|
Independence Memorial Hall |
Independence Memorial Hall (Sinhala: නිදහස් අනුස්මරණ ශාලාව/නිදහස් චතුරස්රය; Tamil: சுதந்திர சதுக்கம்/இலவச நினைவு மண்டபம்) is a national monument located in Independence Square in Colombo 7, Sri Lanka. It was erected by the Government of Ceylon (present Sri Lanka) to commemorate the achievement of the independence of Ceylon from Britain on 4 February 1948. The hall also houses the Independence Memorial Museum.
The present building was built at the location where the state opening of the First Parliament of Ceylon was held on 4 February 1948.
History
To symbolize the independence gained from Great Britain, the government of Ceylon decided to build a memorial building. The design of the building which is loosely following the architectural plan of the ancient Magul Maduwa, the Royal Audience Hall of the Kandyan Kingdom, was planned by Wynne-Jones under Public Works Department (Pieris, 1994; Pieris, 2012). The construction of the memorial hall started with the laying of the foundation stone on 4 February 1949. The building was completed in 1953 (Pieris, 1994).
On 20 April 1983, the custody of the memorial hall was entrusted to the Cultural Ministry by a decision taken by the cabinet ministers.
Building
The building which is built in concrete is an open pavilion hall lying on a one-story podium housing the Independence Memorial Museum. The massive reinforced concrete columns of the open pavilion carry the two-pitched concrete roof and are decorated with traditional motifs. Four Pun-kalasas (pots of plenty) symbolizing wealth and prosperity are found at the corners of the pavilion and the lion, the symbol of the Sinhala race is replicated in concrete statues along the podium's base (Pieris, 1994). The area of the ground floor of the hall is approximately 10,000 sq, ft.
On one side of the building is a statue of D. S. Senanayake, the country's first prime minister. The statue is guarded by four lions similar in appearance to the lions at Yapahuwa.
The total area of the land of Independence Square is 2.43 acres.
Independence Memorial Museum
A Museum Administered by the Department of National Museums is located in the basement of this memorial hall. Opened for the public on 3 February 2008, the museum displays many statues and display boards of national heroes including political leaders, clergies and the lay patriots who struggled for the country's independence.
|
Independence Memorial Hall |
Related Posts
Read Also
References
Books, Dissertations
1) Pieris, A.D., 1994. The trouser under the cloth: Ceylon/Sri Lanka, personal space in the decolonization (Doctoral dissertation, Massachusetts Institute of Technology). pp.126-127.
2) Pieris, A., 2012. Architecture and nationalism in Sri Lanka: The trouser under the cloth. Routledge. p.114.