Chapter 11 Summary

Lucy and Tusker attend the Menektaras' Holi party, a Hindu spring fertility festival that precedes Easter. Lucy looks forward to the party because it is held in the garden of the Rose Cottage, one of her favorite places. She is also very comfortable with Coocoo Menektara, another colonel's wife. Coocoo is Indian rather than British. They both have the same expectations in their social interactions. The party itself is a more gentle celebration than what occurs in the streets, with small applications of blue, purple, and crimson dyes to wrist and forehead symbolizing the many colors of fertility and reproduction.

Once at the party, however, Lucy is embarrassed by Tusker's behavior. He opts to join the children in their games and comes back with his clothes covered by the dyes and likely ruined. He has several drinks and proceeds to tell loud stories...