Mayadevi’s first visit to a mall
Mayadevi is disgusted by the English, not only because they invade India but also, because they ate beef and drank alcohol. She is unimpressed by London mostly and even comments on it being dirty, but when she enters a mall she is left bedazzled. Everything is shiny as a jewel. She felt as if she has been struck by lightning. She sees lacy bras and finds them to be the most beautiful lace decorations. She is taken in by the fragrance of the perfumes and is so awestruck that she doesn’t protest when Martha, her foreigner daughter-in-law steers her forward.
Trip to Badrinath
Roopbala goes on a trip to Barinath to repent for the sin of murdering her husband and pray for his soul. Since, Badrinath is situated on the top of a hill, one has to climb for three days. The path was narrow but well trodden, a proof that it had been followed a numerous times before. Pilgrims had to walk in a single line and slowly for the fear of falling into the river running along the hill. The path grew steeper with overgrowth from the trees above. They had to stop in the night and sleep in caves where wild animals often attacked someone. Small stones would often fall on their heads from the construction of roads nearby which everyone said was a punishment for wanting to not walk to Badrinath. To go to Badrinath, one had to be free of one’s sins by climbing the steep mountain.
Mini’s dowry
Mini was the only daughter of a wealthy zamindaar and had given her a hefty dowry in her marriage. It included three large black trunks which contained, as Mini’s maid would tell anyone who’d listen, twenty tolas of gold, five dozen silver plates and bowls, thirty brocade saris and a hundred silk ones as gifts for ladies who couldn’t attend the wedding. Around these trunks bound with sturdy rope, were uncountable baskets of dry-fruits and sweets. On it, were three tins of pure ghee, a few baskets of unrefined sugar, and lots of ripe fruits and vegetables to suggest one of Mini’s parents’s wealthy harvest.
Palace of Jussalpur
Gita’s first impression of the fort of Jussalpur was that it had leaned drunkenly to one side, which was simply a result of it being built on a swamp. It had a number of dusty rooms, with no furniture but old paintings, a symbol of the falling of princely states after India’s independence. A large courtyard contained bees where the Rajah kept them and harvested their honey. They would play songs and learn dancing from an old gramophone. There was a large library with valuable books that had been ignored by everyone. Thus, the whole environment was of old money gone bankrupt.
