Anil under surveillance and power
One of the first things Anil does after her return to Sri Lanka is to examine a body together with two young students at Kynsey Road Hospital. Anil is so affected by the recently killed victim that her hands begin to tremble – the two students look at each other and one of them says pertly: “‘Is this your first corpse, then?’” (13). This consternation is an unexpected experience for Anil, who “never usually translated the time of a death into personal time” (13) and it shows for a short moment that she is not as confident as she wants herself to be.
A similar incident happens to her during her visit to Lalitha, which I have already mentioned in chapter 2. 3. Lalitha’s granddaughter disturbs the emotional reunion between Anil and her childhood nanny with her disapproving glance:
Anil could hardly recognize the tiny aged woman. They stood facing each other. Anil stepped forward to embrace her. Just then a young woman walked out and watched them without a smile. Anil was aware of the stern eyes that were taking in this sentimental moment. (22)
Anil is literally under the surveillance of Lalitha’s granddaughter, who shows her power and excludes her from the conversation by deliberately speaking in Tamil, a language that Anil is unable to understand.
In these two examples, Anil feels disturbed, but although she is in an inferior position she is in no real danger. Things are different when she, Sarath and Ananda are confronted with soldiers who stop their car in a roadblock. One of them takes Anil’s bag, empties it and searches its contents in front of everybody (cf. 162f). Anil is embarrassed about her personal things being looked through so thoroughly. The structures of power are very evident during this encounter. Anil knows that “the international authority of Geneva” (29) does not mean much in a critical situation, but that she has no other option than to comply with the soldier’s orders.
It becomes even more dangerous for Anil during the hearing at the Armoury Auditorium. What happens to her there is similar to the events at the roadblock. Again, she is questioned by a group of men who are in a superior position. The setup of the Auditorium alone makes these power relationships clear: Anil is in the front and everybody is looking towards her, while she tries to make her case without any real evidence. Sarath makes the situation worse and intimidates her even more during his questioning, but of course that is the only way he can save her.
Were told about the following events only indirectly by the thoughts of Sarath, but we can assume that she is facing tough searches on her way out of the building.
Sarath knew they would halt her at each corridor level, check her papers again and again to irritate and humiliate her. He knew she would be searched, vials and slides removed from her briefcase or pockets, made to undress and dress again. (277)
While Anil leaves the building and has to undergo all the examinations, she is certainly in the most humiliating situation of the ones I have mentioned so far and her inferior position and powerlessness in the face of the local authorities become very evident.