Her desolation protected her
Anjum, while she is staying in the graveyard, should be scared of the fact that she is with other people, who don’t like her simply because she is a hijra, or that she is in a graveyard and could be attacked by ghosts, or by the drug-addicts or the homeless people, but Anjum who was so desolate and seen so much of carnage, that she doesn’t care anymore what would happen to her. She was so severely traumatized that any other danger ceased to matter. So, her desolation which could have driven mad in other circumstances protected her from the dangers of the world.
Her Hijra status that led to embarrassment saved her life
Anjum and other hijras were often humiliated. They could not do any normal jobs so had to beg and extort money from people in return of blessings, since it’s a belief that a blessing from a hijra comes true. She is humiliated, abused and even attacked on a number of occasions due to her hijra status. However, while she is trying to escape a mob of murderous people during Gujrat riots of 2002, she is left alive simply because it is considered deeply inauspicious to kill a hijra.
Air-conditioning for dead
Anjum used to steal electricity from the hospital mortuary that was near the graveyard she lived in. Their electricity was never cut, since the hospital mortuary needed it to keep the things functioning. She feels it ironical that many of the dead who were kept in the mortuary were homeless and have never experienced this kind of luxury while they were alive, but after they had died their bodies could feel what they never could.
Naga’s nervousness
Naga who considered himself a cool person, often entertained affairs with different women in his youth. He didn’t care about any of these women, and forgot about them even after relentless pursuing. But, he appears nervous and anxious around Tilo even though she didn’t offer any resistance to his proposal of marriage.
Naga’s change
Naga often declared himself a Leftist, an open rebel. He would dress up in a loincloth and protest against commercialization, but after several years of conditioning by IB, he becomes a puppet in their hands, dressing in fineries and smoking cigars. He became the very person he hated in his youth.
