Part I Kolla Summary

Triton begins his recollections from 1962-the year when there was an attempted overthrow of the government in his country; in that year, Triton, then eleven years old, was taken by his uncle to meet Mister Salgado for the first time. They entered the house through a side entrance to wait somewhere in the back, and sat on the floor until the sun was setting before they were called.

Mister Salgado asked the boy if he had been to school and Triton answered yes: he had reached Fifth Standard, could read and write, and had even learned some English. However, he could no longer live at home because his father was angry with him for burning a thatched roof of a hut at school. He ran away to his uncle's place, and his uncle took him to Mister Salgado's for...