Chapter Thirty-Seven: Summary, Analysis, and Key Themes

⚠️ Spoiler Warning: This guide contains detailed spoilers for the entire novel. Proceed only if you've finished reading or are comfortable knowing the plot.

Summary

Nearly a week has passed since Smita and Mohan returned to Mumbai, and their days have settled into a routine built around caring for Abru. The daylight hours belong to the child, but the nights belong to the two adults, who share a room at the Taj hotel. Mohan has spoken with his boss about his changed circumstances and extended his leave, and each evening he returns Abru to his landlady's apartment before coming back to the hotel.

One night, Smita watches Mohan sleep and finds herself wishing they had met under ordinary circumstances—living in the same city, dating like a normal couple. The wish is interrupted by the sudden memory of Meena's dying voice in her ear, and Smita's physical reaction wakes Mohan. In the moment before his eyes focus on her, Smita has a revelation about him: that he possesses a sacred inner life and an inviolate soul. She feels an intense desire to study him, comparing the process to learning a foreign language that would open up new vistas.

Both are awake now, and Smita reaches for her laptop. It has been three days since her story about Meena ran, and reader comments are still arriving. She is conflicted about sharing them with Mohan. Most comments express indignation and compassion, but there are also hateful posts, including several that refer to India as a misogynistic country, as if such stories never happened in the West. A month earlier, Mohan would have bristled at such remarks, but he has changed. Cliff has told Smita that readers are calling to ask about a GoFundMe account for Abru; Mohan refused the help but was moved by the concern of her American readers.

Smita shares news from Anjali: her women's group is pressing the police to investigate Meena's murder, and Smita's first-person account has helped their cause. Mohan expects he will eventually need to give a statement, though he notes that things move slowly in India and Smita will likely be gone by then. Smita expresses guilt about leaving Mohan to handle Abru and to testify against Govind. Mohan shrugs it off, saying he will manage.

The conversation turns to the planned lunch at Zarine Auntie's house. Mohan is mildly frustrated that Smita keeps revisiting the decision, and Smita pleads with him not to be angry, saying she cannot bear the thought. Mohan clarifies he is not angry, just overwhelmed by how quickly everything has happened, and admits he keeps thinking of Meena. Smita confesses she cannot get Meena out of her head—she wakes thinking of her, remembering how Meena reached for her hand just before she died. Mohan urges her to force herself to think of something else, which is what he is trying to do.

The chapter closes with the two of them lying together as witnesses to what happened, Smita memorizing his face. Mohan reassures her that they still have days together, and that he will come see her in America—it is not as if she is going to the moon.

Key Events

Mohan extends his leave and establishes a daily rhythm: caring for Abru by day, returning him to the landlady in the evening, and spending nights with Smita at the Taj.
Smita reads reader comments on her published story, encountering both supportive and hateful responses; Mohan's reaction to criticism of India shows he has changed.
Cliff reports that American readers have offered to fundraise for Abru; Mohan declines but is touched.
Anjali's group presses police to investigate Meena's murder, aided by Smita's first-person account.
Mohan anticipates giving a statement to police, likely after Smita has returned to America.
Smita voices guilt about leaving Mohan to care for Abru and testify against Govind.
Both characters confront their shared haunting by Meena's death, including Smita's memory of Meena reaching for her hand.
Mohan reassures Smita about their remaining time together and promises to visit her in America.

Character Development

Smita continues to evolve from journalist-observer to participant. Her guilt about leaving Mohan holding the bag reveals how deeply she has become invested in the lives of Abru, Mohan, and Meena's memory. Her confession that she cannot get Meena out of her head—that she wakes thinking of Meena reaching for her hand—shows that the story has become personal in a way her previous reporting likely never did. Her desire to study Mohan like learning a foreign language signals a genuine romantic commitment, not just a fleeting connection.

