
Fort resident, software engineer student and graphic designer

- 69 Church Street
I would love to have a home here in future. There is no other place like this. You can be on the ramparts in a few minutes. When I stay in Colombo for too long, I feel like I’m in a cage.


Fort life
My favourite time in the Fort is at about 8.30pm when the streets are quiet. You can wear what you like and roam around. During the Galle Literary Festival, which I have volunteered at for the past four years, it’s especially fun as we often stay up past midnight. I am lucky because my parents are quite relaxed. My favourite area has to be Pedlar Street because it’s always full of people and has a good vibe. I also love the ramparts. When I was growing up my sisters and I had friends everywhere. We would play seven stones and cricket on the street, and football on the ramparts with the boys.
Ice-cream shop
My aunty has an ice-cream shop called Dairy King right next to our house so I help her serve the customers. I enjoy meeting people from different cultures. Sometimes we talk and share stories for hours, especially if they come in the evening. The ice-cream is all homemade using my aunt’s secret recipe. My favourite flavours are passionfruit and crunchy cashew. In fact, I like all of them apart from the spicy ones like ginger.

A narrow escape
When the Tsunami hit in 2004, I was 5. I was happily playing in front of the house, when I noticed people running. I quickly told my uncle who was watching a cricket match on TV. He didn’t think it was serious and thought it was an extra high tide or something like that. Before long, water was pouring down Church Street. My aunt picked me up but because I was quite chubby in those days, she couldn’t carry me easily. I slipped and got carried down the street but was luckily rescued by an uncle who was standing outside the Arabic College. I remember searching for my shoe underwater before he pulled me out. The water was brown - I can still see and feel it. That was an experience I will never forget.