Chapter 7 Summary

Yezad takes the train to work, arriving about 9:30. He lets the peon, Husain, into the store. Husain is the victim of some earlier riots. He was psychologically damaged and is not able to work full time. There are days when he can only cower in the back room, sitting on his haunches, holding his knees. Today is one of those days. Mr. Kapur, the storeowner, has taken him in. He does odd jobs around the store, running errands and cleaning up. Yezad visits with his friend Vilas Rane. Vilas works as a clerk in a nearby bookstore and also writes letters for those who cannot write, a function that brings him close to people. A customer comes in the give an order to Yezad. He makes a hard-to-miss suggestion that Yezad pad the bill so they can each get a kickback, but Yezad...