The following version of this story was used to create this guide: Bhanoo, Sindya. "Malliga Homes." Granta Online. https://granta.com/malliga-homes/.

Note that parenthetical citations within the guide refer to the page number from which the quotation is taken.

"Malliga Homes" begins with the narrator, an elderly woman, describing the death of a man named Mr. Swaminathan. One day she saw him walking and noticed that his gait had changed, and she was able to catch him before his head hit the cement. He died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital, leaving behind his wife, Renuka. The narrator notes that she moved into Malliga Homes, the retirement community, two years ago.

The narrator explains that her daughter, Kamala, lives in a suburb outside of Atlanta, Georgia. After her husband died, Kamala insisted that she move into Malliga Homes. Kamala promised to visit with her husband and daughter, Veena, but in two years the family has never come back to India.

At Malliga Homes, the residents dine together. The narrator explains that they subtly compete with one another based on the successes of their children and grandchildren, all of whom have left India. After dinner one night, the narrator receives a call from Kamala, who tells her she needs to cancel the upcoming trip to India she had planned because of work.

The narrator attends Mr. Swaminathan's brief memorial service in the Malliga Homes common area. She learns that Renuka, Mr. Swaminathan's wife, is moving out of Malliga Homes because her children are moving back to India. That night, the narrator runs into Renuka outside of her empty flat and tells her that Kamala, too, will be coming back. She finishes her evening by taking a long walk, trying to reach eight thousand steps on the Fitbit Kamala bought for her.