Narrator in The Bats
The narrator in the story, The Bats, is not named, nor is the gender specified. The narrator is of 7 years of age when the story starts. He/she comes to realise the mother is being abused by the father but pretends to not know this. He/she is overjoyed to live in the village and help the grandpa-uncle in his tasks. he develops a strong bond with him and comes to distrust his/her mother for going back to her husband every time she escapes him.
The Mother in The Bats
The mother belonged to a village far away from the city of Calcutta, is presumably uneducated. She is possibly an orphan. Despite being abused by her husband, she is deeply attached to him.
Grandpa-uncle in The Bats
He is the uncle of the narrarator's mother in The Bats. He works as a gardener and despite his old age, is quite agile. He seems to have some ailment when the mother leaves him to go to her husband.
The Father in the The Bats
The Father is an abusive figure. He works as a foreman in Rashbihari Printing Press. He often beats his wife, and later his child. He seems to be a conflicted personality with a short temper.
Sumita
Sumita belongs to a small village in West Bengal. She is apprehensive of her newly married husband as she had heard of violent and uncaring nature of men from her friends. Like her friends, she believes bearing painful sex is her duty as the pleasure of her husband is more important. She is excited about new clothes and attaches a particular importance to colors of the clothes. Like a dutiful daughter-in-law, she doesn't wear any western clothes in front of her in-laws and keeps them hidden, but wants to be in an environment where she would be allowed to do so.
Sumesh
Sumesh is Sumita's husband. Unlike other men of his age and society, he is caring and supporting. He doesn't pressurizes Sumita for sex when he discovers her uncomfort. He brings her western clothes even though she can never wear them in public, to appease her. He realises his wife's need for growth and so decides to save money to get another apartment.
Jayanti Ganguli
Jayanti comes from an affluent family. She wants to study in the U.S., while her parents are trying to get her married. Shis is excited on the prospect of going to a place where she can dream beyond her society's restrictions. She's also a dreamer and believes that matches from America are rich. Her illusion is shattered when she moves in her aunt's household.
Pratima
Pratima is Jayanti's maternal aunt, sister of her mother. She is admired in the family circle in India as she married an NRI businessman. Despite living in America, Pratima seems to have a weak hold on the English language, suggesting her lack of education and verbal communication. She is completely devoted to her husband, and sacrifices more than her jewellery to keep him in business. She is always on edge, and fearful of her husband.
Bikram
Bikram is Pratima's husband. He is an ugly-looking man of short stature. He owns a car garage which might have been working quite good at some point of time. He has suffered enough working in a foreign land that he is least hopeful for his future. He rarely shows affection to his wife but is constantly worried about her.
The Narrator from the Word Love
The unnamed narrator is a woman living in sin with an American man. She is in constant terror of her mother finding about her boyfriend. She is conflicted most of the times, for her feelings for her mother and boyfriend both of whom seem to tear her apart.
The Boyfriend from The Word Love
The boyfriend is a fellow-student of the narrator. He is possesive and can't understand the narrator's feelings for her mother. He is detatched from his family and hardly keeps touch with them. He also has a lot of ex-lovers, who call him often. He also uses drugs to contain his anxiety or to sleep. He has little empathy for the narrator as she lies in pain over losing her mother.
The Mother from The Word Love
The mother is a very stern and forboding creature.She is very particular about the qualities of a good girl and any deviation, howsoever small it might be, results in extreme actions. She turns her daughter out when she goes out for movies.She also expresses her love through other things, like massaging her daughter's feet after she had stood outside her house for the whole day as a punishment.
Meera
Meera is living the seemingly perfect life. She is passionate about her career, has a great apartment and a loving boyfriend, Richard. She also elludes marriage as she feels its just a way to procreate as per society's standards. She is repulsed by kids. However, she has a warm heart and can't but help a little boy she finds under the staircase of her building.
Krishna
Krishna is a boy of 7 years, found by Meera under the staircase of her building as she is leaving one morning. Meera names him Krishna for his dark skin. He seems to be a Mexican boy but doesn't responds to the Spanish questions of Amelia Ortiz. He has lots of cigarette burns on his back which suggest prolonged abuse. He likes helping Meera in kitchen and is particularly fond of the story of Baby Mouse.
Richard
Richard is Meera's boyfriend. He disapproves of Meera keeping Krishna in her house. He is somewhat dominant in nature and judges that Meera's affinity to Krishna is a result of her desire to have her own kids. He
Manisha
Manisha is the girl to whom the story of maid servant is being narrated to. She is in a relationship with Bejoy, who is not interested in getting married. She feels that anxiety on the part of her mother and aunt is exaggerated.
