52 pages 1 hour read

Anita Rau Badami

The Hero's Walk

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2000

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Chapters 17-20

Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 17 Summary: “Into the Tunnel”

Nirmala’s dance class begins. They are focusing on the hero’s walk. Ammayya entertains herself by criticizing the girls. Putti’s suitor arrives. He is very unattractive, but nice and of a high caste. Ammayya is for the marriage, but Putti does not want to marry him. Nirmala leaves to get Nandana from next door.

When Nirmala can’t find Nandana, she grows anxious. She asks the guard if he saw Nandana. He has not and assures Nirmala that Nandana must be somewhere inside the neighborhood gates, because he would have known if she left. Nirmala enlists the help of a few boys to look for Nandana. One of the girls who plays with Nandana admits that they dared Nandana to go into the Tunnel. Since then they haven’t seen her. Nirmala asks Munnuswamy for help.

Sripathi’s scooter breaks down on his way home from the movie theater. He stops by Karim Mechanic. He has to leave his scooter there for repairs, forcing him to walk home. The storm is getting worse. When he gets home he learns of Nandana’s disappearance. Nirmala accosts him for having a good time while she has been alone, worrying.