Lenny describes her mother’s nature: her mercurial motherliness and her universal beauty and sex appeal. Lenny does not trust her mother’s love and attention, and she resents its universal quality.

Interludes of storytelling, pranks, and time passing peacefully in the Sethi household during the spring and early summer offer a welcome backdrop to the rising tensions of independence. Even Papoo’s defiant mockery of her mother’s violence toward her provides a distraction. The Muslim cook, Imam Din, the Hindu gardener, Hari, and the Parsee Sethis all joke around, tease one another, and get along well.

Imam Din grabs a child or anything soft, places it on his lap, and rocks gently. Though puzzled by this habit, Lenny angrily grabs the neighbor child, Rosy, off of Imam Din’s lap and yells at him, as does Ayah, whom he pursues sexually in a more overt manner. However, as an elderly, 65-year-old man, Imam Din is a respected figure in the Sethi household, where he assists in solving problems between people, including when Adi insists on peeping at Lenny in the bathroom. He is also a respected elder in his home village, where he is married to his fourth wife after being widowed three times.