The Loneliness of Sonia and Sunny

Babita arrives in Goa, staying with her friend Vanya. She realizes Sonia’s skill as a writer as she beholds the landscape described in Sonia’s article. Babita accompanies Vanya to visit her friend, a cosmopolitan Italian named Umberto. Babita envies Vanya’s life in Goa. She later overhears Vanya mocking Babita for her covetous nature.

Back in New Delhi, Babita receives a postcard from Sunny informing her of his imminent trip. Since Sunny does not mention Sonia, Babita begins to distrust Sunny and considers traveling to Italy herself.

To fund her trip, Babita authorizes Ravi and Rana to sell Panchsheel Park. The brothers explain that they will use an extrajudicial financial system in Dubai to avoid taxes. Across the estate, the house staff worry about their fates.

Sonia uses her connection with Ferooza to expedite her Italian visa. With no connections of his own in New York, Sunny has a difficult time procuring his visa.

Sonia arrives first in Venice and waits for Sunny to arrive. Sunny has trouble finding his way to the bed-and-breakfast, which causes Sonia to receive him with mock anger. They have sex, then go to explore the city.

At a restaurant, they are served by a racist waiter, which prompts Sunny to respond to him using a stereotypical Indian voice. This upsets Sonia, ultimately prompting her to walk out on Sunny. When they go to another restaurant, the couple at the next table move away from them, which bothers Sunny. Sonia consoles him by suggesting the couple may dislike them for reasons other than racism. Sunny affirms that he is happy in Sonia’s presence.

Sonia asserts that Italy’s charm is true, observing similarities between Italy and India. Plagued by thoughts of Babita, Sunny remains skeptical towards the authenticity of Italy’s charm.

One morning, he goes to an anti-immigrant rally being organized by neo-Nazis out of journalistic interest. Sonia finds this behavior strange and later embarrassing when Sunny starts pushing his political agenda on those around him. Sonia tells Sunny that he is being condescending by proclaiming himself better than everyone else with his political awareness. Sunny realizes he is merely anxious about his privilege as a tourist and apologizes to Sonia. They fail to reconcile, however, as Sonia declares that she wanted to forget about being from the Third World while on vacation. Sunny walks out on Sonia and meets a man from Kashmir. Sunny sympathizes with the man until he starts asking for money. He returns to Sonia and reconciles with her.

Following a suggestion from Ferooza’s friends, Sunny and Sonia visit the Fortuny Museum. When they arrive, Sonia is shocked to learn that there is a current exhibit on Ilan’s work. She anxiously rushes ahead of Sunny and finds a nude painting of herself, realizing that these were the eyes she glimpsed in Ilan’s Vermont studio. The painting also contains Badal Baba, Ilan having sex with her, and the ghost dog she had seen in Goa. Sonia tries to prevent Sunny from reaching the painting, eventually admitting that she had a relationship with Ilan. When she learns that Ilan himself will be speaking at the exhibit in a few minutes, Sonia physically drags Sunny away from the museum.

Sunny accuses Sonia of lying when she said she was lonely in the United States. Sonia explains that Ilan displaced her, which made her empty and therefore lonely. She also confesses the loss of Badal Baba, which she believes Ilan has used to benefit himself. Sunny cannot understand any of Sonia’s explanations, leading Sonia to suggest that they should get married just so that she can get his emotional support. Weeping, Sonia asks Sunny to retrieve Badal Baba for her. When Sonia falls asleep, Sunny goes through the catalog he took from the exhibit and sees the painting of Sonia and the ghost hound.

The next morning, Sunny remains convinced that Sonia lied about her loneliness. They part ways in silence.

Back in New York, Sunny overhears a group of Indian travelers suggest that Indians cannot be cool because they are always worried about what their parents think of them.

Babita calls Sunny to tell him about the sale of Panchsheel Park and her decision to move to Umberto’s house, which she has purchased. The new owner of Panchsheel Park is an enigmatic businessman from Dubai, who is represented by a local relative. Babita informs Sunny that she is sending her share of the sale to him to invest in his life in New York. When Sunny protests that Babita is engaging with criminal parties for the sale, Babita conditions her investment on his discretion. Sunny accepts, after which Babita expresses her intent to follow him to the United States.

Sunny does not receive Babita’s share of the house sale, which makes him anxious. He distracts himself by looking into the opportunities he can now apply for because of his residency status. It is much easier for him to avail himself of these opportunities because organizations favor New York immigrants like him.

Babita continues checking in on the status of the transaction. The money never reaches Sunny.

Sonia discovers that Sunny had hidden money in her bag to compensate her for the airfare to Italy. She interprets it as a sign of his intent to exit their relationship. She resolves not to speak to him unless he contacts her first.

