It is a sparkling jewel in Sri Lanka's crown. Described as "the best kept secret in Asia", mysterious and pristine Sinharaja is a World Heritage Site. As this "least disturbed and biologically unique lowland rainforest" rules among the bio hotspots, the man who more or less single-handedly fought the forces of mechanized evil that would have seen the rape of this virgin, spends his time engrossed in his world of books in the twilight of his life surrounded by photographs that he has taken as a forester.

Young and feisty, the world was at her feet. It was a nightly journey she had made many times with her mother, aunts, sisters and cousins. The second night after Poson was no different and Thushari, her mother and a baby relative, climbed up the embankment as they had done on numerous occasions, when out of the gloom thundered unexpected danger.