Summary
The chapter opens in Queen’s Park in springtime. People are sitting in groups and children are playing. Ayah is lying in the grass surrounded by her admirers: the Faletti’s Hotel cook, the Government House gardener, the butcher, and the zoo attendant Sher Singh. Ayah jokes that Lenny is scared of the lion at the zoo because she thinks it will eat her up in bed. Sher Singh tries to comfort Lenny by saying the lion is held by an iron chain, but the thought of the zoo attendant’s skinny arms holding the lion by a chain only makes her more frightened.
Masseur and Ice-candy-man join the group sitting on the grass. Both are selling various ointments and medicines. The subject of fertility pills creates opportunities for dirty jokes. Then the conversation switches to politics. The group asks the gardener of the Government House what the British authorities are doing. There is a rumor that the Viceroy, Sir Archibald Wavell, did not resign but was actually fired. The reason has something to do with Gandhi, Nehru, and Sardar Patel’s influence in London. Apparently, this group of influential local leaders was angered by the Muslim League’s victory in the Punjab elections and wanted a new viceroy more favorable to Hindus. The new viceroy is Louis Mountbatten, with whom Nehru is close.
The group then talks about the Sikhs and how the English play different religious groups against each other. At one point Ayah gets bored and says she will stop coming to the park if they only talk about the problems between Hindu and Muslims.
In the next scene, Lenny asks if “India is going to broken” and wonders exactly what this means. She asks Cousin and Ayah, but cannot get a straight answer. Lenny admits to herself that she is beginning to be more aware of religious differences: “One day everyone is themselves—and the next day they are Hindu, Muslim, Sikh, Christian. People sink, dwindling into symbols.” Even Ayah is becoming a “token” to her—not only Ayah her beloved nanny but also a devout Hindu always going to the temple. Similarly, Imam Din and Yousaf become “religious zealots” in her mind because they go off to pray every Friday. Lenny also becomes aware of caste. Papoo and her family are untouchables. Finally, Lenny begins to see her own family as Parsee. She questions what God is and how this matters.
The next morning, Muccho is screaming at Papoo again. They are fighting because Muccho is arranging Papoo’s marriage. The girl is only 11.
Another scene at the park returns to the theme of religious difference. One day at Queen’s Garden, Masseur takes Lenny to pee. She relieves herself beneath the Queen’s statue and a Sikh boor stares and watches, refusing to leave when Masseur tells him to. Finally, the boy runs off and Lenny chases after him to a group of Sikh women. These Sikhs have never heard of Parsees. Lenny notices that groups of Sikhs, Muslims, Brahmins, and so on all sit in self-segregated groups. It is only Ayah who has her diverse group of friends or admirers.
Suddenly, a Muslim holy man enters the park shouting. It is actually Ice-candy-man in disguise trying to scam people. A Muslim family invites him over. There is a bearded husband and a wife wearing a burka. They want to know if God will give the woman a son—so far they only have daughters. Ice-candy-man pretends to go in a trance. He screams and dances around. The family and the crowd surrounding them think he is a powerful mystic. The family is convinced that he has spoken to God on their behalf and give him some money. He gets up and joins Ayah and company.
Analysis
This chapter shows Lenny’s anxieties about the changes happening in India. At one point, Lenny says to herself: “India is going to be broken. Can one break a country? And what happens if they break it where our house is? Or crack it further up on Warris Road? How will I ever get to Godmother’s then?” This idea of a country being “broken” refers in one sense to Partition—that is, the splitting of India and Pakistan. However, what this chapter also shows is that a country also “breaks” when relationships between people change. Tensions between India’s various religious groups and castes are on the increase. Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and other groups are coming into conflict in politics, but they are also breaking off from each other in everyday life. The segregated groups in Queen’s Park are one example of this. There are also the many jokes told about various groups that turn them into stereotypes.
Lenny describes the people around her transforming into symbols or tokens. Instead of just being themselves, they stand for larger group identities. She says: “My perception of people has changed. I still see through to their hearts and minds, but their exteriors superimpose a new set of distracting impressions.” The chapter gives the example of Hari’s “bodhi-hair,” the tail on his shaved head that shows his caste, or the long hair and beards of Sikhs. Lenny is also becoming aware of how different groups exist on a hierarchy. English Christians are above Anglo-Indians who are above Indian Christians, and so on. Becoming aware of social differences in this way is part of growing up and Lenny is at that age. At the same time, it also points to the way India is transforming—and heading towards disaster.
