Part 2, Chapter 9 Summary

Part 2 bears the title "Malabar Masala." This chapter jumps forward to 1987 to recount the circumstances of Aurora's demise. As she had for forty-one years, she danced on the wall of her mansion, high above Chowpatty Beach as the masses celebrated the feast of the elephant-headed deity, Ganesha. On this occasion, she slipped and plunged to her death.

Stepping back decades, we are introduced to peg-legged Lambajan Chandiwala, the doorkeeper of Elephanta, Aurora's estate. We learn how he entered Aurora's employ, a victim of her careless driver, and gain a more detailed picture of Aurora's artistic and political careers during the years leading up to Indian independence.

We are also introduced to her four children. Three sisters were born in quick succession: Christina, Inamorata, and Philomena - swiftly transformed at home into Ina, Minnie, and Mynah, and at school into the first...