Winchester House.

The article reflects on the author's childhood experiences at Winchester House Junior School, a boarding school in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and the lasting impact of its harsh disciplinary environment under the housemaster, Father Barnabas. It explores the complex figure of Skanda, a former schoolmate whose rebellious nature inspired a fictional character in the novel *Anil's Ghost*, set during the Sri Lankan civil war among peripheral hospital doctors. The narrative also touches on the poet Lakdhas Wikkramasinha, an alumnus of St. Thomas' College who expressed his trauma from the school in his poetry. The piece concludes with a poignant account of an encounter between an archaeologist and the aging Father Barnabas, revealing unresolved pain linked to the school's oppressive past.