“I will bet on it. He will live to be ninety. He has turned the corner. How he has survived this attack will be a puzzle to me all my life," replied the doctor.
This comment occurs at the end of the story "The Doctor's Word." It shows the main character, Dr. Raman, speaking to the wife of a close friend of his. He is shocked to discover that his friend has made a miraculous recovery and survived what he was previously sure was a deadly illness. He is doubly surprised given that he has always been upfront with his patients, but in this one instance chose to lie and say his friend would be alright. His words take on an interesting meaning here, in that what he said still technically came to pass, even though he did not believe it to be true in the moment.
Rajam Iyer leaned back in his seat, reminding himself of a proverb which said that if you threw a stone into a gutter it would only spurt filth in your face.
This scene is from the story "Fellow Feeling." It shows the main character reflecting on a common proverb about responding to insults as he witnesses one passenger bully another. The proverb comments on how acts of violence and hateful comments end up hurting the person responsible for them, much like the thrower of a rock getting "filth" splashed back on them. The essential point of this proverb is that engaging in conflict rarely leads to a productive or tidy resolution. The use of the word "gutter" also implies a certain class element, as it seems to advise people not to argue with people who are beneath them in status. This has a bearing on the story in that it shows how quickly a conflict can escalate and lead to an altercation.
The gods grow jealous of too much contentment anywhere, and they show their displeasure all of a sudden.
This excerpt occurs in the story "The Martyr's Corner," right before the climax. In the scene that follows, the food vendor, Rama, ends up being unable to use his normal spot for his business, as the result of a terrible riot. This quote functions as a prelude to Rama's misfortune and comments on the fact that his overconfidence and open display of contentment lead to his eventual struggles. In this story, the narrator seems to express caution about becoming too relaxed in the matter of good fortune, as they believe the gods will swiftly take it away.
“Death alone can help that dog," cried the ribbon-seller, looking after it with a sigh. "What can we do with a creature who returns to his doom with such a free heart?”
This quote is from the end of the story "The Blind Dog" and it occurs when two street vendors are looking at a dog who keeps going back to its cruel master, a blind beggar. The dog escapes multiple times, but never abandons the man, regardless of how monstrous he is. The ribbon-seller says that its only hope is in dying, because he thinks it will only continue to prolong its miserable existence by always returning to the beggar. The final line sadly reiterates this idea, as the man does not know how to help a dog that seems to freely choose to suffer.
Venkat Rao’s heart bled when he saw his child sleeping in her pink frock, hair combed and face powdered, dressed and ready to be taken out. "Why should I not take her to the night show?" He shook her gently and called, "Shanta, Shanta." Shanta kicked her legs and cried, irritated at being disturbed. Mother whispered, "Don’t wake her," and patted her back to sleep.
This scene is from the story "Forty-Five A Month," in which a father, Venkat Rao, tries to get home from work in time to take his daughter, Shanta, to the movies. He arrives home only to discover she is dressed up, but fast asleep. He asks his wife if he can still take her, but she thinks it best just to let her sleep. This is a quietly devastating moment for Venkat Rao, as he feels that he has failed in his duty as a father, not meeting the expectations that Shanta had for him. This also highlights the tension between his frustrating and demanding job and his home life, as he finally received a salary raise the same day, but cannot enjoy it because of his sadness.
When I again passed that way some months later I peeped over the wall. I found the mouth of the well neatly cemented up. I heaved a sigh of great relief.
This quote is from "Engine Trouble." It comes at the end of the story, when the Talkative Man, the story's narrator, discovers that the well in which his tractor fell has been sealed with cement; this sight fills him with a dramatic sense of relief. This follows a scene in which the man whose wall he destroyed while trying to move the tractor has agreed to let it go. This is the result of the fact that the tractor fell into his well after an earthquake, closing it up and preventing the city from fining him for having unclean water. This final moment highlights the role of chance in the story, showing how the Talkative Man's problems were not solved with strength or cunning, but merely settled by a freak occurrence of nature that proved mutually beneficial for him and his neighbor.
It was as well that Attila had no powers of speech. Otherwise he would have burst into a lamentation which would have shattered the pedestal under his feet.
This moment from the story "Attila" highlights happenstance. It occurs immediately after the dog Attila has inadvertently foiled a robber by cheerfully following him around and tripping him. This moment is comical and ironic in that Attila has succeeded in doing his job as a guard dog, but has in no way been ferocious or aggressive. The narrator notes that if Attila could speak he would likely "lament" this moment: he does not really deserve the credit for stopping this man, as he had no intention of doing so.
“I will tell the inspector tomorrow . . . in any case, we couldn’t have kept a criminal like him in the house.”
This quote is from "Leela's Friend" and is spoken by Leela's father. It happens after they discover Leela's necklace in a kitchen pot and realize that Sidda, Leela's caretaker and confidante, did not steal it, as they initially reported to the police. It is a disheartening moment in that her father seems to show no real remorse for falsely accusing Sidda, and still thinks of her as a criminal despite the fact that she did not take the necklace.
“How can you? In this street!" She ignored his objection and said, "My mother was my guru; here she taught me music, lived and died . . . I’ll also live and die here; what was good for her is good for me too . . ."
He had never known her to be so truculent or voluble. She had been for years so mild and complaisant that he never thought she could act or speak beyond what she was taught.
This moment from "Selvi" shows the main character, a musician named Selvi, finally standing up to her controlling husband in the aftermath of her mother's death. He is shocked that she finally rejects his demands and pushy behavior, but it is readily apparent that as a result of her grief she has decided she will no longer put up with him. It is a moving scene in that it shows her wanting to respect and memorialize her mother while also finally choosing to put herself first. Her husband's stunned reaction reveals how little he ever really understood about her in the first place.
All the generations of men and women who could have known Gokulam Street and the coconut tree were dead—new generations around here, totally oblivious of the past. He was a lone survivor.
This scene is from the final story in the collection, "Emden." In it, an elderly man who was once widely feared revisits an old street he used to patrol. Walking around, he realizes not only that the street is almost entirely different, but also that everyone around him is no longer alive and that the new members of the community are unaware of the history that had transpired there. It is a poignant and melancholy moment, as he reflects on the fact that even though he is still alive, he is almost a ghost in this part of the city, as no one can remember his old life.
