Summary

In “Ananda,” Sarath and Anil meet with Ananda Udugama, the artist that Palipana told them about. The man agrees to the task, and asks for erasers, school pencils and needles. Udugama comes with them to the walawwa, which is a house that once belonged to a well-known artist and has since been appropriated by the Archaeological Society and Historical Board. While Ananda tries to recreate the image of the head, Anil tries to discern Sailor’s occupation from the marks on his body. She observes one night as Ananda, shirtless and drunk, picks up Sailor’s skeleton and holds him in his arms. She understands the impulse.

Anil has concluded that Sailor was an agile man, perhaps an acrobat, who adopted a more sedentary lifestyle after a bad break in his left leg. Anil concludes that he worked, for some time, in a mine...