Summary

Subhash and Udayan appear alike at first glance, but inside they are very different. Subhash is cautious, whereas Udayan is outgoing and adventurous, a leader rather than a follower. As they get older and their freedom increases, Subhash wonders if his parents see his lack of inventiveness as a failing. It is impossible to outshine Udayan who seems to have the corner on surprising or impressing their parents. Udayan even protested that Subhash would be able to begin school a year earlier than he and as a result they were enrolled in the same class.

They learned about Tollygunge and its history; how mangroves reproduced and how the area came into being when Major William Tolly excavated and desilted the area which became known as Tolly’s Nullah in 1770. In 1785 the Tolly Club grounds belonged to the chairman of the General Bank...