51 pages 1 hour read

Megha Majumdar

A Burning

Fiction | Novel | Adult | Published in 2020

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Chapters 19-26Chapter Summaries & Analyses

Chapter 19 Summary: “PT Sir”

It is PT Sir’s job to prepare his students for national celebrations at school. At one such event, Bimala Pal surprises the school with her attendance. PT Sir’s wife tries to tell him that Bimala Pal simply wanted to see where the “terrorist” went to school, but the next day PT Sir receives an invitation from the party to attend yet another gathering. He takes the train into the slums, around where Jivan used to live. He meets the other party members at a slum school, where they discuss current problems in Indian education. In PT Sir’s opinion, the issue is that students in India prepare to leave India instead of using their education to improve the nation.

Chapter 20 Summary: “Jivan”

Purnendu visits Jivan to continue recording her story. Jivan is eager for Purnendu to release the story; for her, time is of the essence. But Purnendu insists that it’s better to release the entire story at once, so Jivan will have to wait a while longer. Jivan then tells Purnendu about the aftermath of the battle with the police over the slums. Her father woke up in excruciating pain, but when they got to the doctor, he did not reveal that his pain was due to the police beating.