It all started with an Epic
The Indian epic has it all – heroes, demons, deities a tale of kidnaping, friendship and love. Refreshing to read after a somewhat dull evening.
“Ravana the Supreme Lord of this and other worlds sat in his durbar hall, surrounded by a vast throng of courtiers and attendants. The kings of this earth which he had reduced to vassals stood about with their hands upraised in an attitude of perpetual salutation, lest at any moment Ravana should turn in their direction and and think they were not sufficiently servile. Beauties gathered from all the worlds surrounded him, singing, dancing, ministering to his wants, ever ready to give him pleasure and service, with all the eyes fixed on him watching for the slightest sign of command”
“A Toast to the Earlier Travelers – For They Walked So We Could Wander.”
Marco Polo was traveling from China to Persia around the year 1293, he got delayed in Sumatra for about five months by bad monsoon winds, when he did resume his trip he made a port call in Zeilan. Or so he says…but he was a great story-teller right!
“The island produces more beautiful and valuable rubies than are found in other parts of the world, and likewise sapphires, topazes, amethysts, garnets and many other precious stones. The King is supposed to posses the grandest of ruby that ever was seen, being a span in length and the thickness of a mans arm, brilliant beyond description and without a flaw. It has the appearance of a glowing fire and upon the whole is so valuable no estimate can be made of its worth”
He then goes on to give an account of what is clearly Adam’s peak. “I am unwilling to pass over certain particulars which I omitted when speaking of the island of Zeilan…In this island there is a very high mountain so rocky and precipitous that the ascent to the top is impractical where the tomb of Adam our first parent is supposed to be found…”
From Ceylon of the Early Travellers by H.Hulugalle.
And All the Others
Cities change and usually is not for the better, it is inevitable.
Walking around the Galle Face Green with the backdrop of towers being built, the noise of traffic, the relentless advance of time, it is impossible not to think about the impermanence of things.
This city once coveted by the Portuguese, taken by storm and blood by the Dutch Commander Gerald Hulft and later shaped by the British is changing for better or worse. Yet from the Galle Face Green you can enjoy the same view that countless generations had on the different incarnations of Sri Lanka, and that is a fine thing.
Pass the Dutchie
Walking around the Galle Fort is interesting to note some of the old street names that have all but vanished or been anglicised. Most of the shops selling gems and souvenirs are located on the busy Pedlar Street known in the Dutch days of the VOC as Moorse Kramerstraat, the now popular with villas Lighthouse Street was once known as Zeeburgstraat, and one of the few streets that has retained its name is Leyenbaanstraat now known as Leyn Baan Street. It would be interesting to do a walk around the Fort with a historian and really go deep in detail.
On that note does anyone know the meaning of this inscription is on the front of the powder house that used to be just under the Utrecht bastion and where later the British built the lighthouse.
Burghers of the World Unite!
Following the Dutch link. Before coming to Sri Lanka I knew the VOC had been here for about 150 years between 1645 and 1796 but what I did not know was the legacy that lives on with the Burghers. The term Burgher roughly translates as citizen, they are the descendants of those early savvy Dutch privateers, but not just that, through the centuries they have married and mixed with Portuguese, Sinhalese, British, Tamil and Muslim families giving birth to a distinctive creole culture. Very different story from that of the boers in South Africa who kept pretty much to themselves.
In the great cultural melting pot that is Sri Lanka the Burghers carry on with their traditions, a mention apart is the unique food which takes in elements from Indonesia (don’t forget that the forays into Sri Lanka came from Batavia), Malaysia, local spices and Europe. Next time in Sri Lanka ask for a lamprais and you will know what I am talking about.