The Inheritance of Loss

Sai asks the cook about her grandfather’s marriage. The cook says her grandmother was “a great lady” (96) and that the judge loved her but didn’t show affection openly. Sai, picking ticks off Mutt, questions whether the judge loved his wife at all, and the cook defends unexpressed love as a virtue. Then he changes his story, saying Sai’s grandmother went mad and that perhaps the judge never liked her. He describes her grandmother as rich, coming from a higher caste, and very fair-skinned.

Sai asks the judge about her grandmother while he plays chess, and he refuses to answer. The judge remembers his youth, how the bidding war for his bride began when he was preparing to study in England. Bomanbhai Patel, a rich man in Piphit who made his wealth from the English during armed conflict, heard of the young judge’s plans. Patel decided to marry his prettiest daughter off to the judge before he left for England.

Patel threw them an opulent wedding that lasted one week. The girl, Nimi, was too frightened to sleep with the judge on their wedding night. After she refused him three nights in a row, his male family members urged the judge to force Nimi into sex.