The Nice Kandyman

Start instead at the village of Kundasale, not far from the hill city of Kandy. It was here that our young Tamil boy went through the formative years that would make him the man he is. The year is 1983 and the civil war between the Tamils and the Sinhalese is at its height. Murali, only 11, was witness to his father Muttiah’s flourishing biscuit factory being burnt down by Sinhalese mobs. Muttiah was the last man out, and emerging from the flames was attacked by men wielding machetes and badly injured. Murali and his family were herded into the cellar of a Muslim friend’s house, and there they sheltered as the mob waited outside, knowing that Tamils were being protected in the house. But the Muslims refused to yield and eventually the mob grew tired of waiting and moved on to find other victims.