Summary
Papoo is getting married. At night there are drums, but they sound sad and joyless to Lenny. She is mourning for Ayah and unable to take any joy in the marriage preparations. Lenny spends days looking at her tongue in the bathroom mirror. She is blaming it for telling the truth and telling the mob where Ayah was hiding. She calls it a “vile, truth-infected thing.” She scours her tongue trying to clean it and throws up constantly.
As all this is happening, a family of sweepers dressed up in bright colors comes to the house. The men wear turbans and old women play the drums. Papoo is overwhelmed by all the attention. At times she snaps at her mother Muccho and the two fight. Yet everyone at the house is in low spirits. Imam Din and Yousaf smile less.
A week after Aya was taken away, the wedding happens. The groom Tota Ram comes with a procession of a brass band called a baraat. Caterers are making food. At first, Lenny thinks Tota Ram must be about Papoo’s age, eleven or twelve. When he parts the flower of curtains covering his face, Lenny realizes that he is middle-aged. He has a pockmarked face and is almost rudely assertive. He smirks and stares at all the young women around.
Throughout all this, Papoo is sleeping. Lenny realizes that she must have been drugged because she resembles an opium addict. Later the Mission padre comes and recites the Christian prayers in Punjabi.
Analysis
Lenny continues to blame herself for the mob discovering Ayah. She blames her tongue in particular for telling the truth. She even compares it to a snake, as in the snake who brought down Adam and Eve in the Book of Genesis by convincing them to eat from the tree of knowledge. As daily life goes on, Lenny is deep in mourning. She is unable to take pleasure in the marriage of her friend Papoo. She is also disturbed by the attitude and appearance of Papoo’s middle-aged groom with his rude manner and lusty way of looking at women.
