Summary

In Part Nine, Chapter 63, “The Embodied and the Disembodied, 1968, Madras,” Mariamma begins classes at Madras’s medical school. Although Philipose disliked Madras, Mariamma feels connected to it. When she is afraid, she calls on Big Ammachi’s spirit. Her classes are challenging, but Mariamma excels.

In Chapter 64, “The Ginglymoarthrodial Joint, 1969, Madras,” for weeks, Mariamma works tirelessly. Meanwhile, she and Lenin write to one another often. She also writes to Philipose, with whom she is close.

Mariamma and her classmates prepare for their finals. For one portion, the students must enter the dissection room and face an oral examination. When it is Mariamma’s turn, Dr. Brijee Sarkar demands she put her hand in his pocket. She hesitates, but he threatens her. Finally, she reaches into his pocket, grabs his genitals with both hands and squeezes (541). Brijee screams. Mariamma’s friend races into the...