They were once seen as heroes of the nation, the almost mythical warrior-king leaders who defeated the separatists in a bloody civil war.
Yet, the final days of Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa dynasty tell a very different tale.
In the early hours of Wednesday, embattled President Gotabaya Rajapaksa made a hurried exit from the South Asian nation, days after thousands of angry protesters broke into his official residence, swam in his pool, and demanded he finally go.
He had been expected to resign later that day, but Gotabaya Rajapaksa didn't wait around to make it official. Instead, before dawn, he boarded a military plane leaving Colombo, the commercial capital of the crisis-hit country, and fled to the Maldives.
His departure is a historic moment for the island nation of 22 million, which they had ruled with an iron fist for much of the past two decades before losing the faith of their once adoring citizens.
The sight of Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing Sri Lanka on an air force plane represents (the downfall) of this family.
Their legacy I don't think is a positive one. But one hopes that Sri Lanka will move on in a new direction.
With jubilant Sri Lankan still swimming in the presidential pool, singing in the presidential dining room and dancing around the opulent presidential grounds.
What happens during the next 24 hours will do much to determine the country's future, with Rajapaksa's long-term intentions remaining as yet unclear.
The rise.
As the country takes its first steps in its brave new era, experts say it would do well to consider what went wrong with the last one -- starting with the rise and fall of the President.
He is not the first member of the family to have been president. His brother, who like the President was widely considered a "war hero" among the majority population, was elected President in 2005 and achieved near legendary status in 2009 when he declared victory in the 26-year civil war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil rebels.
Former Sri Lankan President, left, and his brother, right, during a campaign in the suburb of Sri Lanka, on April 4, 2010.
That victory gave him an almost inexhaustible well of political capital to draw on, and he would go on to enjoy a 10-year grip on power, during which he was venerated by Sri Lanka's Buddhist majority. He was popularly referred to as the father of the nation -- and people would often bow when he walked past and fear for him when he was unwell.
For much of his term, he ran Sri Lanka like a family business, appointing his brothers to key positions; as Defense Secretary, as Minister of Economic Development, and as the Speaker of Parliament.
And while the good times were rolling, despite gripes about nepotism, the brothers remained popular. The country saw years of growth, fueled by the government's vast borrowing from overseas to fund public services.
But the good times weren't to last.
Brief hiatus and comeback.
While the civil war did much to create him a legend, it also contained the first signs of his downfall.
According to a 2011 United Nations report, government troops were responsible for including the intentional shelling of civilians, summary executions, rape, and blocking food and medicine from reaching affected communities. The UN report said, "a number of credible sources have estimated there could have been as many as 40,000 civilian deaths."
His government has always vehemently denied such allegations.
However, its problems began to mount.
The human rights concerns went beyond the war. Political opponents accused him of giving tacit approval to far-right Buddhist groups, and Sri Lanka's Muslim and Tamil minorities feared a wider crackdown on their communities.
At the same time, anger at President perceived cronyism grew as signs of economic trouble emerged, and it became clear that there would be a price to pay for the government's earlier largesse.
By 2015, Sri Lanka owed China $8 billion, and Sri Lankan government officials predicted that accumulated foreign debt -- both owed to China and other countries -- would eat up 94% of the country's GDP.
That year, he lost a close presidential election to his one-time health minister.
Sri Lanka is a democratic country and people were shocked at that extent of attempting cronyism. This combination of (nepotism) and mismanaging the economy... people were upset they elected these people.
That might have been enough to finish off a lesser dynasty.
In April 2019, Islamic militants killed at least 290 people in a string of bombings at churches and luxury hotels. A panicked country turned back to the one family they knew that had a proven record on national security.
In November of that year, he was elected as the country's new President. And like his brother, he saw governing as a family affair.
"People have once again imposed their full confidence in us," he said after a landslide victory in parliamentary elections a year later.
"We will fulfill their aspirations and will always value the confidence they have placed in us."
'Fall from grace'.
Still, as had happened to his brother, cracks began to emerge in the presidency as questions over his government's economic management continued to grow.
Experts say Sri Lanka's economic problems were not entirely the government's fault -- but its woes were made worse by a series of bad decisions.
Chair of Colombo-based think tank Advocate Institute, said the vast borrowing spree Sri Lanka embarked on to fund its public service coincided with a series of hammer blows to the Sri Lankan economy, from natural disasters such as heavy monsoons, to man-made ones.
Facing a massive deficit, he slashed taxes in a doomed attempt to stimulate the economy.
But the move backfired, instead hitting government revenue. Ratings agencies then downgraded Sri Lanka to near default levels, meaning the country lost access to overseas markets. Sri Lanka then had to use its foreign exchange reserves to pay off government debt. This affected imports of fuel and other essentials, which sent prices soaring.
On the streets, once adoring public found themselves unable to feed their families or fuel their vehicles. Now people must queue for hours for fuel, often clashing with police and military as they wait. Supermarkets shelves are barren. Medicine supplies are running dangerously low.
And it is the President they blame. For months, angry Sri Lankan have taken to the streets, accusing President of mismanaging the economy.
People throng President official residence three days after it was stormed by anti-government protesters in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on July 12.
Those protests began peacefully but turned violent in May, prompting him to resign as Prime Minister. But his decision did little to quell frustrations -- and his brother remained in power as the President.
For weeks, he clung on, apparently unwilling to let the dynasty fall. But ultimately he had no choice, as the lavish home he once used to entertain power brokers was taken over by crowds escaping the heat in his sparkling swimming pool and holding picnics on his sprawling lawn.
You have this idea that the ruling elite are living very lavishly, while being very corrupt, and the ordinary person is in grave difficulty.
"To go from being perceived as heroes, to being chased out of your own home is unthinkable. It's a complete fall from grace."
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