Summary

Bakha arrives at the temple and sits in the shade. He wishes to look inside but worries about being seen. He sneaks closer to hear the prayers and chanting before he is spotted by a Brahmin. They shout and shoo him away from the temple steps. Bakha notices his sister standing behind the shouting priest and he worries that she has also done something wrong by being at the temple. He is overwhelmed with rage when he realizes that perhaps his sister was at the temple against her will and the priests had sexually harassed her. He turns on the crows and felt “he could kill them all. He looked ruthless, deadly pale and livid with anger and rage” (52). Bakha demands that Sohini tell him the truth and she admits that the priest teased her and touched her breasts while she bent...