ABSTRACT
In this allegorical short story describing those in a civilian train being taken without their consent to fight in a battle, Jayasinghe manages to capture most of the forces at play during war – the fate of civilians that have nothing to do with the problem; the role of media in war; the class factor where the poorest die first; the fact that political and military leaders , who one thinks are also fighting on one’s behalf, are actually not there. Other things are also said here about social control – panopticism symbolized by the radio that drives them to be silent and not criticize what is being done to them; the selfishness of academia and research that works only for personal benefit; the difference between the comfortably ensconced ‘educated’ and the poor and uneducated who might actually give more practical help to society without thinking of personal gain. This story ends with a reference to the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka in 2004, which killed many and did overturn trains.
