cerno attends an art competition awards ceremony and is struck by the children present. “The majority of these kids were from rural schools. A string of Mahavidyalayas, Madya Maha Vidyalayas, and simple Vidyalayas. Words not heard among us Colombo types used to abbreviations of Visaka, Ananda, Royal etc. There were two kids who seemed to be particularly emblematic – both were from the youngest age group from their respective provinces. “