Saifee Villa (previously known as Lakshmigiri) is a

mansion A mansion is a large dwelling house. The word itself derives through Old French from the Latin word ''mansio'' "dwelling", an abstract noun derived from the verb ''manere'' "to dwell". The English word ''manse'' originally defined a property l ...

at 102, Thurstan Road in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

03,

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, located between Thunmulla Junction and College House, Colombo.

History and Alfred Joseph Richard de Soysa

Lakshmigiri (built in 1910) was the stately home of Hon. A. J. R. de Soysa, Member of the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of represe ...

, planter and musician. He was the second son of Sir

Charles Henry de Soysa Charles Henry de Soysa Dharmagunawardana Vipula Jayasuriya Karunaratna Disanayaka popularly known as Charles Henry de Soysa, JP (3 March 1836 – 29 September 1890) was a Ceylonese entrepreneur and philanthropist. He was a pioneering planter, i ...

. Born in 1869 at Brodie House (later gifted to Ceylon University College) he was educated at

S. Thomas' College Saint Thomas or St. Thomas may refer to: People * Thomas the Apostle (died AD 72), Jewish-Christian follower of Jesus and evangelist * Thomas the Hermit, Coptic Desert Father and Saint of the 4th century * Thomas of Maurienne or Thomas of Farf ...

, Prince of Wales' College and Royal College. He completed his education at Highbury House School

St Leonards-on-Sea St Leonards-on-Sea (commonly known as St Leonards) is a town and seaside resort in the borough of Hastings in East Sussex, England. It has been part of the borough since the late 19th century and lies to the west of central Hastings. The origin ...

, where he excelled as a sprinter and pursued a degree in music at

Trinity Hall, Cambridge Trinity Hall (formally The College or Hall of the Holy Trinity in the University of Cambridge, colloquially "Tit Hall" ) is a Colleges of the University of Cambridge, constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Founded in 1350, it is th ...

.Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, by Arnold Wright, p.543 (Lloyd's Greater Britain Publishing Company) The splendour of an Italian villa
by Shabna Cader (

Ceylon Today ''Ceylon Today'' is an English language Sri Lankan daily newspaper published by Ceylon Newspapers (Private) Limited. It was founded in 2011 and is published from Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and large ...

Features)A Tribute to my Father : DR. KINGSLEY DE SILVA DEVA ADITYA on his 100th BIRTH ANNIVERSARY
By Niranjan de Silva Deva Aditya (MEP)

The Island (Sri Lanka) ''The Island'' is a daily English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, so ...

Retrieved 15 December 2014 In 1911 he became the second member to be appointed to the Low Country Sinhalese seat of the

. The Alfred House Estate of the De Soysa family covered a large area of about 125 acres stretching from what is now Duplication road to Cinnamon Gardens; and Thunmulla Junction to Charles Circus. It is said that Sir Charles de Soysa owned a total of 48 houses in the city of Colombo. Over the years, the 125-acre Alfred House Estate underwent several subdivisions, some major changes being precipitated by the master plan for Colombo which foresaw many new roads across the estate. The earlier subdivisions were however made by the de Soysa family itself, which constructed several stately mansions within the property and gifted the land in front of Lakshmigiri to Royal College, Colombo, now the University grounds (playing fields).Architecture and Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Trouser Under the Cloth By Anoma Pieris, p.65-81 & 83 (Routledge) The house is an example of the beautiful colonial architecture of the time. In the book ''India House, Colombo'' by Sarvodaya Vishvalekha, Lakshmigiri is described as an extravagant mix of

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

and

Italianate The Italianate style was a distinct 19th-century phase in the history of Classical architecture. Like Palladianism and Neoclassicism, the Italianate style combined its inspiration from the models and architectural vocabulary of 16th-century It ...

architecture reminiscent of a retreat of Queen Victoria with gates inspired by those of

Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a royal official residence, residence in London, and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and r ...

.Now a showcase of fabulous mansions
by Padma Edirisinghe,

Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka) ''Sunday Observer'' is a weekly English-language newspaper in Sri Lanka, published on Sundays. The ''Sunday Observer'' and its sister newspapers the '' Daily News'', '' Dinamina'', '' Silumina'' and ''Thinakaran'' are published by Associated N ...

, Retrieved 10 December 2014 The Gates of Lakshmigiri are identical to the gates of the

Egyptian Museum The Museum of Egyptian Antiquities, commonly known as the Egyptian Museum (, Egyptian Arabic: ) (also called the Cairo Museum), located in Cairo, Egypt, houses the largest collection of Ancient Egypt, Egyptian antiquities in the world. It hou ...

, Cairo. It said that designer of the

gates was inspired by the design of the gates of Lakshmigiri. A. J. R. de Soysa had a keen interest in horse racing. It is said that he built the western and eastern towers of Lakshimigiri, to be able to observe the races taking part at the Colombo Racecourse Airstrip, situated just down the road. In 1893 he built the Chevaliar Jusey de Silva ward at the

Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children The Lady Ridgeway Hospital for Children is a tertiary care children's hospital in Colombo, Sri Lanka. With a bed-strength of over 1200, it is now considered to be the largest children's hospital in the world . Established by public subscription ...

and in 1913 inaugurated the Ceylon School for the Deaf and Blind, Ratmalana. The De Soysa Trophy (formerly for

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missile ...

