Plot summary

Mama is insulted by Deirdre’s dog’s name, Nigger – she says she will no longer be one of the “beneficiaries of her impeccable manners and warm social chit-chat”

On the day of Diwali, Meena ponders on the fact that her family celebrates Christmas, even though the Aunties and Uncles look down on it. Papa is not sure what he believes because of his father’s communist views and the sectarian hatred and violence he saw during Partition. He sends Meena to Sunday school in the local church because he thinks it keeps her out of trouble.

When Meena and her mother are driving to the temple in Birmingham, on her mother’s maiden voyage as a fully licenced driver, the car begins to slip backwards in a line of traffic. Meena jumps out of the car and must ask all the drivers behind them to move backwards. One woman calls her a “Bloody stupid wog. Stupid woggy wog. Stupid”. Later on, Meena realises that her father has also been the victim of many racist slurs, but has opted not to tell her, in order to not upset Meena. She decides not to tell him about her experience that day either.

Anita invites Meena to go with her to see the fair being set up. However, it soon becomes clear that Anita and her friends are clearly only there to see the boys who are setting the rides up.

Meena returns home upset to find Mama trying to move the settee – Papa scolds her for trying to do too much, as he fears it may hurt her or the baby she is carrying.

That evening, Meena unknowingly repeats a rude phrase she learnt from Anita in front of the Aunties and Uncles. When she has just about recovered from the embarrassment, she comes back to kitchen to hear her mother venting about her wrongdoings to the Aunties.

Retreating from the house in shame, Meena runs to the fair, where she meets Anita and the Poet. The Poet sneaks off with Anita’s mother and Meena tries to distract her by bringing her on all the fairground rides.

They sneak into the back of the Big House, Anita shows Meena a mysterious statue. She does not have long to investigate it as she soon releases she is being chased by a dog.

When she finally gets home, bedraggled and injured after her encounter with the dog, she realises that her mother is being taken away in an ambulance.

Quotes and analysis

“It would be hard to imagine any of us having the courage to take sides against Anita, even the thought felt uncomfortably close to sacrilege”

“It was only when I started walking away that I realised Anita had not even introduced me, they did not even know my name”

“I stood open-mouthed in admiration, wondering what spell she had cast, to turn these boy-men, whom I would have crossed streets to avoid had I seen them hanging around any corner near my school, into grinning, pliant pets”

Meena clearly worships Anita. To Meena, she appears mature, all-knowing and worldly. Meena looks up to her and wishes to be like her. Meena is in awe at the effect she has on the boys. She appears to control every situation she finds herself with poise and certainty. This admiration makes her forgiving of Anita – even though she realises that Anita is extremely rude in not introducing her to the boys, she still tries to protect her when she realises that Deirdre has sneaked off with the Poet.

“I thought back on my lying and murderous thoughts and knew I would be booked in to reappear as a slug in my next reincarnation unless I did some serious damage repair”

This serves as another reminder of Meena’s innocence. She takes everything that her Aunty tells her very seriously, comparing her childish misbehaviour to murder.

“Don’t goo up there…Them’s grippos, them is. Tinkers. Yow’ll catch summat. Mum told me.”

“Launching immediately into anyone who started name-calling was the only way to stop it becoming day-to-day bullying”

“You ask any man on the street to tell the difference between us and a Jamaican fellow, he will still see us as the same colour”

This chapter is rife with examples of the casual racism that pervaded English culture at the time. However, the racism is not only felt by the Indians, it is also directed towards members of the travelling community and all people of colour.

“The songs made me realise that there was a corner of me that would be forever not England”

Despite the racism that seems to be a constant in her life, Meena still seems to be proud of her Indian heritage. She feels great admiration for her Indian Aunties and Uncles in their unashamedly Indian lives and ways. She has the feeling that no matter how hard she tries to fit in with the English culture which surrounds her, she will never stop being Punjabi.