Khan Clock Tower

Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower

As you enter the City of Colombo from the Colombo Harbour, the first thing you would encounter is the sprawling Pettah Market. Filled with all the bright colors, noise, bustle, and pungent smells; the market is the biggest and busiest market on the island. All the goods that are brought in from the ships pass through the market, and as a result, you can find almost anything and everything here.

Guarding the entrance to this industrious zone is a century-old clock tower known as the Khan Clock Tower. The tower was built in the early 20th century by a Parsi family of the name Khan.

The Parsis were essentially Persians who had migrated to India around the 7th century AD for fear of religious discrimination when the Arabs invaded what is now Iran. Many settled in Gujarat. Their older roots segregated them from the modern Zoroastrian Indian community of Iranis who only arrived in the 19th and 20th century. The Parsis were often traders and had business interests in the nearby communities.

The Khan family were a particularly illustrious Parsi family who had many trade interests in Ceylon, as Sri Lanka was then called. They owned many large businesses, including the Colombo Oil Mills, which was quite famous at the time for producing many varieties of high quality oil.

In 1878, the patriarch of the family – Framjee Bhikhajee Khan – passed away leaving his two sons to take over the family’s trade. They successfully grew their businesses achieving fame and fortune over the next several decades. But they never forgot their father, who taught them so much and made them who they were.

In the year of 1923, they built a clock tower and fountain in his memory, close to where he loved to work. On the base of the clocktower an inscribed plate was attached. It said: "This clock tower and fountain was erected to the memory of Framjee Bhikhajee Khan by his sons Bhikhajee and Munchershaw Framjee Khan as a token of affectionate gratitude and dedicated through the Municipal Council to the citizens of Colombo on the fourth day of January 1923, the 45th anniversary of his death.”

The four-story tall tower remains there to this day on a landscaped roundabout. The water fountain that’s attached to it has long stopped working. But clock tower continues to function. A rock solid memorial to the love and affection of family.

Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower Khan Clock Tower
【LK94009831: Khan Clock Tower. Images by Google, copyright(s) reserved by original authors.】

Om Colombo-distriktet

Colombo är Sri Lankas största stad och kommersiella huvudstad. Den ligger på öns västkust och intill Sri Jayewardenepura Kotte, Sri Lankas huvudstad. Colombo är en livlig och pulserande stad med en blandning av modernt liv och koloniala byggnader och ruiner och en stadsbefolkning på 647 100. Colombos storstadsregion, definierad av distrikten Colombo, Gampaha och Kalutara, har en uppskattad befolkning på 5 648 000 och täcker en yta på 3 694,20 km². Colombo är en multietnisk och multikulturell stad. Det är den mest befolkade staden i Sri Lanka, med 642 163 personer som bor inom stadsgränserna. Befolkningen i Colombo är en blandning av många etniska grupper, främst singaleser, morer och tamiler. Det finns också små grupper av människor med kinesiskt, portugisiskt, holländskt, malaysiskt och indiskt ursprung som bor i staden, samt många europeiska utlandsboende. Den stora majoriteten av srilankanska företag har sina huvudkontor i Colombo. Några av industrierna inkluderar kemikalier, textilier, glas, cement, lädervaror, möbler och smycken. I stadens centrum ligger Sydasiens näst högsta byggnad - World Trade Center.

Om Västra provinsen

Västra provinsen är Sri Lankas mest tätbefolkade provins. Här ligger den lagstiftande huvudstaden Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte samt Colombo, landets administrativa och affärsmässiga centrum. Västra provinsen är uppdelad i tre huvuddistrikt: Colombo (642 km²), Gampaha (1 386,6 km²) och Kalutara (1 606 km²). Som Sri Lankas ekonomiska centrum finns alla större lokala och internationella företag i staden, liksom alla större designerbutiker och butiker på huvudgatan, så var beredd att ägna dig åt lite shoppingterapi i västra provinsen. Med den högsta befolkningen i alla provinser ligger nästan alla de främsta utbildningsinstitutionerna på ön i västra provinsen. Universiteten i provinsen inkluderar University of Colombo, University of Sri Jayewardenepura, University of Kelaniya, Open University, Sri Lanka, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence University och University of Moratuwa. Västra provinsen har det största antalet skolor i landet, vilket inkluderar nationella, provinsiella, privata och internationella skolor.

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