Honor

Meena speaks of her husband, Abdul, who was a good man. He saw their relationship as a sign of potential peace between Muslim and Hindu people. He had planned to move the family to Mumbai for a better life—however, men like Meena’s brothers saw her relationship and pregnancy as shameful. As for Smita, she compares her comfortable life in Brooklyn, where she worries about microaggressions, to Meena’s suffering. She is having difficulty maintaining a professional distance from Meena’s story and spoke to her editor about covering it more intimately. While she and Meena talk in the latter’s home, a Muslim village, Mohan charms Meena’s cold mother-in-law; he also gives her money, which Smita knows is unprofessional. She reminds herself that Mohan is not obligated to help and that she might have lost access to Meena without him. Meena is upset that Smita will also talk to her brothers. She reveals that the family conflict started when she and her younger sister, Radha, got factory jobs and made more money than their brothers; they give their salaries to their eldest brother.

After Smita leaves, Meena remembers her brothers’ fire and how Abdul’s brother, Kabir, saved her life and then fled to Mumbai to save his own. When Shannon started to cover her story, Meena’s neighbors claimed they were home or watching television when her attackers marched in the streets. Meena sympathizes with her sister, Radha, who also helped her elope and was punished by marriage to an older, infirm man.

Mohan wants to talk about his and Smita’s meeting with Meena, but Smita wants to be left alone. This leads to them bickering. Mohan feels obligated to apologize for India because he now sees it through Smita’s eyes; in turn, she apologizes. They begin to laugh hysterically out of emotions and exhaustion. Smita also feels implicated in the contradictions of India, as it is her homeland too. Anjali calls to tell the pair to expect the trial verdict in two days, so they decide to meet Meena’s brothers and Rupal, the head of the village council, tomorrow. Smita claims she thinks of Mohan like a brother, denying her growing feelings for him.

In Meena’s monologue, she recalls how she and her sister, Radha, were told they were making their brothers eunuchs with their factory jobs, as the villagers laughed at them and told them to discipline the sisters. Rupal claimed he could perform magic on the sisters and that they would turn into men by working with men. Meena recalls meeting Abdul at the local factory, which Radha insisted she and Meena work for. Radha said nothing would stop her, not her brothers nor the leader of India, Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meena thinks of traditions like eggs, as once they are broken, they cannot be placed back in their shells.

Smita and Mohan talk of their romantic pasts and the need to remain dispassionate when they interview Meena’s brothers. Smita recounts her first difficult story, interviewing men who had planned to beat a gay man to death. However, Meena’s story has touched her in a different way, making her feel complicit—both American and Indian, victim and survivor. She cannot explain this dichotomy to Mohan without revealing her past. Smita misses New York and its relative silence compared to India. She remembers her Auntie and Auntie’s son, who did not like or defend each other. She compares them to her parents and realizes they were the minority who would stand against the tide.

In Meena’s monologue, she remembers Rupal threatening her and Radha with magic. Their brothers’ love turned to hatred after they started working; the brothers took their money, which was saved for building a new house. Meena thinks the most dangerous thing is a man with wounded pride.

Smita and Mohan visit Meena’s brothers, who proclaim innocence but also contradict themselves. They believe they are victims, as their sisters broke tradition. Smita is able to draw on her professional experience and remain dispassionate, but Mohan loses his temper. She thinks the translator, Nandini, could have been more professional. She decides to visit Rupal right away.

In Meena’s monologue, she describes the world as changing from green and brown to blue and black. Every night, her deceased husband, Abdul, visits and drains her hatred. She recounts their love story: After meeting at the factory, Meena and Abdul snuck glances at each other, and he followed her home. She hid this information from Radha, as she had a temper. One day, Radha was sick, and Meena went to work alone. This gave Abdul a chance to present her with a gift of mangos. She remembers a visiting Christian priest’s story of Adam and Eve and wishes she had never taken a bite of the mangos.

Rupal is an arrogant man who claims to see the past and future and admits he advised Meena’s brothers to burn Meena and Abdul alive. He notified the chief of police, his cousin, of the plan so that his officers would not respond to the fire. He realizes Mohan is making fun of him and becomes annoyed. Rupal tells Mohan and Smita that he has to leave for a meeting and denies Smita’s request to attend since women are not allowed. He also warns them to leave the village before dark, as no one will talk to them without his permission. He also retracts his admission of advising Meena’s brothers, telling Smita not to publish it since farmers like him are “ignorant” of such things.