Summary
Raju’s creditor, the merchant Sait, comes to see him and asks why he has not paid his dues for months when he used to be so regular. Raju is tired of the whole thing but asks for another week. He smiles listening to Rosie jangling in the other room. The Sait is exasperated and asks what world he thinks he lives in, and leaves wrathfully.
Rosie asks Raju who it was but he deflects; he does not want her to know about his troubles. Raju has to go to court though, and his mother is distraught. He has no friends but Gaffur and asks if Gaffur can help him finance Rosie’s dancing career. Gaffur is sympathetic but declines because he has no money. He wishes Raju luck and leaves. Things continue to worsen financially for Raju. He withdraws everything from the bank and still has to deal with his court case regarding his debt. His mother is upset and wonders what happened to him. She complains but it seems like this is all she can do.
Raju is wrong in this assumption for one day his uncle drops in on them. He is the eldest brother and the family financial adviser. He is very well-off and imperious in his manner. Raju’s mother had written to him for help and now he is here, immediately trying to pick a fight with Raju. It almost seems as if his mother is enjoying his predicament and Raju feels angry and confused. Rosie seems scared but Raju tells her not to worry, which calms her immediately. Raju is in a challenging mood but inside he still trembles.
His uncle comes to watch the girl dancing and his eyes bulge with contempt and cynicism. He mocks Raju for being a dancer’s boy and Raju lashes back at him. The older man is delighted to see spirit in his nephew. He then turns to Rosie and tells her she is not of their family, caste, or class; she was not invited, she is not welcome, and she will leave on the next train. She sobs upon hearing this. Raju flies at his uncle and knocks the cup out of his hand and tells him to get up. He spits that this is his sister’s house. Raju’s mother rails at Rosie and calls her a snake woman and that she made their lives terrible. Rosie cries that she will leave.
Raju insists that Rosie not pack and that they will not leave. He shuts his ears to his mother and uncle. The house calms for a time. When his uncle wakes up from a nap, he asks why Rosie isn’t getting ready for the train. Raju bravely says they will not leave. His mother implores him to understand that Rosie is another man’s wife. Raju knows this is true but can do nothing.
The arguments continue and finally Raju’s mother decides she has to leave the house with her brother. Raju watches them pack up. He notes how frightening his uncle can be, and sees his mother’s sad face. He feels sad as well but there are no other options for him. She wishes him good health and reminds him to light the lamps in the god’s niche.
Rosie and Raju keep house like a married couple. He does little but watch her dance and sing and occasionally shop. She asks what his plans are and tells him she needs a full orchestra. He says that he will do what he can and that he has been thinking she needs a different stage name. She agrees and they decide upon Nalini. This augurs a new phase in Rosie’s life, and the rest of the world will come to know her as Nalini.
Raju works to increase her visibility. He mixes with the boys at the Albert Mission School who are planning their annual social and its entertainment. He mentions Nalini and asks if they will come and see her. They are entranced by her and give her almost the whole show. Raju says they must provide the drummer and accompaniments and they happily agree.
Analysis
As Raju’s obsession with Rosie deepens, his life continues its downward spiral. He insults the Sait and has to go to trial for debt. He destroys his relationship with his mother and practically forces her out of her home. To be sure, his defense of Rosie as a lower-caste woman is admirable, and what his uncle says about her is very cruel, but Raju still utterly decimates his life and reputation.
Some critics argue that Raju’s involvement with Rosie once she is living with him and his mother leads to positive character development. Raju knows nothing of dance or music but inspires Rosie to pursue it. Yes, it is somewhat self-interested because it is a way for him to maintain intimacy with her, but he does devote himself to giving her whatever she needs to make her dreams a reality.
He willingly, as S.P. Ranchan and G.R. Kataria writes, “incurs... the wrath of conventional society at large” and “grows out of his good-boy image and [revolts] against the Shadow-Masculine uncle who, he admits, was a ‘terror’ for him in his childhood.” He “valiantly fights for Rosie,” “‘slaughters’ his uncle and outgrows his mother fixation.” Overall, “the love of the ‘serpent woman’ Rosie thus transforms the fun-loving Raju into a responsible man who must grow out of the timorousness and indifference with which he encountered life.”
What is clear in all three of Raju’s “guide” roles—Railway Raju, Rosie’s manager and champion, and swami—is that he is almost completely Other-focused. He is a model of inauthenticity and its companion of self-estrangement.
Critic Tabish Khair sees Raju and many of Narayan's other characters as Other-defined, though, he concedes, “they are seldom completely rootless; and the main protagonists are never left out in a void of meaninglessness. They manage to make some meaning of life.” They just do so, Khair argues, either half-heartedly, unwillingly, or inadvertently.
