Honor

Smita and Mohan drive to their hotel depressed, but Smita finds satisfaction in Mohan’s privilege being challenged. She thinks of Abdul and his dreams for his daughter, Abru: Instead of becoming “the heir to a new, modern India,” Abru is instead a symbol of the worst of old India, “a country scarred by ignorance, illiteracy, and superstition” (160). Smita retreats into the bathroom of her hotel room and cries.

In Meena’s monologue, she elaborates on her love story. Abdul left her sweets, and once, when they were working overtime, they sat next to each other and talked. He insisted they were both Hindustani and that their religious differences didn’t matter. He asked Meena to sit with him by a river, and she worried he had the wrong idea about her. However, when she thought about what awaited her at home, she agreed to talk with Abdul.

Smita and Mohan go to the beach. He apologizes for the young boys who throw stones at them, and she says he is not responsible for everything in India. She feels she will never see this beach again.