What happens at Baba Fidaus’ grove with the narrator and Inder Lal?

Shortly before the planned picnic with Inder Lal the narrator is not sure anymore about having done the right decision. In fact, it was she who suggested to do a picnic near the shrine, alone. But as they arrive she changes her idea quite quickly, as the grove appears in a very idyllic way and she felt like “being received in Paradise”(P. 117, l.3). It was all silent, only the sound of birds and flowing water could be perceived, very different from her memory of the Husbands Wedding Day.

For Inder Lal it is a totally new experience, not going out with a vast crowd or people, or his numerous family members, but only with a single person. It has also some good aspects for him, because, as he says, he likes very much these outings in which it is possible to have serious conversations with only one single person and like that, to disclose the contents of one’s heart.

While eating, he unpacks two red strings, which serve to express wishes. As the are on their own he adds, that in this situation the wishes can be said aloud. So both of them try to guess the other ones wish and the narrator succeeds, knowing that Inder Lal’s wish has got something to do with his office. At that moment he understands that he should have wished something different, as she knows him very well.

After her discovery he seems to be a little confused, whereas the narrator’s only wish is to disclose the contents of her heart. He senses that she longs for his closeness and in that moment his lips begin to tremble. The next few moments and decisions are all up to her, he shows her his devotion, but still she can decide about letting things happen or not.

Later we get to know about her pregnancy.

I think that all the events happening there, lay in the narrator’s hands. She was the one to invite Inder Lal for the picnic, something she needn’t have done. Furthermore, she begins to talk to him of personal things, which causes some kind of intimate situation. Both of them maybe feel also lonely. The narrator because she’s alone in India, and Chid, who more or less used her, left for pilgrimage. Inder Lal’s wife instead has some mentally problems and id on pilgrimage, too. Both of them were left and as they like each other very much fall in love.

Source and copyright of the picture: Travelingtiger