Summary

Harish tells Lakshmi that Americans, despite what has been told to Lakshmi, are nearly all good and kind people, and that they do not shame the children of the brothels. One day, a man who is clean and well-groomed comes in and simply holds Lakshmi. Lakshmi returns his embrace, grateful for the gentleness and tenderness for once. When he leaves, Lakshmi considers herself in the mirror, thinking she is a girl growing into womanhood, or a girl aging before her time, and knows that either way, no one will ever want her romantically, now. Lakshmi hopes the hugging man will come back.

One evening, Monica tells Lakshmi that she is earning money for her family – from her daughter’s school fees to her father’s medical procedures. She leaves Happiness House a short time later. During the Festival of Brothers and Sisters, Harish...