A Look Back at 1980s Colombo

On YouTube, there is a video called “Sri Lanka Colombo 1984” by user Wolfgang Gegusch. I decided to write a blog post about 1980s Colombo based on the video. I’ve written similar blog posts which are “A Look Back at 1960s Colombo” two years ago and “A Look Back at 1970s Colombo” four years ago. To give context to this period, the 1980s was a time without internet, email and mobile phones for the general public. Television was something new to Sri Lanka then as it arrived in 1979. I’m embedding the video and giving my thoughts below it.

The video opens with a close up of the “Insight Guides Sri Lanka” book. I have the 1987 Fifth Edition with the same cover which I referred to in the second part of my article about how Sri Lanka switched to the metric system. We are then shown a good postcard of Colombo from this time period. The video footage starts which shows the guns at Galle Face. We see the Galle Face Hotel which looks special. I like how it’s so green with the palm trees and grass around the hotel. There’s a gigantic chess board in that green environment.

We are taken to Galle Face Green which doesn’t look to be well maintained. Looking back at this time, I see the achievement Sri Lanka has made of getting cleaner in the decades since. We see buildings with the Bank of Ceylon Tower being in construction. I notice near the Galle Face Green there are black and white markings on the edge of the pavement which doesn’t exist anymore. We see more roads nearby and go to Colombo Fort with buildings such as the State Bank of India and the red Cargills building next to it. The Colombo Fort Clock Tower looks good.

We see the Diyawanna Lake with the Sri Lankan Parliament building that was new at the time. It’s good to see the old Sri Lanka Standards Institution (SLSI) building on Dharmpala Mawatha. The SLSI played a major role in Sri Lanka’s metrication as I’ve covered in this blog. It’s unfortunate to see elephants being mistreated for a zoo performance.

This was a good look into what Colombo was like nearly 40 years ago in 1984. This is a colourful video with good cinematography. When I posted “A Look Back at 1960s Colombo” exactly two years ago in December 2021, economist Amal Sanderatne in correspondence with me suggested other blog posts like this to do, including one on the 1980s. Amal who founded Frontier Research tragically passed away in July 2023. I never met him personally, but enjoyed being in touch with him online. He is a man of integrity who contributed greatly to Sri Lanka. I dedicate this article to Amal Sanderatne.

Cerno's Colombo

There is a popular Sri Lankan blogger who blogs under his online name Cerno. Five years ago, he made his Flickr photos in the public domain. I found great photos of Colombo, Sri Lanka in his Flickr so I decided to write a blog post using some of his Colombo photos with commentary by me.

We’ll begin with two photos of Independence Square. I like the angle he took in the second photo

which is capturing the Independence Memorial Hall in a great way. 

This is a nice shot of Colombo at night featuring interesting light effects.

This is what Cerno calls an “Unglamorous Colombo panorama”. He had taken this photo from Durdans Hospital in 2007. While this isn’t the poshest aspect of Colombo, I wouldn’t call it unglamorous. I think it’s a nice depiction of the Colombo suburbs. The abundance of buildings in Colombo are often criticised, but for me that’s part of Colombo’s charm. This picture has a lot of trees alongside buildings which I think is an aspect of the Colombo look and feel.

Here’s an old photo of Colombo probably taken in the mid or late 1980s. Sri Lanka’s Supreme Court complex can be seen in the picture. Colombo looks so different to how it is now.

Here’s a photo of Colombo taken much more recently in December 2012. This provides a strong

contrast to the previous picture taken in the 1980s. While both photos were taken from different places,

they both point towards Colombo Fort with the Bank of Ceylon building being the most common link

between the two. I personally prefer contemporary Colombo. This is the first in a set of photos Cerno

seems to have taken from a building.

Here’s a panorama taken from the same position, thus we get a much wider view including a better

look at the sea. Just like in the previous photo, we see alongside buildings many trees and the Beira

Lake.

There are quite a few colourful buildings in this photo. 

I’ll end this with a lovely shot of contemporary Colombo featuring modern buildings. We also see some

green with the trees, the Beira Lake and a bit of grass. One thing I’ve noticed in these four photos is

that there is hardly any traffic on the Colombo roads which seems strange to me as this is daytime

when the traffic is very intense. The peaceful Colombo roads are good to see.

These photos showcase attributes of Colombo which includes its history, modernity, uniqueness and

colour. If you enjoyed this, you may be interested in my previous blog post “Captivating Colombo”

featuring photos I took of Colombo. I also started off that post with Independence Square. 

A Snapshot of Sri Lanka

In this post, I will be providing images of Sri Lanka, focusing on Colombo, Kandy, Upcountry and some other places in Sri Lanka. I’ll give some text describing each photo or a group of photos. These photos were taken recently in May 2017 when I was in Sri Lanka. I’m trying to capture the diversity and beauty of Sri Lanka giving pictures in both built-up and natural areas that showcase buildings, trees, scenery, bridges, vehicles, houses, rivers, lakes, falls, seas, railways, mountains and rocks. The pictures will be given in the order that they were taken. Let’s begin with images of Colombo.

Here’s a seaside road in Wellawatte at night.

A view of Galle Road from a taxi heading towards Kollupitiya.

Here’s a view of Marine Drive from a taxi heading towards Colombo Fort.

A Colombo road with trees and modern buildings.

Views of Marine Drive, Wellawatte with the sea and railway.

We’ll now move on to images taken outside of Colombo. Here’s a bridge near Avissawella overlooking a river.

A view of the Castlereigh Reservoir.

Mountains, Trees, Grasslands and Waterfalls.

A mountain in Nuwara Eliya.

A Sri Lankan shaped Pond in Hakgala Botanical Gardens, Nuwara Eliya.

Inside Hakgala Botanical Gardens.

A view of the Kandy Lake taken from a boat.

Hillside houses in Kandy.

A view of the Kandy Lake and its surroundings.

Mahaweli River in Kandy.

A road by a bridge in Kandy.

Views from the Hotel Topaz in Kandy.

Palm Trees seen on the Kandy to Colombo train ride.

A Rock also seen on the Kandy to Colombo train ride.

We’ll now be returning to Colombo. Here are some of the many apartment buildings in Wellawatte.

A view of skyscrapers in Colombo Fort taken near Galle Face.

Buildings by the Beira Lake.

A view of a street in Colombo Fort.

Galle Face Green with the Sri Lankan Flag flying.

Crescat Boulevard (A shopping complex).

I hope you enjoyed these pictures of Sri Lanka. Feel free to give your thoughts on my selection or if you have any questions about any of the places I selected.