Summary

The action is continuous, resuming at the moment Act One ended.

Kashikar repeats the final lines of Act One, “accusing” Miss Benare of infanticide. There is a moment of silence, and then Samant says that he has brought the cigarettes. The mood lightens, and the cigarettes are distributed among the characters. Miss Benare jokes that her own sombre-ness was just part of her getting into the spirit of the performance. Meanwhile, Samant asks what infanticide means, and Sukhatme explains that it is “the crime of killing a new-born child” (75). Samant acknowledges that it is a terrible charge, and recalls a trial on that same charge in his village some time ago. Sukhatme congratulates Kashikar on picking such an important charge, and Kashikar comments on how socially significant it is. Kashikar then calls for the trial to begin, and Sukhatme moves into...