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Could there be greener acres ahead?
D.C. Ranatunga muses on how Galle Face, once the centre of activity on Independence Day is coming back into the spotlight. 'We need YOU to add colour to the Galle Face Green', ran a newspaper advertisement over the weekend. Applications were being called for a number of vacancies by a management company, which claimed that it will "unveil a year full of exciting and exhilarating activities at the Galle Face Green".

Many are the changes that the Green has undergone in recent years. We are to have one more soon. Yet it was always a place to relax for young and old enjoying the breeze from the sea in the evenings. To young couples, it has been a 'cool spot' even in the hot sun.

The Green was once the centre of activity on Independence Day - February 4. The guns boomed to provide a 21-gun salute to the nation. The armed forces provided the guard-of-honour and later marched along the Galle Face Centre road. The Governor-General inspected the guard-of-honour riding in a Sri Lanka Army jeep. The VIPs, other invitees and the public watched the parade from across the Galle Face Centre road.

The Green was also the venue for mammoth gatherings and political rallies. When May Day was made a public holiday in 1956, the left wing May Day celebrations were held there. In recent years, it has been the venue for musical shows and kite festivals.

Galle Face came into the limelight during the early days of British rule. There is mention that Galle Face originated as a result of military expediency during the time of the Dutch. It was a bastion through which the road to Point de Galle ran. It stood on the narrow strip of land between the sea and the Beira Lake. Galle Face had been levelled by the military so that in case of an attack from the southern side, the guns could sweep the foreground.

Horse racing began in Galle Face at the time of British Governor Sir Edward Barnes in the 1820s. The esplanade was filled with earth and levelled for the purpose. The course was about one and a half miles long. It was known as the 'Colpetty Racecourse'. The Grand Stand was a structure built of wood with a cadjan roof. Later bricks were used for the walls but the cadjan roof remained. It was also known as the Race Bungalow. Many years later, it became the first home of the Colombo Club (1871). Today it forms part of the Taj Samudra hotel complex.

The painting by John Deschamps (1845, pictured above), an officer of the British Artillery who served nine years in Ceylon, is one of the most attractive views of the Galle Face Esplanade. It had been painted from Middleburg Counterguard and a description in 'Early Prints of Ceylon' states: “This esplanade, or open space, on the side of the Fort towards Point de Galle, forms not only the principal exercising ground of the garrison, but also the general promenade of the inhabitants in Colombo and its vicinity, who repair thither morning and evening, on foot, on horseback, or in carriages, to inhale the delicious breeze which is almost always to be found by the sea-side of this part of the Island. Even in the calmest weather the surf rolls in, forming, as it were, a wall of foam, extending to Mount Lavinia, distance about seven miles."

The Round Pavilion and Grand Stand is shown in the background of the painting along with a typical bungalow of this period. It was this building that was replaced by the Galle Face Hotel in 1898. The establishment of the Galle Face Green is credited to Governor Sir Henry Ward who, in 1859, built it "for the use of the ladies and children of Colombo in whose interests it was recommended to the care of successive Governors."

The scene in Galle Face in 1850 was vividly described by Deputy Queen's Advocate, H. C. Sirr thus: "About half-past five o'clock, the Galle Face or Hyde Park of Colombo, begins to wear an animated appearance, there being many vehicles and horses in motion. Every description of conveyance is seen driving round the Galle Face, from the Long Acre built carriage of the Governor and the dashing phaeton of the wealthy merchant, to the unassuming gig, the country-built palanquin and the humble bandy. The horses that draw these vehicles, are invariably attended by their keepers (grooms) who run by the side of the conveyance, when a gentleman or coachman drives; at other times they lead the animal, accommodating their pace to that of the horse."

Thirty years later, Haeckel wrote: "The gilded youth of Colombo exhibit themselves on horseback - some of them on miserable hacks indeed - the ladies, with bouquets in their hands, recline languidly in their carriages, in the lightest and most elegant toilettes. But no sooner is the sun gone down than all hasten home; partly in order to escape the fever-laden evening air, partly to go through an elaborate process of "dressing for dinner", which is usually at half-past seven, and of course in the indispensable black tail-coat and white neck-tie, as in "Old England".

Galle Face is featured in 'Scenes in Ceylon' by Verekaer M. Hamilton & Stewart M. Fasson (1880). A verse accompanying a painting titled 'Galle Face' reads:
It seems a rule of Nature's school

That every Land can boast of
Some Drive or Mall, where beau and belle
Their charms can make the most of
Where weary Pa’s and scheming Ma’s,
In landaus back reclining
Can smirk and prate with friends they hate
Their mutual friends maligning.
Where would-be Rips and sucking whips
The "ribbons" queerly handle
And maidens worn try to adorn
What's hardly worth the candle.
Just such a place, then, is Galle Face-
Colombo's "Park" or "Prater" -
And here the world, starched, brushed, and curled,
Appears at four or later.

In the 'Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon' (1907), Galle Face Promenade is referred to as the "lungs of Colombo", which is "only equalled in the East by the Maidan of Calcutta or the Esplanade of Bombay". The writer's description continues: "Here is ample provision for equestrian, carriage and pedestrian exercise, and here the leading inhabitants of Colombo, European and native, are wont to ride and drive, and, in the old-fashioned phrase, "take the air".

It is the sea air undiluted; for the waves wash the walls of the Promenade along its whole length of nearly a mile, and the spray will, under a strong wind, sprinkle the roadway. Occupying so delightful and so health-giving a site, and one which is the centre of fashionable resort, it is no wonder that the Galle Face Hotel is so popular a place of entertainment, and has the worldwide reputation it possesses."

Galle Face has thus seen many changes over its history of nearly two centuries. And now we are told that it will soon "be the venue for the best entertainment in town". We are promised a "fabulous line up of events". Let's wait and see.

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