After seeing this house, Ila and the narrator qurrel about the importance of radical politics. Ila considers the death of Alan, Mike and Dan who raised their voices against war-mongering as sad because they were casualties of a ruthless nationalism. She also thought that Alan and his friends, who were witness to the war and the fight against fascism, must have been happy as she was in her political activism. The quarrel about courage and political activism continues between Ila and the narrator. Finally the narrator does admit that some form of commitment reflects involvement and political activism which he and his middle – class friends would never have dared to do. He says, “for I had been with Ila once, when she had come out of Her hairdresser’s shop, her hair all new and curled, and marched straight off to Brixton with her little crew of friends, to confront a gang of jack – booted racists armed with bicycle chains. As for me, I knew I could not have dared”. (p.105) Incidents such as these provide an insight into the personal and human aspects of…show more content… While in Calcutta, Tridib used to tell the narrator about his experiences. Tridib was his mentor and alter ego. He taught the narrator to use his imagination precisely and accurately. The narrator met Ila, his cousin in Delhi and they became good friends. Here the narrative shows the psycho – sexual growth of Illa and the narrator. In the second part of the novel, the narrator along with other family members is shown visiting Dhaka to visit their ancestral house. The narrator’s grandmother and her sister were excited to visit their house. Their old uncle still lived ther with a Muslim mechanic but he had become senile and