Chapter 9 Summary

The poet, Sastri and Nataraj work all evening in order to finish printing the poet's book before the festival the following day. Because the poet uses too many Ks and Rs in his verse, they run out of Ks and Rs while setting the print and must replace these letters with stars. Nataraj assures the poet that they will add a footnote explaining the stars later, or they will remedy the problem in some other way.

The poet proof-corrects the type while Nataraj takes a nap. Sastri awakens Nataraj and tells him that it is time for Nataraj to print off the forms. While doing this, Nataraj, who is the only one awake, hears a tapping noise coming from the steel mesh that separates the press from Vasu's stairway.

The tapping is Rangi, who is nervous about this encounter because she does not...