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| Sunday, 2 February 2003 |
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Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
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Pettah revisited Rohan Canagasabey rediscovers the colour and character of Pettah through the camera's eye.
The Hindu festival of Thai Pongal and the Buddhist pageant of the Kelaniya Duruthu Perahera concluded a fortnight ago, marking the end of the festive period, which began with the observance of Christmas by Christians and the celebration of the now globalised western New Year. People from all walks of life have long since returned to their usual routines, at work, study or home. These celebrations for the most part, did not offer a holiday, but instead perhaps an opportunity to increase their trade, for the small-scale traders hawking their goods on the pavements of Oude Stad, fronting the little shops on its centuries-old streets. Oude Stad is not in a foreign country, though its origins are foreign, as denoted by the Dutch name. It is in fact Colombo's Pettah district. Oude Stad, means Outer Town in Dutch and described the location of this permanent market just outside the walls of the Fort. "The Fort is chiefly occupied by English inhabitants, the Pettah by Dutch and Portuguese, the suburbs... by natives..." writes Reverend James Gardiner, who was the British appointed chaplain in Ceylon from 1799 to 1804, in his book Description of Ceylon.
Ishvari Corea in her book Glimpses of Colombo, highlights the subsequent changes when she states that "The British re-named the old town Pettah, following the Indian practice. During the Colonial period 15 streets could have been identified by race or occupation." Pettah, was observed to be "the chief mercantile centre, and considerable trade takes place here every day and very large sums of money change hands," (Ceylon - its History, People, Commerce, Industries and Resources - 1924). Nowadays, though Pettah is seemingly as busy as one would expect from historical descriptions, it has long since lost its premier trading status of colonial times. Furthermore, it no longer has the trade variety and racial distinctions of yester-year. Electrical appliances, accessories of all sorts, clothing apparels, footwear and basic food items, appeared to this writer/photographer, to be the products on offer, during a leisurely stroll amidst its hustle and bustle.
As the afternoon gives way to dusk, some of the vendors in Pettah count their earnings for the day, in anticipation of a last sales effort. And so the days pass by in Pettah, with the usual holidays that other people enjoy in Sri Lanka, being largely opportunities to increase their trade.Colombo's several shopping malls and the twin towers of the World Trade Centre, signs of the commercial progress of Sri Lanka, have long since supplanted Pettah as the chief mercantile centre of centuries ago. But Pettah will continue to have its place in Colombo's shopping scene and retain charm of its own, whilst Sri Lankan businesses continue to play a part in the globalised economy. Text and pictures: ROHAN CANAGASABEY |
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