Bambalapitiya

<!-- The west of the city of Bambalapitiya is ringed by the Indian Ocean while to the east Havelock town borders it. In the early 19th century it is believed Bambalapitiya was a jungle infested with snakes. Kadju Pulang and Cashew trees were common here. Outlaws would seek hiding in the dense jungle, and hijack bullock carts carrying produce between Galle and Colombo. Vast tracts of Bambalapitiya were owned by the Senanayake family, relicts of Sri Lanka’s first post independence Prime Minister, The Hon D.S.Senanayake. Herbert Bartholomeusz J.P and retired Engineer PWD bought 10 acres of land for Rs 6.00 per acre in 1896. Today, land in Bamba is worth Millions of Rupees per perch and the value keeps rising in geometric progression over the years (one acre = 160 perches). The town consisted of a very large Burgher and Muslim population in the forties/fifties and has now become a very cosmopolitan locality comprising all communities. The influx of business houses and offices in the town has taken away the true nostalgic spirit of ‘home’. The town of Bamba begins, in the North, a little before the intersection of Bullers Road (now known as Bauddhaloka Mawatha) and Galle Road. Here, stands the massive FOAMTREADS advertising banner (now converted to ELASTO) with its shiny flickering pieces of aluminum clicking away in the sunshine and the lights of the night in its own swishy washy way, a landmark that was unmistakable to all and sundry. On the seaside, facing Galle Road and facing the entrance to Bullers Road, stands the coveted IC Drug Stores patronized by the residents from time immemorial, serving its customers with all their pharmaceutical needs in all its glory and splendor. This was no ordinary down-the-street pharmacy as it had its aura of professionalism, respect, and honor by way of its design and interior and also its white coated salespersons, who looked more like the members of a hospital staff rather than a drug store. The town extends, all the way along Galle Road, to end at the Wellawatte Canal which separates it from the next town of Wellawatte on the South. To the East it is bordered by Havelock Road, which begins at the roundabout located at Thunmulla (three cornered junction) where Reid Avenue begins and extends all the way down southwards to the Wellawatte Spinning & Weaving Mills located at the bridge that crosses the same Canal which winds it way across a large extent of Colombo. The Textile Mill, once a bustling industry, managed by Soley Captain, employed hundreds of male and female workers, is now closed and dysfunctional. It was a featured landmark in the town where its residents enjoyed the sound of the sirens that were blown each morning, afternoon and evening to mark the work times for its employees. A massive housing complex project with international participation is currently being planned on its site in order to cater to the insatiable demand for residency within the big city of Colombo. Galle Road begins at Galle Face, somewhere at the roundabout, in front of the old Parliament building at the entrance to the Fort, and stretches its tired asphalt tracks all the way to the town of Galle, almost 100 Km down south hugging the coastline like a leech clinging on to human flesh, all the way through. It used to take two lanes of traffic, one southwards and the other northwards, driving those standing in the middle to cross the street into a frenzy of madness and jitters until he or she gets safely across to the other side. Since of late the section of Galle Road within the District of Colombo has been divided in the middle by an island, thereby, preventing those crazy over-takers from displaying their antics on the middle of the highway. This has now provided two lanes on each side which still is insufficient to cater to the voluminous traffic that plies on it day in and day out. At Bamba, similar to many of the other towns along Galle Road in Colombo, parallel streets, commonly referred to as lanes interspaced by a few blocks of land and residential houses, ran down to the beach from the Galle Road. Here they met the southern railway tracks and beyond it a myriad spread of coconut trees that ringed the white sands of the beautiful beach that curved all the way south like a Mermaids bottom. On the sea front, right at the end of Station Road, located at the northern end of Bamba, is the Bamba Railway Station, constructed in identical fashion to the several other stations that ringed the southern tracks from Colombo Fort all the way down to Matara in the Ruhunu. Two sets of tracks, parallel to each other took the perspiring rail commuters to the big bustling bazaar city of Fort, The Pettah and back home to roost on a daily basis. The famous ‘Ruhunu Kumari’ makes her journey on these tracks on a daily basis taking thousands of commuters back and forth from the south. The southern coastline railway was, and still is, a way of life for many office workers and commuters in the south. On the land side, similar parallel lanes took of from the Galle Road, criss-crossing the newly constructed Duplication Road and some running all the way to meet Havelock Road while others ending up in dead ends or curving across to meet the network of inland roadways at some point along the way. From a birds eye view the roads would have looked more like the upper skeleton of a human body with the spine representing Galle Road and the ribs representing the parallel lanes on either side. Galle Road is the main link between Colombo and the South and is always heavily loaded with trucks, petrol tanks, cars, buses, motor bikes, scooters, bicycles, carts, three-wheeler taxis and in the old days the manually driven rickshaws. On some festive and religious occasions one can also see elephants joining in a parade (perahera) or traditional festive arts, carts driven by white cows, decked in all their finery, trudging from temple to temple, celebrating a ritualistic occasion. Rush hour on Galle Road, during the busy office opening and closing times, and, in modern times even during the afternoons, when the many schools plying the main road close for the day, can be menacingly mind boggling. For many of us who were born, raised and made enough mischief within the homes and streets of this quiet little town of ours, Bamba will always remain a cherished memory in our hearts and minds. The wrath of the Galle Road traffic during the morning and evening rush hours reminds one of the rage of an angry river bursting its banks and gushing forth, angrily, into the sea. Traffic slows down to a crawl and horns and abuse blow out in chorus intermingling with the roar of automobile engines, the blaring of sirens and the emission of carbon monoxide fumes that turns the town into a melting pot of chaotic pollution. Three-wheeler taxis work their way in-between the snarling vehicles causing enough mayhem to an already chaotic tangled web of men, machines, and noise. Traffic policemen and police women, nattily dressed in their khaki uniforms, frantically wave their arms and legs in unison to try and bring some order and sanity to such a mad mess of a normal working day. In recent times even the halcyon atmosphere of the by lanes have become a hive of activity with many commercial businesses sprouting up where once many sprawling and magnificent heavenly homes of old stood in tranquility and silence. The newly opened Marine Drive along the beachfront has invited more hustle and bustle to the salubrious environment of the beach front which provided a haven for old and young to spend an evening of relaxation and solitude. Tourist Guest Houses, posh Restaurants, high-rise condominium apartment blocks, Telephone communication Services & Internet Café’s have all emerged from a sleepy old town of middle class men and women just a few decades ago into a bazaar town choking to capacity and screaming for survival. The sprawling foliage of old is slowly disappearing with the clearing, blocking, and decentralizing of the huge mansions that once stood in the name of development, overcrowding and the demand for more housing and business premises in a fast developing city that is bursting its seams. -->

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Contributors
Fazli