‘There was fear in the air—downcast eyes, nervous scurrying—for bombs had exploded in these close confines in the past, killing disproportionate numbers of packed humanity. The heat, humidity and stench of human effluence in the enclosed stalls made me nauseous.
Shane Joseph’s Paradise Revisited is set against the background of the recent tragic, violent events that tore Sri Lanka apart and cast a long shadow. It placed the once-sylvan, peaceful country in the dock as far as world opinion is concerned, as was reiterated forcefully by the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, where leaders of countries like Canada boycotted the event on the basis of Sri Lanka’s allegedly dismal Human Rights record based on the atrocities committed on the Tamil population.