‘Yes, yes, yes,’ Rita didn’t like being hurried. ‘Meena told Malar who told me that your sambanthi Radha was seen at Chelvanayakam’s latest Tamil Federal Party rally in Jaffna last week.’

‘It’s called the Tamil United Front now,’ Nala interrupted her.

‘Yes, yes—Chelvanayakam can break away and call it anything he wants to. He still wants the same thing. But your Priya’s mother-in-law—Radha. She was at the rally with her younger son, Anand. Her husband only recently passed away, so Meena was very surprised to see her anywhere at all. Anyway, Anand—he’s studying at Katubedda Technical College. You know he was accepted into Peradeniya University but his marks were downgraded by the new standardisation policy. Such a shame—so many of our children will suffer.

‘He was sitting with Chelvanayakam. Well, not with him, but at his feet. He was sitting there, listening and winding the old man’s watch for him.’

‘He was what?’ Nala asked.

‘He was winding the old man’s watch. Yes, exactly, that’s why I thought you would want to know. Chelvanayakam is a separatist, Nala. If the Sinhalese had bothered to learn Tamil, they could have read his propaganda and worked it out earlier. Between him and that thug in the jungle, Prabhakaran, there’s going to be trouble soon.

‘But, Nala, that isn’t the worst of it,’ Rita paused dramatically. ‘He’s not just handing out leaflets at rallies or plastering posters on walls like some of the other boys. I asked people. He’s organising protests for Chelvanayakam.’ She paused again, expectantly.

‘Rita darling, thank you for caring enough to call. I’ve got to go—there’s so much to do: Nandan’s tutor is coming soon, he probably hasn’t done his homework; Dhara is arriving tonight from Jaffna, and Ayah needs to be given her instructions for dinner. I’m exhausted just thinking about it all and I haven’t even been to temple yet. I told Kamini I would be there half an hour ago. I will call you later, I promise.’

She put the phone down. Carlo came up to her and put his head on her lap. Distracted, she played with his soft ears and rubbed his chest. The dog was so big that people were afraid of him. He had exceeded their expectations about size and ate more than his fair share, but she loved feeding him, watching him wolf down her offerings. He was the only one who didn’t complain when she attempted to cook.

Dhara had been at the recent rally too. She had joined the Federal Party when she was at university. She went to protests and Nala suspected she went to secret meetings. She feared where this path might take the girl, but didn’t feel she had the right to stop her.