Manav’s illness worsens. Sonia and Manav consult different experts, but they do little to affect Manav’s health. Manav is admitted to a nursing home. Sonia is frustrated about having to look after Manav’s needs alone. She also gets frustrated that she cannot depend on Sunny for emotional support. She remains ambivalent about contacting him. She reads through the catalog of Ilan’s exhibit, in which Ilan frames the women in his life as essential sources of knowledge. Sonia feels like her soul belongs to Ilan.

During a visit to the nursing home, Sonia sees Babita on a stretcher.

Babita confronts Ravi, forcing Ravi to admit that Rana’s creditors are involved in the property sale. Babita complains to Vinita and Punita that she is being cheated by her brothers-in-law. She orders the girls to sneak into Ravi’s house to search for evidence of her claim.

Babita gets a threatening phone call from a stranger. Later that night, Rana and Ravi are killed in their homes. Vinita and Punita go missing and are presumed to have been abducted. Babita worries for her life. The Colonel suggests that she should discreetly leave town. Babita has herself admitted to a nursing home, though she momentarily panics when she hears someone recognize her at the facility. Babita calls Sunny to warn him against coming back to India.

Manav keeps searching for Seher as he undergoes medical testing. He is diagnosed with lymphoma and is admitted to Athena Hospital, which is overfilled with patients. While walking around, Sonia encounters a kindly watchman, who makes her want to write about the complications of being a Muslim in India.

Sonia rebukes Seher to force her to come to the hospital. Relieved by Seher’s presence, Sonia feels the compulsion to write again.

Seher asks Sonia about Badal Baba, forcing Sonia to claim that she left the amulet with Lala in New York. Seher suggests that Sunny should retrieve it. Sonia admits that their relationship is over. This makes Sonia feel like her misfortune is linked to the loss of Badal Baba.

Manav is given several months to live. Disappointed and unwilling to care for Manav any more than she already has, Seher returns to Cloud Cottage. Manav becomes attached to the nurses who look after him at the hospital. While chatting with them, he refers to Sunny as his future son-in-law, whom Sonia will join in New York. This surprises Sonia, who reminds Manav about their breakup. After six weeks in the hospital, Manav is discharged.

Now settled in her new house, Babita tries to move on with her life. Her household staff is not as committed to their jobs as her previous staff, so Babita must confine herself to the house at night. This increases her paranoia.

Babita hears alarming rumors about the Panchsheel Park murders. Unable to sleep, Babita tries to absolve herself from the property sale. This absolution extends to the responsibility she feels over sending Sunny to the United States. She realizes she cannot share her guilt with anyone in Goa.

Babita seeks consolation from her new maid, Olinda, and Vanya, who only exacerbate her paranoia by downplaying the severity of crime in Goa. Babita pays her driver overtime so that she can watch a film at the cultural center with Vanya.

Though initially nervous about being recognized, Babita becomes entranced by the film, Jean de Florette. The film resonates with her fear of being murdered, prompting her to tell Vanya what really caused Rana and Ravi’s murders. Vanya argues that Babita has always lived on corrupt money, offending her.

Sunny is haunted by nightmares of his dead uncles, as well as his failure to bring anyone to the United States to ensure their well-being. Soon, he learns that his essay has won the PEN competition, which entitles him to a travel grant. Sunny attends the award ceremony, where he becomes disillusioned with the self-congratulatory and hypocritical character of the American literary world.

Instead of using his travel grant to return to India, Sunny takes his colleague’s suggestion to visit Mexico. He reasons that he may be condemning himself to death if he involves himself further in Babita’s shady business dealings. Babita is outraged to hear the news.

Maya sends Sonia on a “self-care” assignment to canvas the hunting lodge of the Maharaja of Jodhpur as a potential venue for hosting international guests.

Sonia’s tour guide is named Madan, who is roughly around her age. They chat about Sonia’s independence as a single woman. She tells him about her past relationships, describing Sunny as a “nice [boyfriend] who was controlled by a corrupt family” (503). Sonia is surprised to learn that Madan is single as well, though he claims that his situation is more unusual than hers. Madan’s brother had him declared legally dead so that he could possess his assets. This scares off any potential girlfriends who worry he is involved in criminal activity. Sonia expresses her pity, but offends Madan by implying the class difference between them. While Sonia is retiring for the night, Madan forces himself into her room and sexually assaults her.

Sonia returns home, where she tells Manav what happened to her. Manav is horrified, but knows that the police will do nothing to help her. He advises her to move on and to refrain from telling Seher because it will only upset her. Sonia resigns herself to her father’s advice.