The Ghost of Anil by Michael Ondaantje is the story of Anil Tissera, a forensic anthropologist, who returns to his home country, Sri Lanka, after living abroad for fifteen years as a worker at the United Nations Human Rights Center, Anil intends to investigate the skeletons of political murders, kidnappings and cases of silent disappearances. The novel is set against the backdrop of a troubled and upset Sri Lanka, repeating throughout the assertion that "the reason for the war was war" (43). question of why the country is locked in a horrific political conflict that involves daily disappearances, fear, massacres and cover-up murders. In the elusive context of war, Ondaatje plays with the aspect of healing; healing of the evergreen Sri Lanka, its people and their lives. In this article I will examine healing, which is harmoniously in tune with the nature aspect and is a recurring theme throughout the novel. The novel is set in the lush green island of Sri Lanka, rich with the presence of nature. The generosity of nature in the small island gives a chance to regenerate life. In the midst of a deadly environment, the abundance of nature represents the abundance of life. Thus, the land of Sri Lanka, being so fertile, signifies not only life, but also nature, as Anil claims that a bush could grow even if it spits on the ground (<). The dual role of nature, both regenerative and degenerative, is intertwined in the melancholy and troubled atmosphere of the novel. All the Sri Lankan characters relate consciously or unconsciously to nature and Anil, to some extent, is also in tune with it. There is a subtle presence of natural elements; water, earth and fire being the most important...... middle of paper...... to reconstruct and repaint the sacred eyes of the mutilated Buddha in the Netra Mangla ritual. His restoration of the sacred eyes of the Buddha results in an epiphany: “the evolutionary moment when the eyes, reflected in the mirror, would see him, would fall into him” (306). He suddenly takes a new look at the natural world while exposing his senses to the island's elements: "with human sight he saw every fiber of natural history around him... He could feel every current of wind... the smell of gasoline and pomegranate... The crackle of noise... There was a seduction for him here” (307; emphasis added). Finally, at the end of Anil's Ghost, the restoration of the statue and the comfort Ananda receives from his nephew's gesture of love and healing: “He felt the boy's worried hand on his. This gentle touch of the world (307) evokes hope of healing for Sri Lanka and its people..