The prison cell
After Ram is arrested, he is brought into a cell to await his interrogation. It is described as a dark and forsaken place, where “a shaft of dusty sunlight streams into the room,” which indicates that it is not very clean as well. Apart from the hot and humid environment, Ram’s senses are triggered by the buzzing of flies and the sight of “an over-ripe mango lying squished on the stone floor.” As if the flies were not enough to convey a strong sense of filth, a “sad-looking cockroach lumbers up to [his] leg.” He does not react to it, which indicates that he is used to sharing his space with pests.
Ram's vision of his mother
During the torture, Ram has a vision of his mother, which is a stark contrast to the dark and filthy cell that he is actually in. He describes the vision as “a tall woman, with flowing black hair. The wind is howling behind her, making her jet-black hair fly across her face, obscuring it. She is wearing a white sari of thin fabric that flutters and vibrates like a kite.” The white dress indicates an image of an angel or a goddess delivering Ram from the darkness. This is an image that appears throughout the novel in many variations.
Dharavi
The author paints a vivid picture of Dharavi, Asia’s biggest slum. He describes it as “a two-hundred-hectare triangle of swampy urban wasteland,” which emphasizes the low value of the land. The inhuman conditions are highlighted by describing the dwellers there as creatures who “live like animals and die like insects.” These creatures live in the “grim landscape of urban squalor,” “its open drains teem with mosquitoes.” After reading about the “stinking, excrement-lined communal latrines” and their smell, the reader thinks that there is nothing worse than that, but then follows the description of the “rats, which make you think less about the smell and more about protecting your backside. Mounds of filthy garbage lie on every corner, from which rag-pickers still manage to find something useful. And at times you have to suck in your breath to squeeze through its narrow, claustrophobic alleys.”
The Taj Mahal
When Ram brings Nita to the Taj Mahal, he paints a romantic picture of a heavenly place: “My mighty love breaks free of the earth, takes wing and soars into the sky, like a kite,” which emphasizes that he finally feels free from the hardships of his life. His mood is so elevated that this place of death becomes a place of life: “And then, for the first time, the Taj Mahal feels like a living house instead of an impersonal tomb; the full moon over our heads becomes a personal satellite, shining a private light, and we feel blessed to be bathed in its celestial glow, in our own exclusive heaven.”
