People in an urban neighbourhood

View of houses, streets, and people in a part of a city, probably Colombo. The foreground shows a series of indeterminate heaps of earth or rubble (remains of the war or of the large-scale reconstruction of Colombo). In the middle, a path curves upward and disappears at the top of the slope behind an earthen rampart. The first two houses have overhanging roofs of coconut palm leaves (cadjan) and seem to have mud walls. The tall house next to it on the corner has a tiled roof; on the upper floor is a balcony and a beam with a hanging sign, probably indicating an inn. Between the inn and the neighboring house stands a banana plant. Beyond the side street on the left is a second house, also with an upper floor and a tiled roof; it has a large window with an awning above it, behind which a person seems visible. The row of buildings on the right begins with something resembling an entrance or gate. Behind it, a tall grove of bamboo protrudes.