Give any 4 importance of the setting in the novel.

Desai describes in great detail the sea and the shore of Thul, creating an image that is peaceful, verdant, beautiful, and comforting. She calls the morning light "soft" and describes how "dew still lay on the rough grass and made the spider webs glitter." There are butterflies and "singing and calling and whistling" birds, roaring waves and wind, and colorful flowers. The beach is where Lila feels at home, and the place Hari dreams of when he is away. Desai makes her readers aware of why this is such a special place and why it would be so tragic if it changed too much.

As peaceful and lovely as Desai's description of the sea is, Bombay is a whirlwind of an image. She paints the city as overwhelming to Hari, starkly contrasting with his former life and environs. The city is "looming over their boats," people are in a tremendous hurry, and "added to the chaos were the smells of the city mingling with the familiar smells of the sea and fish and turning them into something strange." The "noises of the city" are also new and discombobulating, as is the traffic: "as if all the traffic in the world had met on the streets of Bombay."