Water

Water as the "universal symbol of life and regeneration" does not flourish in these stories, which open with Rustomji leaping from his toilet when the one directly above overflows on his head. As he prepares for an Indian bath (a method recalled in final story as the reason why narrator Kersi takes showers, not baths) he sees motes of plaster floating, showing more corruption. Rustomji washes away the memory of this foul experience only to be spat upon. Having the gutter flowing with filthy water emphasizes the atmosphere in Tar Gully. The first positive note of water comes when a driving rainstorm and thunder help Sarosh move his bowels seated on a Western-style toilet, but comes too late to spare his return to India. There, Sarosh struggles to find his place in Indian society and at the sea wall on Marine Drive tells his tale to the local...