) is awarded for the best cadet platoon from a girls' school by the

National Cadet Corps (Sri Lanka) The National Cadet Corps (NCC; Sinhala: ජාතික ශිෂ්‍යභට බලකාය, ''romanized: jātika śiṣyabhaṭa balakāya'') is a volunteer youth organisation in Sri Lanka, sponsored by the Ministry of Defence (Sri Lanka), ...

in his memory.

Ownership from the Soysa Family to the Adamjee Lukmanjee Family

According to 'Colombo Heritage' as time ran on De Soysa ran into financial difficulties and various properties were sold off, the house was mortgaged, and later foreclosed. It was then bought in and around 1923 by the Dawoodi Bohra "Adamjee Lukmanjee" family, and has remained in their ownership to date under the name "Saifee Villa". During

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, the

Royal Air Force The Royal Air Force (RAF) is the Air force, air and space force of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. It was formed towards the end of the World War I, First World War on 1 April 1918, on the merger of t ...

was temporarily shifted to the Colombo Racecourse Airstrip. Lakshmigiri is located adjoining the airstrip, therefore it was transformed into one of the RAF headquarters in

. Unfortunately, it was during this time that many ornaments, antiques, chandeliers & valuable furniture was ransacked by these British troops prior to their exodus from Sri Lanka. In 1972 under the

Land Reform Land reform (also known as agrarian reform) involves the changing of laws, regulations, or customs regarding land ownership, land use, and land transfers. The reforms may be initiated by governments, by interested groups, or by revolution. Lan ...

act, a large portion of the land surrounding Lakshmigiri was seized, and the tenants were given ownership rights. What remains today is a portion of the land that once was.

Transformation from "Lakshmigiri" to Saifee Villa

The Adamjee Lukmanjee family are members of the

Muslim Muslims () are people who adhere to Islam, a Monotheism, monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God ...

Dawoodi Bohra The Dawoodi Bohras are a religious denomination within the Ismā'īlī branch of Shia Islam. They number approximately one million worldwide and have settled in over 40 countries around the world. The majority of the Dawoodi Bohra community re ...

community. They were honoured to house the head of the community, Syenda Taher Saifuddin, on all five of his visits to Sri Lanka at Lakshmigiri. It was considered a center for the community in Sri Lanka, as it was the venue for numerous religious and cultural gatherings. On 19 June 1979, after the death of Syenda Taher Saifuddin, his heir Syedna

Mohammed Burhanuddin Mohammed Burhanuddin (6 March 1915 – 17 January 2014) was the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq of Dawoodi Bohras from 1965 to 2014. He led the community for 49 years in a period of social, economic, and educational prosperity; strengthened and re-institu ...

, in the memory of his fathers' visits, changed the name from "Lakshmigiri" to "Saifee Villa" (where the word "Saifee" is derived from the name Saifuddin). The crown of the gates of Lakshmigiri adorns an "S" that once stood for "Soysa" family, after the name-change to "Saifee Villa", the "S" is still appropriate. Syedna Mohammed Burhanuddin stayed once at Saifee Villa. The Villa hosts numerous functions, and religious gatherings. During the era of Syenda Taher Saifuddin, as a child,

Mufaddal Saifuddin Syedna Mufaddal Saifuddin () is the spiritual leader, the 53rd Da'i al-Mutlaq of more than one million Dawoodi Bohras, a subgroup of the Tayyibi, Musta'li, Ismaili Shia branch of Islam. He is the second son of the 52nd Da'i al-Mutlaq, M ...

, began the recitation of the

Quran The Quran, also Romanization, romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a Waḥy, revelation directly from God in Islam, God (''Allah, Allāh''). It is organized in 114 chapters (, ) which ...

in Saifee Villa. In the year 2007 and 2008, Syedna

held the 9 sermons of Ashara Mubaraka in Colombo, Sri Lanka. On both occasions, Saifee Villa was chosen as the venue for his arrival reception. Dignitaries such as Mr A. H. M. Fowzie were present at this event. In 2007, in the first sermon of Ashara Mubaraka, he stated that Saifee Villa is a "Historical House" (''tareekhi makaan''). Mufaddal Saifuddin arrived in Sri Lanka from

Karachi Karachi is the capital city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, province of Sindh, Pakistan. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, largest city in Pakistan and 12th List of largest cities, largest in the world, with a popul ...

on Monday 17 September 2012 and his arrival reception was held in Saifee Villa at 10pm. A large gathering of

community of Colombo was present at this function. On Saturday 9 June 2013 Mufaddal Saifuddin arrived in Sri Lanka from

Chennai Chennai, also known as Madras (List of renamed places in India#Tamil Nadu, its official name until 1996), is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Tamil Nadu by population, largest city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost states and ...

. His arrival reception was held at Saifee Villa where a crowd of about 3,000 people were present. He also solemnized 7 wedding Nikahs on that day. Since then, he has visited at least once on each of his 15 visits to Sri Lanka.

In popular culture

The house was featured in the 1981 film Kaliyugaya by

Lester James Peries Sri Lankabhimanya Lester James Peries (Sinhala language, Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකාභිමාන්‍ය ලෙස්ටර් ජේම්ස් පීරිස්; 5 April 1919 – 29 April 2018) was a Sri Lankan film director, ...

. The mansion is also described in the books; ''Architecture and Nationalism in Sri Lanka: The Trouser Under the Cloth'' by Anoma Pieris and ''India House Colombo'' by Sarvodaya Vishvalekha.

References

{{Reflist, 30em

External links