Summary

The Tide Country: Kanai, a New Delhi-based translator, and interpreter, is at the Dhakuria train station on his way to visit his aunt on Lusibari island in the Sundarbans. He sees a young woman on the platform, with short hair and dressed like a “teenage boy” (3), and thinks to himself that she looks rather exotic and out of place in such a remote location. After boarding the train Kanai persuades an elderly man to swap seats with him so he can sit by the window. He then takes some papers out of his suitcase and begins to read.

An Invitation: Piya, crouched in a cramped compartment, is happy when a window seat becomes available. Sitting down, she flags a passing tea seller but, as she takes the tea, the man in the seat opposite...