Summary

“The Sixth Night”, Part 2, pp. 223 – 234. Back at the apartment building, Balram has a visitor: his nephew Dharam, who has been sent by Kusum to be taken care of by Balram and who has brought a letter in which Kusum threatens to tell Mr. Ashok that Balram has not been sending any money home. Balram takes out his frustrations on Dharam, hitting him and cutting his lip. Later, when Mr. Ashok is introduced to Dharam and asks what happened, Dharam just says he fell. Balram comments in narration that Dharam is a “smart boy”. That night, Balram is frightened by a lizard in his bed, and gets Dharam to kill and dispose of it. When he finally gets to sleep, Balram’s thoughts are haunted by the refrain from the poem.

Balram continues his narration with comments on a few things he feels that, at...