Wednesday, 17th December 2014
BY Cassendra Doole & Kavindya Chris Thomas
Sri Lanka; a country rich in its history, culture and beauty has many places that people take for granted. Stories behind the Fort and Pettah are a few of those places that the populace tends to ignore. They fail to look beyond the bustling streets and busybodies, to the rich culture, that has a long standing history and a beautiful story behind the cluttered paved pathways of Pettah and the Colombo Fort.
Pettah begins when Colombo Fort ends, and spreads throughout various parts including the area towards Kotahena in the North and the legal district of Hultsdorf to the South. Pettah is a small town slightly similar to the Fort except when it differs due to the Middle Eastern flair that is more pronounced in the inner streets. It is a place that enhances the rich antiquity and multi-nationalism of this country. A bazaar that caters to many wholesale businesses, Pettah thrived in retail in the olden days. Most of these businesses have unfortunately moved away to various other lucrative locations within the city.
The Fort is one of the principal attractions that will no doubt grab your attention. Spectacular buildings like Cargills and the Gafoor Building (which is currently in the process of renovation) are faded, but still commanding, and are massively under-appreciated by the contemporary populace.
The Clock Tower in Chatham Street which is perhaps the oldest in all of Asia, was originally a Lighthouse in Colombo. While it is not operational anymore, it functions as a Clock tower and a designated national Monument. The original time keeping mechanism to "The Old Colombo Lighthouse" was built by the same people who made the same mechanism for the London Big Ben.
The tower, which was constructed in 1857, was first established as a Clock Tower in 1860, and lit for the first time in 1867. The original clock was replaced in 1913, and deactivated in 1952 after taller buildings obscured its light. This Clock Tower which illuminated the Pettah roads for over a decade measures is 29m in length and is also the only lighthouse in the world which also tells the time in the middle of a now busy road.
In a trek through the chaotic pathways of Pettah, you can almost see the history like a dissipating mist surrounding the various buildings. Although the Fort and Pettah have been neighbours for over 400 years, they remain worlds apart. Fort is a carefully laid-out area of historical antiquities compared to Pettah which is a labyrinth of paved pathways that will transport you among a solid mass of humanity and confusion.
Provided you manage to navigate these carefully laid out paths, you see the true multi cultural nature and ethnic beauty of what Pettah has to offer. From the stunning Red Mosque (Jami Ul-Alfar Mosque) to the various Hindu Kovils, you can observe the true history that is hidden to the hazy eye.
The main thoroughfares in Pettah are Main Street, that halves the town into two, Reclamation Road, now renamed to N. H. M. Abdul Cader Mawatha, bordering the sea, Bankshall Street parallel to it, and Norris Road, now called Olcott Mawatha. McCalum Road also borders the Pettah and moves towards Maradana. It is now referred to as D. R. Wijewardena Mawatha after the famous Lake House newspaper tycoon.
The streets that cross Main Street are Front Street, 1st Cross Street, 2nd Cross Street, 3rd Cross Street, 4th Cross Street & 5th Cross Street. Keyzer Street, Prince Street, & Maliban Street run parallel to Main Street towards Olcott Mawatha. Bodhiraja Mawatha connects Olcott Mawatha to Main Street and meets it at the junction of Sea Street and Gabo's Lane.
From : https://www.ceylontoday.lk/90-80114-news-detail-forgotten-pettah.html
