[The Village by the Sea-Chapter9] By Group 5-E2.4

Summary of Chapter 9 Work is difficult; it is always hot and Hari is confined to the kitchen and front room day and night. He is to sleep on a hard bench, but he can never get comfortable. He wishes for the darkness and quiet of his village by the sea. He nearly falls ill from the lack of sleep, but the watchmaker suggests he go sleep in the park where it is cooler. This is excellent advice and Hari is grateful. It is not perfect, but it is nice to have trees and pigeons and cooler air. The park policeman does not want him sleeping there and is about to hit him with his nightstick when a passing old man chastises him for bullying the boy and tells him to go take care of the real riffraff. The policeman feels badly that he threatened a child and decides to go inspect the drunkards. After that, he always says hello to Hari and never bothers him. During his mornings and evenings in the park, Hari sees the same people: an old man who feeds the pigeons, an old woman who feeds the ants, and schoolchildren. They make him think of his sisters and he wishes he would have given them his address so they could write. Jagu seems pleased with Hari. Hari listens to him sing a tune in a dialect Hari does not know, and Hari realizes that Jagu too is from a faraway village. But Mr. Panwallah the watchmaker is the kindest and most helpful to Hari. He asks if Hari might like to learn about watches and become his apprentice. He can pay him a little and he might become a watchmaker one day. Hari is thrilled and incredulous that this man is offering employment to a village boy. He accepts, but mumbles that his hands are dirty. Mr. Panwallah laughs and tells him just to wipe them off. This becomes a source of joy and hope for Hari. Jagu has no problem letting him go there during his time off, and Mr. Panwallah is a good and complimentary teacher. Back in Thul, the visitor arrives at Mon Repos while the family is preparing to depart. Mr. de Silva reassures Lila that her mother will be fine, and it is best to leave her in the hospital for the rest of the wet monsoon season. He will stop by on their way out and give her father a bit of funds for necessities. Mrs. de Silva calls out for her to look out for Sayyid Ali and gives her a few things to remember. After the family is gone, an elderly man with a white beard and glasses comes outside. The girls notice him but he does not notice them. They whisper in wonderment that he seems to be studying birds. The old man proves to be an easy person to keep house for. He is quiet and polite and rarely seems to interact with people. The girls do not mind his oddities, though the littler girls laugh a bit. One day he gives them money for sweets. Lila is grateful to be earning money. She can stock the house with food, and she visits her mother in the hospital each week. Kamal wonders, though, if the visitor will leave during the monsoon season as most people do.