The Family:
- Lenny's parents, the Sethis
- Adi, her younger brother
- Electric Aunt (she does everything at the speed of lightning)
- Cousin, her son and close friend to Lenny
- Godmother (Roda) & (her) Oldhusband
- Slavesister or Mini Aunty, sister of Godmother whom she treats like a servant
- Dr Manek Mody, brother in law of Godmother who lives in Rawalpindi
The Servants:
- Imam Din, the family cook
- Ranna, his great grandson from the village
- Hari, the gardener who becomes Muslim and changes his name to Hiram Ali
- The sweeper family, Moti, Muccho and their much abused daughter Papoo
- Hamida, the new Ayah recruited from the house for fallen women
The Neighbors and other locals:
- Ice-Candy-Man, Ayah's admirer who keeps her in captivity after she leaves the family
- The Shankars, the newlyweds
- Rosy & Pete and their Sikh father & American mother
- Inspector General Rogers and his wife
- Colonel Bharucha, surgeon and leader of the Parsee community
- Mr & Mrs Pen, Anglo-Indian couple who tutor Lenny's schoolwork
- Ayah's admirers: Masseur; Chinaman; Government House Gardener; Ramazan the Butcher; Sher Singh, the Zookeeper; Wrestler who owns the restaurant; Sharbat Singh the Pathan, the knife-sharpener
