Summary

In Chapter 20, “The Madras Mail,” Estha is on the train, called The Madras Mail, waiting to be returned. Ammu is bidding him goodbye through the barred window. They each know they have loved Velutha to death.

It took the twins years to understand that Ammu had had an affair with Velutha. As children, they thought all her grief was because of them.

She tells the children they will all be together as soon as she gets a job. Estha thinks that will take too long. He blurts out “that will be never!” He doesn’t imagine that he will never see her again. He blames himself for her death. He was the one who said those words, even though he didn’t mean them. Ammu makes promises about getting a job as a teacher and starting a school. They talk about how they...