her sister. Tara remembers the event vividly and carries her guilt about it into
adulthood.
The second main reason Tara feels guilt is the way she ran away to marry Bakul
without returning home to help her sister nurse her aunt and brother and care for Baba.
When Tara returns to visit Bim as an adult, there initially seems to be a void between
them, but when she reaches out to her, apologizing for her actions and explaining her
feelings, they seem to come instantly closer.
Bim
Tara's older sister. As children, Bim was the top child in school and enjoyed her
studies. She and her older brother Raja, the eldest children of the household, shared a
love of poetry and academics and formed an alliance that excluded their younger
sister, Tara. After the death of their parents, Bim was forced to take care of Raja when
he became ill with tuberculosis, and nursed him back to health. She also nursed her
aunt when she became ill, all the while taking care of Baba. As children, she and Raja
dreamt of becoming superheroes and scoffed at Tara's dream of becoming a mother.
Bim was cruel to her sister, and sometimes took advantage of her. She knew her
younger sister longed for curly hair, and once cut off all of Tara's hair, promising her
that in order to grow curls, her hair had to be cut short. One by one, the family
members died or went away, and in the end Bim and Baba were left alone at home. In
her adult life, Bim went to college and became a history teacher, an occupation she
seems to enjoy very much. She never married, and remains living in the family's
home, still taking care of Baba when Tara arrives to visit them. When the two are
reunited during this visit, their differences become increasingly apparent through their
conversations. Bim still ridicules her sister for her way of life and justifies her own.
She seems to resent her younger sister on some level for having the ability to leave the
home and get away.
adulthood.
The second main reason Tara feels guilt is the way she ran away to marry Bakul
without returning home to help her sister nurse her aunt and brother and care for Baba.
When Tara returns to visit Bim as an adult, there initially seems to be a void between
them, but when she reaches out to her, apologizing for her actions and explaining her
feelings, they seem to come instantly closer.
Bim
Tara's older sister. As children, Bim was the top child in school and enjoyed her
studies. She and her older brother Raja, the eldest children of the household, shared a
love of poetry and academics and formed an alliance that excluded their younger
sister, Tara. After the death of their parents, Bim was forced to take care of Raja when
he became ill with tuberculosis, and nursed him back to health. She also nursed her
aunt when she became ill, all the while taking care of Baba. As children, she and Raja
dreamt of becoming superheroes and scoffed at Tara's dream of becoming a mother.
Bim was cruel to her sister, and sometimes took advantage of her. She knew her
younger sister longed for curly hair, and once cut off all of Tara's hair, promising her
that in order to grow curls, her hair had to be cut short. One by one, the family
members died or went away, and in the end Bim and Baba were left alone at home. In
her adult life, Bim went to college and became a history teacher, an occupation she
seems to enjoy very much. She never married, and remains living in the family's
home, still taking care of Baba when Tara arrives to visit them. When the two are
reunited during this visit, their differences become increasingly apparent through their
conversations. Bim still ridicules her sister for her way of life and justifies her own.
She seems to resent her younger sister on some level for having the ability to leave the
home and get away.