Summary

With Owad studying abroad, Mrs. Tulsi has no reason to stay in Port of Spain, so she goes back to Hanuman House, but she has lost her vitality and is not the same person that she was. Without her direction, the house is in a state of disorder. Christmas at Hanuman house is depressing for the children; they get nothing in their stockings, Mrs. Tulsi does not play her usual role on Christmas morning, and the atmosphere is sullen. Savi says she will never go back.

At The Sentinel, Mr. Burnet is sacked, and extreme changes are made in the way the paper is published. Mr. Biswas is afraid he will also be let go because of his close associations to the “frivolous excesses” for which the paper is known. The new regime is more interested in simple, accurate reporting of news, no more scandal, shock...