Violence erupted in the Sri Lankan capital in May 1983, weeks after Neela's family left Indonesia. The month of July is called Black July. This is because the name was used for the Tamil riots in Sri Lanka in July 1973. The riots claimed the lives of 400 to 3,000 people. There were attacks by Tamil Sinhalese there, and their houses, vehicles, etc., were set on fire.
It was known that civil war had started in Sri Lanka at one time. The time was about 23 to 24 July 1983 at midnight. It was then reported that 13 Sri Lankan soldiers had been killed. For Sri Lanka, it was the most horrific communal riot that still haunts them in the pages of history. The Sinhalese people were looking for them to destroy the Tamil nation. For a time, the Sinhalese rioters in Colombo began using their ethnic home addresses and voter lists to launch a specific attack on the Tamil community.
Neela's family was Tamil, and they entered the country as newcomers. There he admitted his eldest daughter Sushma to a school. Neela's husband was the general manager of a textile mill. Neela was at home during the riots. She tries to communicate with her child and her husband. But at that time, the phones were switched off. So Neela ran to the main road and saw that the situation was terrible. It was as if the city was on fire. Just then, Neela saw the school van carrying her daughter and heading towards her alley. It came to her and stopped, but only her eldest daughter Sushma was there.
Neela asked the driver, "Where is Somya?"
The driver said "his school gate was closed" and left.
Neela stood there quietly for a while, looking confused and upset. Neela's neighbors stood nearby and saw her, and a tall man approached her. The man's name was Dr. Bikramasinghe. He said to Neela, let your little girl bring me. I am Sinhalese; no one will attack me for that. They are just looking for Tamils. Neela had never seen Dr. Bikram Singh before and had never met him.
The neighbors with whom Neela had befriended no one came forward to help. They then confirm their true identities. Helpless, Neela allows him to pick up the girl from school. Crying, Neela returned home with her eldest daughter Sushma. She began to pray for the safety of her young daughter and husband. After a couple of hours, Neela saw her little girl coming towards her house, holding the doctor's hand tightly.
The doctor told Neela that, at first, her little girl refused to go with him. The reason he said she could not recognize him. But the school teacher explained the situation to him. At that moment, in the blink of an eye, he took the little girl by grabbing the hand and left for home. Within hours, Neela's husband returned home. He was taken away by two men, a Muslim and a Sinhalese.
Then Neela could know the family of the doctor better. Neela thought they were utterly unfamiliar to the man. The man still helps his family. A few days later, Neela's little girl's favorite mama became Doctor Vikramasinghe. Since then, their two families have become very close. Neela looks at the family and thinks they will never forget their initiative and kind gestures. She is forever indebted to him.
