Intimacy and wealth
Sometimes money causes fights that ruin relationships, and that's typically the first thought people have when they think of marriage and money together. However, in this book, intimacy and wealth are ironically opposed, because the couples in "Shakti" are constantly struggling to connect and it takes a serious toll on their lives and on their marriages. Money actually doesn't necessarily help them to get along better.
Art as a language
To Rajesh, the meaning of an artwork is concealed by disinterest and frustration, but when he finally realizes what the meaning of Iqbal's art is, he is able to save him and reunite them together. This shows that ironically, art is not just a field of empty associations—the source of art is true human experience and personal revelation. He learns this through discoveries of dramatic irony.
The irony of homophobia
The Love and Longing is never more potent than in "Artha" when Iqbal and Rajesh continue getting to know one another, dating, even though homosexuality is fiercely opposed and even illegal. Their love is also pure, and though it is socially forbidden, it is true and normal to them in their lives, and the chronic disenfranchisement makes their time together even more intimate and meaningful.
The irony of Patel's murder
Sartaj Singh goes on an adventure in "Kama" to find out more in his police investigation, but he comes up short. The true nature of Patel's murder is a mystery, which is ironic, because it suggests that he failed, but in some ways, his investigation was exactly successful, because he learns the true complexity and organic nature of Mumbai's underworld.
Major Antia's ironic guilt
Although Major Antia is a veteran, though his leg was amputated in war, he still feels guilty. Ironically, he feels guilty about a childhood accident that left his brother dead. He is burdened by his existence, because his waking life is a gift that his ghost brother does not get to have. Then again, Antia's survival was as accidental as his brother's death, and fate is to blame on both counts.
