Mapping out the busy streets of Pettah

In my quest to unravel the labyrinthine socio-economic dynamics of Colombo, its multifarious segregations, partitioning and polarity in the built-up, I begin my documentary at Pettah, Sri Lankan's busiest commercial district.

Dam Street, Pettah - Street porters, pedestrians, cars, tuk-tuks, lorries all buzzing through the streets.

Pettah is a small envelope located just east of the old city centre- Colombo Fort. Though, this area is no longer the formal capital, it is still the central business and financial heart of the country. As such, Pettah and the surroundings are densely populated, intimately packed with a spectrum of commercial activity, from complex networks of open-air bazaars selling fresh produce, textiles, toys, jewellery, spices, metal-ware to office buildings and informal lodgings of those who work in the locale.

Dam Street, Pettah - Buildings, houses, shops all intimately crammed together.

To the untrained eye Pettah is the acme of urban mayhem. The streets are swarming with street pedlars, porters moving merchandise from lorries and shoppers alike. The over-embellished, worn-out lorries and buses, unfit for the road and oversized for the narrow channels clog the streets. Hundreds of tuk-tuks pulse around and weave through traffic, cramming the pavements and sidewalks. The heat and the dust is unlike anywhere in the country. There are no trees in the vicinity, which is highly unlike anywhere in Sri Lanka. Stray dogs, pick-pocketers and a variety of hustlers roam the area. Amidst such pandemonium there are also children, some clinging to the arms of their parents who are haggling with unmoved vendors, some playing and some working in the shops.

Pettah is a man's world; not a woman's; and certainly not a child's. It was therefore, my intention to understand how these three groups of children consume and deals with the city. What follows is my record.

Arosh

Arosh, little boy aged 10 plays in front of his father's shop. He meets other children of similar circumstances. He's allowed to play with them. He is prohibited to associate homeless, street children.

Arosh, playing in front of his father's shop

Arosh's father and uncles own 'Sunbright Silver Company', a wholesale dealer of metal goods. Financially, they are stable. The shop, that is narrow yet deep (4.5m X 10m) is owned by Arosh's father. He tells me that unlike most parts of Pettah, the row of stores on his block all have legal tenure. It is evident to me from Arosh's clothes and mannerisms that he is relatively well off.

Arosh's house on Dam Street

This is Arosh's house block. They occupy the second floor. The house does not consist of a garden. It merely has balconies looking down on to the busy streets. It has 4 tiny bedrooms and Arosh has his own bedroom. The are property is about 12 million LKR and the family does not possess any legal documentation of ownership. The sheer necessity to live close to their livelihood, the business, makes them continue to live in such close quarters.

When asked where he would rather live, Arosh tells me, Gampaha- where his best friend from school lives and where there's a big garden to play in. Arosh doesn't mind playing and running around in the street- he tells me that it is actually more exciting, but inconvenient when for school projects he's asked to bring, a plant or pebbles or flowers.

Arosh attends St. Joseph's College, Maradana- a desirable school in neighbouring Colombo 10.

Arosh will be sitting his scholarship exam in the coming weeks- he has no intention of changing schools. His dream is to open a phone shop in the neighbouring Maradana- a similar urbanity- where his other friend lives.

From his talks about the goings on in his school, it was clear that there is a clear segregation imposed on children by the adults (teachers, parents) based on their financial and geographical backgrounds. He says children travelling from the suburbs of Colombo (with the exception of his best friend) do not usually invite, him and fellow inner-city children over to play. They clearly move in different circles. He also says that it is hard for him to invite them over to play cricket etc. as they will be playing in the streets and his friends' parents do not encourage that.

It is interesting to hear spatial injustice pronounced so distinctly through the mouth of a 10 year old. Even though Arosh's financial situation is relatively healthy he is still excluded from several privileges.

Mariff

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