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The Narrator’s Wife / Mini’s Mother
The narrator refers to Rahamat’s daughter back in Afghanistan as “his little mountain-dwelling Parvati,” suggesting that that’s her name. Rahamat only mentions his daughter at the end of the story when he reveals to the narrator that he always carries around a paper with her handprint on it to remind him of her. Mini also reminds Rahamat of Parvati, which is why he makes such an effort to get to know her. While he is in Calcutta and unable to be present in his daughter’s life, Mini becomes a stand-in for Parvati, and the interactions between Rahamat and Mini closely resemble a father-daughter relationship. Although she does not make an appearance in the story, Parvati is the reason that the narrator is able to finally form a real, meaningful connection with Rahamat. Despite their differences in culture and social class—and Rahamat’s newfound status as a criminal—both men are united by their fatherly love for their daughters. At the end of the story, the narrator gives Rahamat money from Mini’s wedding fund so that he can return to Afghanistan and his now-grown-up daughter.
Parvati Quotes in Kabuliwala
The Kabuliwala quotes below are all either spoken by Parvati or refer to Parvati . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Kabuliwala
Quotes
Every year Rahamat carried this memento of his daughter in his breast-pocket when he came to sell raisins in Calcutta’s streets: as if the touch of that soft, small, childish hand brought solace to his huge, homesick breast. My eyes swam at the sight of it. I forgot then that he was an Afghan raisin-seller and I was a Bengali Babu. I understood then that he was as I am, that he was a father just as I am a father. The handprint of his little mountain-dwelling Parvati reminded me of my own Mini.
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Mini left the room, and Rahamat, sighing deeply, sat down on the floor. He suddenly understood clearly that his own daughter would have grown up too since he last saw her, and with her too he would have to become re-acquainted: he would not find her exactly as she was before. Who knew what had happened to her these eight years?
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Parvati Quotes in Kabuliwala
The Kabuliwala quotes below are all either spoken by Parvati or refer to Parvati . For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Kabuliwala
Quotes
Every year Rahamat carried this memento of his daughter in his breast-pocket when he came to sell raisins in Calcutta’s streets: as if the touch of that soft, small, childish hand brought solace to his huge, homesick breast. My eyes swam at the sight of it. I forgot then that he was an Afghan raisin-seller and I was a Bengali Babu. I understood then that he was as I am, that he was a father just as I am a father. The handprint of his little mountain-dwelling Parvati reminded me of my own Mini.
Related Characters:
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Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Mini left the room, and Rahamat, sighing deeply, sat down on the floor. He suddenly understood clearly that his own daughter would have grown up too since he last saw her, and with her too he would have to become re-acquainted: he would not find her exactly as she was before. Who knew what had happened to her these eight years?
Related Characters:
Related Themes:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