The Wife in The Maid Servant's Story
The wife is an educated woman from an affluent familt, married in another affluent family. She is devoted to the household and is proficient in the tasks of a dutiful daughter-in-law. She is also headstrong, and trusts people for their character and not perception. She is later revealed to be the mother of Manisha.
Deepa or The Sister in The Maid Servant's Story
The sister is a younger sister of the wife. She is hesistant, and not a leader like her sister. She is the narrator of the story. She is later revealed to be Manisha's aunt Deepa.
The Husband in The Maid Servant's Story
The husband belongs to a family of aristocrats. He is employed as an officer of highly paid and well-respected post. He is lecherous and tries to force himself on the wife's maid when he learns that she has been a prostitute before. He behaves like a gentleman in the day among people.
Sarala
She is the maid who is employed by the wife against the wishes of her family. She is suspected of being a robber and incites jealousy among other servants as she grows close to the wife. She has been forced into prostitution, from where she presumably ran.
The Husband from The Disappearance
The husband is an immigrant from India working in US. He has stereotypical ideas about women and is very particular on qualities he supposes his wife should have. He gets attracted to his wife due to the novelty he sees in her, as if questioning him. He doesn't let his wife study further or wear Western clothes thinking it might corrupt her. He forces himself on her and believes her rejection to be modesty and her silence as appoval. It is difficult for him to believe that a woman could leave him and begins to suspect involvement of another man.
The Wife in The Disapearance
The wife is somewhat educated girl from a village in West Bengal. She quiet but observant. She shows an interest in studying further which her husband disapproves. She doesn't enjoys sex with him but stays quiet and complies out of her duty. She devises elaborate plans to get out of the task but doesn't say no. She finally elopes with her jewellery, leaving her husband, son and all the material comforts behind.
The Mother-in-Law in the Disappearance
The mother-in-law shows little sadness on hearing of her daughter-in-law's disappearance. She is, in fact, rejoiced to come to US to live with her son. She soon take care of the household. She has no worries or interest in finding the daughter-in-law and plans to marry her son for the second time soonafter.
Preeti
Preeti is a second generation Indian living in the US. She has features of obsessive compulsive disorder and likes to do things in a particular way, especially with doors. She likes the doors closed. She is also very passionate about her work. She lives with her husband, Deepak.
Deepak
Deepak is an immigrant working in the US. He is in love with Preeti. He belongs from a large family where there was little value of privacy and keeps the doors open. He seems to fit into Preeti's world of civilised ideas but comes out as a man torn between two worlds on Raj's emergence.
Raj
Raj is Deepak's friend from bombay and has no value for privacy. He barges around the house, making Preeti uncomfortable. He also insists on sleeping in the living room instead of the guest bedroom so as not to impose. He is loud and obnoxious to Preeti's discomfort.
Anju or Anjali
Anju is a girl from an affluent family married to an NRI. She is pregnant with her first child, and is anxious about the health of the child. She is headstrong and refuses to bend to stereotypes.
Runu or Arundhati
Runu is Anju's cousin. She belonged to a modest family and has little ambition. She is also pregnant with her first child. Unlike Anu, Runu is docile and believes in performing her duty as a good daughter-in-law.
Abha
Abha is married to Ashok. Their marriage has taken a sour turn and the couple bicker and perform passive aggresive ploys to get back at each other. Abha has a very particular notion about sexuality and doesn't believes in having sex for the sake of enjoying it. She is also conscious of her body and has a set of ideas on the notion of a good girl.
Ashok
Ashok is Abha's husband. He constantly chides her or performs acts of mental cruelty on her. He purposedly flirts with Meena to make Abha jealous.
Meena
Meena is polar opposite of Abha. While Abha is conservative and believes in performing her duty, Meena believes in fulfilling her desires irrespective of society's approval. She is also very beautiful and confident.
Srikant
Srikant is Meena's husband. He doesn't look very good, but is loving towards Meena. He is conservative and less adventurous than Meena. He married Meena against his family's wishes on observing her sponteniety.
Asha
Asha is a divorcee and mother of a teenage son. She loves cooking but stops it when her husband leaves her. She has spent her whole life in making herself a perfect wife and mother, her dream of pefection is shattered when her husband leaves her.
Dinesh or Dean
Dinesh is the teenage son of Asha. They have rown apart since her divorce. He has spikes in his hair, and peircing in his ears. He is a fan of rock music and seem to be on the phone all the time. He works part-time at a burger joint.
Mrinalini or Mrinal
Mrinalini is a careerwoman and best friend of Ashs since her childhood. She has a competitive streak. She chides Asha for marrying too early and with no love. She rises high in her career but is painfully lonely and strives to have a family, like Asha.
