Galle Fort – A racy tradition
Juliet Coombe
took a gamble on entering the forts inner sanctum, the Galle Fort
betting shops in the heart of popular pedlars street.
From early morning to late afternoon, men scurry in and out of the
betting houses on Galle Fort’s popular Pedlar street, where you can find
little old men studying the racing pages of the papers as if for a major
exam, all part of the exciting bookie business world, which varies from
day to day.
Racing post portrait |
In between people placing their bets, the owners normally spend their
mornings gluing the spines of the various different versions of The
Racing Post with a pencil-shaped piece of wood, so that the pages are
sealed together making them easier documents for his customers to
negotiate. Piles of these papers are delivered every morning at 5.30am
from the head booking office in Galle, who he works under.
Comic and charming
There is something comic and even charming about the idea of Fort men
sitting in this little shop speculating on whether Red Dragon will win
the day’s race at Cheltenham in England. The time delay adds an
additional element of comedy to the outsider considering that it may
still be the middle of the night in England. However, the interest
amongst the older generation may partly be due to the fact that horse
racing was once an important aspect of Fort culture and only came to an
end after the Second World War, when the likes of Hilali Nordeens family
a surgeon that lives at no 89, Leyn Baan Street.
A family, whose eyes still fill with excitement when they talk about
the sound of hooves drumming in the ears along the old cobbles, contours
of muscles stretching, dust flying and an eager murmur swathing the
racing ground in front of the 409 year old fort walls a blanket of
expectation.
One of the figures in the crowd of Galle’s old horse racing ground
would have been the young Hilali Noordeen watching his family horses
winning race after race; a memory which he has kept firmly in his mind
as he spent his childhood holidays visiting his family in Galle. Hilali
still owns all of the horse racing trophy cups that his relations won
over the years and a historic house opposite the mosque.
However, they weren’t just successful racers. Hilali, after years of
study, which included a spell at New College Oxford, is now a top UK
surgeon. However, he makes sure that he finds the time to visit his Fort
house regularly, particularly if Sri Lanka is playing England in the
cricket. He feels very privileged to live opposite the Mosque, and
enjoys being a part of the Islamic culture, which he sees as the nearest
thing in Asia to an example of living history and a place he would like
to see a
museum created to record this fascinating trading history.
Horses news |
Picking a horse |
Strong ties
The Noordeen family like so many other traders in fort is originally
from Yemen and probably arrived in Galle as a gem and spice merchant.
For this reason he feels a very strong tie to the Fort way of life.
Although he has travelled the world, lived and worked in numerous
countries, Hiliali Noordeen still feels most at home in this ancient
walled citadel built from coral and seashells.
The house at 89, Leyn Baan Street has a simplistic yet beautifully
rendered interior. One of the rooms boasts an entire wall made from
thousands of coral stones, which is a stunning example of old
wall-building craftsmanship. The house unusually has three roofs, as
different buildings have been amalgamated together over the centuries.
One of the most notable owners was an old lighthouse keeper who could
have dashed home for a cup of tea and a bowl of rice and curry within a
few minutes.
The front of the house with its slanting ceiling and stable-like
doors makes one think that this was once a coach house, home to horses
which would have carried wealthy gentlemen along the Fort’s network of
winding back streets.
Hilali Noordeen is honoured to be part of the Fort community and
relishes its sensitive and peaceful nature like Mr Gunesekara who is
another character you can bet on for an interesting tale about this
ancient citadel.
Wins and losses
Hilali |
Ironically the owner of the main betting shop is not a betting man,
and has probably witnessed too many losses to tempt him into this
precarious hobby. He feels that the profession suits his age, as the
shop is attached to his house and is easily manageable. He operates a
simple set up with small clipboards full of yellow paper on his desk,
ready for the placing of bets, and wooden blue sideboards around the
room to sit at and peruse the day’s temptations and opportunities.
With a streak of white, setting glue across his cheek, one of the
betting shop owners face breaks into a grin and lights up showing white
sparkling teeth when asked about the record profits and losses made in
his shop. The biggest win was in 2007 when one of his regulars, an
expert in the field won three lakhs (around 3,000US dollars) from a bet
of 1,500 rupees (around 15US dollars).
Fort betting shop |
When asked about losses his grin becomes even wider and he
ambiguously replies: “sometimes.” When probed further he reveals that in
1995 another of his regular clients lost a devastating four and a half
lakhs (around 4,500US dollars). One of these highly intelligent,
studious, adrenalin junkies is always sitting in the shop, pain-stakingly
pouring over the statistics and figures. They are often retired
professionals who seem to crave the mental stimulation and buzz that is
involved.
A self-contained, serious looking man sits quietly on a stall in
immense concentration, barely moving, apart from perhaps to rub his bare
feet together in thought. He has a smart, short haircut, and wears a
loose striped shirt over his sarong. The atmosphere in this corner of
the room is no different or less intense than an exam room. Fortunately,
the mood is a lot lighter around the betting desk as he is free of the
addiction, happy to be apart from it, choosing only to indulge in his
menial gluing tasks.
Each day a handful of Fort men retire to their homes, with a day’s
wages, a round tour trip or their family fortune hanging in the balance,
waiting desperately for morning when thy will discover whether a horse
thousands of miles away has brought them luck or lost them their family
fortune. Talking to them on the rampart walls I discover the love of
horse race betting is an activity left over from British rule pre
Independence in 1948. Today they also bet on safer activities such as
cricket matches and with one of the worlds best teams it’s impossible
not to be a winner in a fort that over looks a cricket ground that was
once the site of some of the finest horse racing in Asia. |