A Devoted Son

No one embodies this trait more than Rakesh. While devotion in a son may seem typical, there’s a sense that Rakesh’s devotion to his family, in particular his father, is out of the norm. Varma tells his friends that his son bent down and touched his feet after sharing the news about his high grades. The narrator says, “‘One does not often see such behavior in sons any more,’ they all agreed, a little enviously perhaps” (Paragraph 5). Their envy may come from the desire for their sons to display this type of behavior, which they apparently do not.

The act of bending down and touching a person’s feet is a sign of respect, and traditionally, a younger person would perform this act toward an elder. According to Richard Jain, “Indians believe that when a person bows down and touches the feet of their elders, their ego gets suppressed as this gesture indicates respecting the age, experience, achievements and wisdom of the person whose feet are being touched” (Jain, Richa. “Why Do Indians Touch the Feet of Their Elders?” Culture Trip, 25 Feb. 2018). According to tradition, after the younger person touches the elder’s feet, the elder then blesses them.