Mohan demonstrates significant growth in this chapter. A month ago, comments disparaging India would have provoked his defensiveness; now he reads them without his hackles rising, suggesting his perspective has broadened through his experiences with Smita and the tragedy of Meena's death. His refusal of the GoFundMe offer shows pride and self-reliance, but his being touched by the gesture reveals a softening. His advice to Smita—to force herself to think of something else—is both self-protective and an attempt to shield her from the weight of their shared trauma.

The relationship between Smita and Mohan deepens here. The chapter's opening image—days for Abru, nights for the couple—establishes a domestic rhythm that feels almost normal, even as the circumstances are anything but. Smita's fear of Mohan's anger and her plea not to be mad at her reveal her emotional vulnerability. Mohan's reassurance that he will visit her in America reframes their separation as temporary rather than final.

Themes, Symbols, or Motifs

Grief and trauma. Both Smita and Mohan are haunted by Meena's death. Smita hears Meena's dying rasp unexpectedly; she wakes thinking of Meena reaching for her hand. Mohan admits he keeps thinking of that poor girl. Their shared grief binds them even as it isolates them—they are co-conspirators, witnesses to something no one else fully understands.

Witnessing and complicity. The phrase co-conspirators, witnesses captures the chapter's central tension. Smita and Mohan are not merely observers of Meena's tragedy; they are implicated in its aftermath. Smita's guilt about leaving Mohan to testify against Govind reflects her awareness that witnessing carries responsibility.

Justice and accountability. Anjali's group pressing the police to investigate Meena's murder, and Mohan's anticipated statement, show that the story is moving from private grief toward public accountability. Smita's first-person account has become a tool for justice.

Cultural divide and media scrutiny. The reader comments—both compassionate and hateful—illustrate how Meena's story has been absorbed into larger cultural narratives. Mohan's changed reaction to criticism of India suggests that personal experience can complicate ideological positions.

Sacrifice and responsibility. Mohan's decision to care for Abru and to testify against Govind represents a significant personal sacrifice. Smita's guilt acknowledges that she benefits from his sacrifice while escaping its costs.

Why This Chapter Matters

This chapter marks a transition from the urgency of the rescue to the slower, more complicated work of living with its consequences. The reader comments, the police investigation, and the GoFundMe offers show that Meena's story has entered the public sphere, with real-world effects. At the same time, the intimate scenes between Smita and Mohan ground the larger narrative in personal emotion.

The chapter also sets up the impending separation. Smita's guilt about leaving, Mohan's promise to visit, and their shared acknowledgment that things move slowly in India all point toward the end of their time together in Mumbai. The chapter's final image—Smita memorizing Mohan's face—carries an elegiac weight, suggesting that their time together is precious precisely because it is finite.

Finally, the chapter deepens the novel's exploration of what it means to witness another person's suffering. Smita's story has helped Anjali's group push for justice, but it has also made her a participant in Meena's life and death in ways she cannot easily walk away from.

Study Questions and Answers

1. How does Mohan's reaction to the reader comments about India demonstrate his character growth?

A month before, comments referring to India as a misogynistic country would have made Mohan's hackles rise. Now he reads them without that defensive reaction. His growth suggests that his experiences—witnessing Meena's death, caring for Abru, and building a relationship with Smita—have broadened his perspective. He is no longer primarily defensive about his country; he is focused on the human cost of the story.

2. What does Smita's guilt about leaving reveal about her relationship to the story she wrote?

Smita feels like she is leaving Mohan holding the bag—responsible for Abru, for testifying against Govind, for the ongoing consequences of Meena's death. Her guilt reveals that she no longer sees Meena's story as a professional assignment she can file and move on from. She has become personally invested in the people involved, and her impending departure feels like an abandonment.

3. Why does the chapter describe Smita and Mohan as co-conspirators, witnesses?

The phrase captures their shared burden. They are the only two people who fully understand what happened to Meena and what it cost them. They are co-conspirators in the sense that they share a secret knowledge and a mutual commitment to the aftermath; they are witnesses in the sense that they carry the memory of Meena's death and the responsibility to act on it. The phrase also suggests that their bond is forged in trauma as much as in love.