Summary

Chapter Four begins: “Amma, Malati, and I – we’re tied for third place in the household hierarchy” (39). The house that the family lived in prior to their current residence was much smaller, in a lower-middle-class area of Bangalore. The house had four rooms, positioned “one behind the other, like train compartments” (39). There was little furniture and much shared use of rooms among the household members. The narrator recounts memories of his mother cleaning and eventually recruiting Malati’s help with housework (42). Malati though always tried to avoid such chores. Eventually Venkatachala began working and managed to furnish the kitchen and pay for cooking gas. The family was enthusiastic about these home improvements.

At this old house, there occurred an ant infestation: “they took over the house” (43). There was no obvious reason why they invaded, but they did so with fury and in great numbers...