Colombo High

With India just next-door, across the Palk Strait, there are very visible influences from the bigger neighbour as you TROT DOWN COLOMBO STREETS. K. C. VIJAYA KUMAR finds out.

- K. C. Vijaya Kumar

The Test caravan rolls into Colombo and as picture-postcard Galle recedes in the rear-view mirror, it is time to take in the sights and sounds from the Sri Lankan capital. Some of the Indian sports writers, who are regulars to Sri Lanka on cricket tours, often crane their necks from cars and trishaws (as autorickshaws are referred to in Sri Lanka besides the usual ‘tuk-tuk’) and a common chorus is — ‘the Colombo skyline has changed’. There are more skyscrapers, many buildings are under construction and like most global cities, the metropolis is growing vertically. With India just next-door, across the Palk Strait, there are influences from the bigger neighbour and The Mango Tree restaurant has a Lucknowi and Hyderbadi food festival. In a multiplex, Shah Rukh Khan’s latest flick ‘When Harry met Sejal’ is on and in another single-screen theatre, the Tamil hit ‘Vikram Vedha’ is drawing fans. The threads of culture and cuisine that bind India and Sri Lanka are evident everywhere.