Mrs. Joshi is the neighbor and friend of MamaPapa and their family. Kind to Uma, Mrs. Joshi has a more modern parenting style and outlook on the world than Mama, and Uma often wishes Mrs. Joshi were her mother. The only example in the novel of a woman who is in a "love marriage", Mrs. Joshi is one of the only genuinely happy characters. She feels free within her marriage to express herself and allow her children to feel free and take their own paths in life.