Rahmun is a tall, bearded peddler from Kabul who travels to Calcutta to sell dry fruits, grapes, and shawls. He wears the traditional loose clothing of his people, complete with a tall turban, and carries a distinctive bag of merchandise along with boxes of goods. Despite his imposing physical appearance and the cultural barriers he faces in a foreign land, he maintains a childlike openness and a deep generosity of spirit. His interactions with his customers and his specific affection for the children he meets reveal a profound, quiet longing for his own homeland and family in Afghanistan.

Mini is a highly energetic, spirited five-year-old girl living in Calcutta who possesses a boundless imagination and a constant need for conversation. Her effervescent nature and relentless questioning occasionally exhaust her more traditional mother, but her vibrant personality deeply endears her to her father. She possesses a natural, youthful open-mindedness that allows her to look past cultural differences and perceived strangeness. This innocence helps her quickly overcome her initial, imagination-fueled fear of strangers, allowing her to form genuine, affectionate bonds with people completely outside her sheltered domestic sphere.

The unnamed narrator is a Bengali novelist living a comfortable, deeply rooted existence in late 19th-century Calcutta. As a writer, he possesses a poetically inclined mind and embodies a progressive perspective compared to many of his peers, finding imaginative fascination rather than fearful prejudice in foreign cultures. Working from his study overlooking the street, he actively encourages his daughter's persistent curiosity and acts as a patient listener. He serves as a critical bridge between her sheltered domestic life and the broader, diverse world outside their window, demonstrating a profound capacity for cross-cultural empathy.

Mini's mother is a traditional middle-class Bengali woman managing her family's household in colonial-era Calcutta. She frequently jumps to fearful conclusions about unfamiliar people and sudden noises, perceiving unknown strangers as potential threats to her home and family's safety. Her protective anxiety, reliance on societal norms, and deep-seated suspicions about foreign outsiders contrast sharply with her husband's relaxed, open-minded approach to the world. She represents the cautious, insular attitudes of her social class, constantly worrying about the safety of her highly energetic daughter.

Parbati is a young girl living in Afghanistan while her father travels to the bustling streets of Calcutta for work. She remains in her mountainous home country, serving as the profound emotional anchor for her father during his long, difficult absences. Her memory strongly influences how her father interacts with other children during his travels, driving his generosity and his desire to connect with the local youth as a substitute for the daughter he misses.

Bhola is an individual in Mini's social circle who frequently tells the young girl fanciful stories about the weather and the natural world. He fuels her already vivid imagination by claiming that an elephant in the clouds causes the rain. Though seen only through Mini's conversational references, his tall tales highlight the highly imaginative environment that shapes the young girl's perception of the world.