanka with over half that
number in Colombo. The number of female children is an alarming thirty per cent.
'Yes, Ammi. They are all nice.' In 1994, the UNICEF 'Progress of Nations' report
stated that there were 30,000 child prostitutes in Sri Lanka with over half that
number in Colombo. The number of female children is an alarming thirty per cent.
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Contents
The Leafy Mango Tree | 14 |
Harbour Lights | 30 |
Only by Night | 51 |
Copyright | |
15 other sections not shown
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Common terms and phrases
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 kill king knew Kochchikade Kollupitiya Kotte lake land Legrevisse light live London looked Malays Maradana military Minister mother moved Mutwal night officers Pettah police political port Portuguese Raja Sinha ramparts river road Royal Asiatic Society rupees scream ships Sinhala Sinhalese Slave Island Sri Lanka stands stood Street Tamil tell temples thousand told trade tree Trincomalee troops turned Vesak vessels W.H. Auden wait walk walls watch Wellawatte wife woman
Bibliographic information
| Title | Colombo: A Novel Penguin books |
| Author | Carl Muller |
| Publisher | Penguin Books, 1995 |
| Original from | the University of Michigan |
| Digitized | 11 Mar 2008 |
| ISBN | 0140255621, 9780140255621 |
| Length | 481 pages |
| Export Citation | BiBTeX EndNote RefMan |