Chai

Chai is symbolic of comfort: the comfort that Noor and Misbah find in each other’s company, but that Salahudin cannot accept. He rejects offers of tea just as he avoids physical contact. The sweet, warming blend of “PG Tips, cream, cardamom and sugar” cannot cheer or soothe Sal any more than a hug can, although Misbah keeps offering, hoping that he will one day change his mind (313). It is symbolically significant, therefore, that when he finally visits his mother’s grave, he brings tea for them both.

The blue door

The door to the laundry room symbolizes trouble and dread. As the site of Sal’s childhood trauma, the room represents an unsafe territory in his own home, containing memories which he has blocked (symbolically closing the door on them). The laundry room is also where Noor finds Misbah dying. As she gets closer, the...