Mister Ranjan Salgado

When we first meet him, Ranjan Salgado is a thin bachelor with a gentle voice and a sad expression. He is very intelligent and considers himself self-educated despite having gone to all the best schools in Colombo. Mister Salgado, described once as "a prodigy of science," is obsessed with the ocean, the coral reefs, and marine life. While others are concerned about the how, he is concerned about the why. He is very meticulous-writing lists of things he has to do, and keeping records of what has been done.

It isn't until a woman named Nili comes into his life that Ranjan Salgado becomes more relaxed and begins to smile all the time. Triton, his servant, describes him as radiant and finally "there" in front of him rather than off in a dreamland somewhere. Nili brings out the urban socialite in Ranjan Salgado, and he begins...