COLOMBO – TREASURE HOUSE

Juliet Coombe discovers the Treasure House opposite Borella cemetery with an incredible range of antiques illustrating different eras of time from the colonial rulers through to the rise of the mighty plantation Raj, industrialization, independence and now excitingly post-civil war Colombo:

FAST AND FUN FOOD JOINTS AND QUICK BITE VEGETARIAN RESTAURANTS LINE UP ALONG D S SENANAYAKE MAWATHA TOWARDS THE UNDERGROUND CROSSINGS.

The Steamboat – 154, Kynsey Road, Colombo 8 serves a large variety of Chinese, Mongolian and Japanese dishes and even offers outdoor catering and take-away. Claiming to have up to 150 different Chinese dishes, the variety in which you can indulge is large. Large in this case is an understatement.

Srina Palace – 61 Dr. Danister De Silva Mawatha, Colombo – 08 is your one stop shop for all things fancy and cosmetics. You can get anything from wigs to make-up to hair products and scented oils.

Another interesting place to shop might be in the underground crossings at the centre of it. Almost like a subway in New York minus the trains, there are several little shops run by way with more assistants than the spaces can accommodate.

Popular at the Chinese phone shops of which there are 5, but be quick when buying here, it can get really busy during rush hour.

Our Dates – 149, Kynsey Road, sounds like a dating service but far from it. Importing the best dates straight from the Middle East, its range of dessert delicacy is large and claims that it is the only importer in the country to bring in some of the varieties.

Each era has had varying styles when it comes to architecture, society and artifacts like furniture from the Dutch boxes that were packing cases in their time and todays works of art painted on with ancient temple paintings and scenes from the Perehera. And even when these periods have ended, the people that created and

sustained them, gone, from the stories and events now only frozen in time on the pages of history books and the frames of old black and white photos, some things remain, and a legacy to the impact each period has made on this country and how it influences the present, and how the past will affect the future.

What remains today are the artifacts from the different segments in history, testament to the change and trends this island paradise has seen over the centuries–timeless treasures, priceless reminders. Sitting on a treasure itself, the Treasure House – No.133, Cotta Road, Colombo 08 is Borella’s hidden treasure.

Third generation antique dealership

When you are at the Borella junction and facing towards Rajagiriya, keep travelling down Cotta Road, past the junction to which the General Cemetery is on the right and as you proceed further on the left, you will notice an old house from the colonial period, its wall bearing a large golden sign demarking what it is.

At either side of the imposingly large iron gates stand guards two knights in armour, or at least amour that belonged to knights. Opening up into a large garden, the over 200 year old house stands in all its grandeur. Kumarie Dharmapala is the current owner of this three generation old antique dealership. The business initially belonged to the grandfather of the late Mahinda Dharmapala, Kumarie’s husband. Some of the larger pieces at the house include large hand carved cupboards built of teak that date back to the 1800’s and Buddhist artifacts that date back even further.

A large part of the timeless pieces sold at the Treasure House are from the family’s personal collection while others are collected from old tea plantation bungalows all around the country. If a house is up for auction or you want something unusual then this is the place to go.

Coat of arms

100 year old table

Kumarie speaks about many people not knowing the true value of antiques, or even the real meaning of the word, recalling a sign she once saw that said, ‘We can make any antique for you.’ These then become reproductions of an original piece. She says that due to government regulations, antiques over 100 years old are not permitted to be taken

Engineering compy

The Treasure House chair

out of the country, but Treasure House has a team of skilled carpenters who can, on request, create a replica of any kind of antique. She considers X-files actress Gillian Anderson as her most famous customer. The former living room of this old home is now packed with jewels from the past of which one is a 9-piece dining table and chairs dating over 100 years, and in the dining room, a cupboard that originally belonged to one of the ancient kings.

Restoration and repair

The shop also offers restoration and repairing services that can bring any piece back to its original form. From century old wooden ceiling fans or ancient kings’ furniture, the Treasure House has it. Call Kumarie on +940714860170 to find that treasure you’ve been looking for.

Colombo 08 or Borella is a treasure in its own right when you get out of the crazy traffic and into the small side roads, which can be compared to a human brain, in the sense that it is a mass of connecting nerves, synapses, neurons, basically a hub for traveling impulses and relay signals.

And that’s what Borella is, a central point for buses that connect different parts of Colombo and beyond. Locally it is more famous for the General Cemetery, which takes up a large part of it and is the largest graveyard in the city. It is the first part of Colombo that traffic coming from the Kotte, Sri Jayawardenepura and Battaramulla areas reaches.

The baseline highway also runs through Borella from Kirulapone till Peliyagoda where it splits into 3 - one road leading to Kandy, another to Chilaw and beyond and the other back into Colombo through Grandpass. Even in the worse traffic its worth paying this quirky antique shop set in a delightful colonial villa a visit as you are bound to discover a time locked trinket worth buying while exploring a treasure of a historic Colombo house.