Chapter 5 Summary

Roxana, Yezad and their two sons, Murad and Jehangir, live in a crowded two-room flat in a decaying building. The building is filled with noises, such as the explosion of Roxana's pressure cooker and the violin exercises of Daisy Ichhaporia, a first floor neighbor who plays first violin in the Bombay Symphony Orchestra. Yezad works at the Bombay Sporting Goods Emporium. The boys attend an English-style school.

Jal and Coomy arrive at the building. Jal has some doubts as to whether they are doing the right thing. He wonders what the family relationships will be like after Nariman recovers and returns to Chateau Felicity. Jal and Coomy come upstairs and tell Roxana about Nariman's accident and about how he needs to live with Roxana. Roxana shows them around her tiny apartment. She says that she and her family will visit Nariman every evening...