Character Analysis
Koly and Tanu become BFFs when Koly moves into the widows' house. Just like our leading lady, Tanu is a widow left all alone in Vrindavan. Tanu shows Koly the ropes at work and even covers for her with Maa Kamala when Koly parties a little too hard. In short, in a time of great loneliness and confusion for Koly, Tanu is exactly the friend she needs.
But that doesn't mean Tanu's perfect. She gets a little jealous of Koly's love story:
Tanu wasn't taking the news of my leaving so well.
"You are lucky," she said, and her voice was bitter. "Where will I find a man who will marry a widow? And who will take your place here and pay so much rent?" (11.52)
How about a congratulations, Tanu? To be fair, it's incredibly difficult to be a widow in the society Tanu lives in, and Koly's love story is a rare gem for these widows. Up until now, Koly and Tanu have been in it together, even moving out of the widows' house and making it on their own with each other's help. So it's understandable that Tanu has some hard feelings about Koly moving on up.