'Thimbirigasyaaya' - email from Lesley Sirimanne.

 

Thimbirigasyaya R.I.P.

 

Born in Thimbirigasyaya, Colombo 05

 

My favourite Colombo street name (by a long, long way) was Thimbirigasyaya Mawatha.

Four years ago it was very much an 'avenue' with lines of trees on each side.

 

These have now been torn down for 'beautification' and widening, along with the stalls and small shops which ran alongside the road.

I say 'was' because not only has the old street changed beyond recognition but the name has now been changed to:

 

 

A bit of a mouthful - tripling the number of syllables in one fell swoop (and Thimbirigasyaya was quite a long name anyway).

 

I'll try it out on my trishaw drivers next week.

Thimbirigasyaya, of course, refers to Thimbiri trees [See Who or what is Thimbirigasyaya?].

 

It is almost as if there is a wish to eradicate evidence that there have ever been any trees here.

Any why abolish Sinhala names, particularly those of flowers and trees?

 

There are few enough of these, but they are often the best.

Within spitting distance is a road that I think is ripe for renaming (Torrington Avenue) - see Colombo Jumbo.

 

But clearly British tyrants are more in favour than Sri Lankan trees!

I wonder if anyone is actually going to use this new name?

 

It's another ploy to confuse visitors, frustrate map makers and penalise businessmen.