Up north, she had been treated by the local apothecary whose miracle tincture was supposed to ‘purge’ her fever. Rajan, who read a lot, had never read of purging as a cure for fever. His sister hadn’t eaten in weeks and finally the little boy convinced his mother that Lali needed help. Fearfully, they brought her to Colombo.

He was sure now, that faloodah would save her. It would provide hydration, energy and happiness in equal measure. Its milky pinkness would make her smile. He had been on his way to buy it from the teahouse when he saw the monk undressing quietly on a side of the street.

The monk wiped his shorn head again with his palm. Once more it came away damp. He sat down on the pavement in the lotus position. To the little boy, the monk looked like Lord Buddha himself, who had found an answer to the suffering of mankind and shared it with the world. Their country was the keeper of that answer; an island citadel that protected the Buddha’s ways and his wisdom.

The monk began chanting slowly and clearly. Rajan couldn’t understand the words but he understood their tone. It was peaceful. The boy felt calm watching the monk close his eyes, oblivious to the gathering crowd. People were watching and whispering. People were always watching and whispering in the capital.

Rajan had seen angry monks walking the streets shouting about something, anything. Usually it was about the British but lately it was about the Tamils. The monks hated Tamils even more than they hated the British or the Muslims.

The monk in front of him didn’t seem angry, though. He was happy, sitting quietly on the pavement. Rajan wanted to talk to him, ask him what he was doing. He had opened a bottle of water and was pouring it on himself, as though he were bathing. Rajan’s eyes started to sting. ‘You should stand back, son,’ the monk said to him as he smiled and rubbed his body with the water. The water; something was wrong with the water.

Rajan was about to speak when his father touched his shoulder. What was his father doing here? He was supposed to be with Lali at the hospital. They were all taking turns to sit with her: she never liked being alone, even though she was the eldest child.