A Real Durwan
- Boori Ma is the pseudo-gatekeeper/groundskeeper of an apartment building in Calcutta.
- Why do we say "pseudo"? Because Boori Ma isn't a real "durwan" (or gatekeeper)—she just kind of became one because she does all the general tasks real durwans do, like monitoring access into the building and sweeping the stairwell.
- In return, she gets to sleep behind the gate and hover outside of the residents' doorways, waiting for a free cup of tea.
- But we should tell you what happens at the beginning. Boori Ma is shaking out her bedding on the rooftop because she's convinced there are mites biting her and keeping her awake at night. You'll see why this is important.
- Our highly informative third-person omniscient narrator tells us that Boori Ma loves to spin stories about her past, which, if you were to believe her, was full of luxury before she was deported to Calcutta after Partition (the event that led to the creation of Pakistan separate from India).
- What happened to Boori Ma? No one knows. In fact, nobody's even sure if Boori Ma's telling the truth.
- Boori Ma also seems to recognize that her stories are kind of tall tales because she repeatedly says "Believe me, don't believe me, such comforts you cannot even dream them" (ARD 5). (Our bet? They're not true.)
- Anyway, she turns out to be a pretty good durwan. She's great at doing all sorts of things; she entertains everyone with her stories; she's part of the community.
- Which is why, when Mrs. Dalal goes to the roof to dry some lemon peels, she notices Boori Ma's lousy bedding and promises her some new bedding. For all that Boori Ma does for them the residents can't even provide Boori Ma with some nice blankets? Of course, they will. (You know better, right?)
- That same day, Boori Ma is thinking of taking up Mrs. Dalal's other offer of some prickly heat powder (for all those "mite" bites) when she runs into Mr. Dalal carrying two basins (sinks).
- This apartment building isn't full of wealthy people. It's modest. In fact, only one resident even owns a phone. And no one—other than Mr. Dalal—has a sink.
- Mr. Dalal, by the way, has just been promoted into a managing position, which is why he has two sinks—he decided to splurge.
- One sink goes into the Dalals' apartment; the other one is installed as a common basin in the building.
- You'd think everyone would be thankful to Mr. Dalal, but these basins bring out some pretty unsavory behaviors among the residents. The residents start getting competitive with the Dalals and resentful of the Dalals' newfound "wealth."
- But the sinks also prompt the residents to do some serious Martha Stewart-style renovations on the building. After all, the Dalals aren't the only ones who can fix up the building!
- The Dalals leave on a 10-day vacation. The only one who sees them off is Boori Ma, to whom Mrs. Dalal promises—again—a new blanket.
- While the Dalals are gone, Boori Ma relocates herself in the daytime to the roof because of all the workers going in and out of the building. She's given up on watching over the building because there're just too many people going in and out.
- After a few days of staying on the roof, Boori Ma decides to go walking around the neighborhood for a change of pace. She does this in the afternoons and starts to go farther from the building.
- One afternoon while at the bazaar, she realizes that someone has stolen her skeleton keys (important plot point) and savings, which were attached to her clothing.
- When she gets back to the building, all the residents (except the Dalals) are waiting for her.
- The communal basin has been stolen! Who knows who did it, but everyone blames Boori Ma. They think she planned the theft with the robbers even though Boori Ma insists she didn't.
- Some of the residents ask Mr. Chatterjee, one of the old tenants in the building, what to do. He's the one who comes up with the idea that the building—now that it's got a facelift—needs a "real durwan."
- Out goes Boori Ma onto the street.