Pettah

Pettah! The enigma. I think it's strange that the busiest part of the capitol is evasive to most of us. The crowded streets, shouting people, road-side dirt, the innumerable vendors, people, people & more people.

In all my life (shamefully) I must have been to Pettah a maximum of 5 times. When I was a child, no one ever took me there & after I grew up I was so scared of going there that I never tried. But secretly I envied all those who braved it & survived. People who said "You know I bought this at Pettah, that at Pettah, & oh so cheap!" while I paid tenner for the same thing somewhere else.

Once to my utmost horror at my previous work place, my boss dragged me off to Pettah to buy Christmas decor. She knew all the places to go to & how to get there & the only thing I could do was tag along whining all the way. That was my first ever Pettah encounter.

My second was with my mother & an aunt. All I sadly remember is buying a saree at Ranjanas & then being brutally dragged all over the place. I had a very surreal, in a maze feeling, I must tell you.  

And then a few months ago, I decided that beads & stones I use in my craft stuff were getting too expensive to be bought at that "palace" in Borella. I knew what I had to do. Ford the murky waters known as Pettah. After getting the know how & where to & how to from a "Pettah Elder" I found my way to the 1st cross street. Ah! Paradise! so many little "kades" decorating the road sides. Yards & yards of trimming & ribbons of colours of the rainbow. Beads! sequins! stones! buttons! elastic! faux pearls! I couldn't believe it. It indeed was a crafter's paradise. And happily, I got a good bargain. Yippee!!

Then again, twice in the last month I went to Pettah. To Malwaththa street. The shoe shopper's paradise. I should rephrase that. A Guys shoe shopper's paradise. What a shame. No shoes for us ladies there. Anyway, there you can get lovely, all very fashionable (Very Barney Stinson looking ones) men's shoes for cheap, if you know how to bargain.

Today, I went there with my sister. Her first time at Pettah of course. Here are the things she did. Not in order.
1. She squirmed
2. She whined
3. She Spoke in English (Loudly)
4. Held my hand all through out.
5. Complained that she was sure I didn't know our way out.
6. Tried to buy goodies with her credit card.

All forgiven.

And, we were rather un-Pettahly dressed by the way. Skinny jeans & ruffly tops-tsk tsk- not the thing for Pettah.

If you haven't been there yet, it's definitely time to check the place out.

Book Baker Out.