The Lowland: Part 5, Chapter 2 Summary & Analysis

Bela and Subhash arrive in Calcutta at the beginning of monsoon season. Storms come to Tollygunge each afternoon, and Bela watches from the terrace as the sky darkens and then opens.

Bela has trouble feeling comfortable in the house—she cannot sleep in the heat under the mosquito netting; at meals, she struggles to eat with her hands, as is the custom, and must be given a spoon. She cannot drink the water everyone else drinks and must have hers boiled to avoid getting sick. “She’s not made to survive here,” her Bijoli concludes one morning.

After the first week in Calcutta, during which there is a mourning service for Subhash’s father, Subhash begins giving lectures at nearby universities and meeting with scientists. Bela spends her days waiting nervously for him to return. One day, Bela accompanies Deepa shopping, excited for the outing—but after many people on the street stop Deepa to ask about Bela, and then ask Bela questions about herself, she feels drained and scrutinized, and longs to return to the house.

There is no dining table in the house, and Bela eats on the floor in the room where Bijoli sleeps. As she eats her meals, she looks at the pictures on the wall—the one of her dead grandfather, and the one of the teenaged boy whom her grandmother has told her is her father. Bela believes she is looking at a picture of Subhash as a young boy.

One afternoon, Bela asks Bijoli about her ritual of going out to the lowland each night. When Bijoli tells Bela that she goes down there to talk to Bela’s father, Bela tells Bijoli that her father is inside the house. Bijoli, confused, becomes excited, until she realizes that Bela is talking about Subhash.

Bela and Subhash show Bijoli pictures of their lives in Rhode Island. When Bijoli asks why Gauri is not in any of the photos, Subhash answers that Gauri doesn’t like to pose for the camera; plus, he says, she has been busy teaching and finishing up her dissertation. Bela thinks of how her mother is often so busy, locked in her study, that the two of them go long stretches of the day without seeing or speaking to one another. Bela spends a lot of time in the apartment with Gauri, but it is mostly silent time, sometimes filled with errands related to Gauri’s schoolwork. Bela knows that her parents sleep in separate bedrooms and has wondered why.

One evening, Bela asks Subhash how old he was in the picture in Bijoli’s room. Subhash explains that the picture is not of him—it is of Udayan, who died years ago of an “illness.” When Bela tells Subhash that Bijoli often says the picture is of “her father,” Subhash tells Bela that Bijoli is simply old and confused.

Bela and Subhash spend Bela’s twelfth birthday at the Tolly Club—one of Subhash’s old college friends is a member and invites them as his guests. Bela swims in the pool, talks with children her age, takes a pony ride, and eats delicious food. Bela notices her father watching golfers all afternoon, and at one point, he brings her to another area of the club where there are fewer people, and packs of jackals resting in the shade. Subhash explains that he and his brother used to sneak into the club and play in this area—when Bela asks why they had to sneak in, Subhash explains that things were different back then.

Soon after Bela and Subhash leave the club, Bela is overcome by longing for her mother. She begs to call her, but the phone line at the house is down. Bela asks if they can return to the Tolly Club another day, but Subhash says he wants to spend their last few days in India resting for the long journey back.