Q & A

This chapter opens with Thomas’s memory of living in Paharganj, a neighborhood in Central Delhi. He reveals that eighteen years ago, when he was just a baby, he was dumped into a clothes bin outside of the Church of St. Mary. In this chapter and many others, Thomas tries to imagine what happened on the night his mother abandoned him. While his vision of his mother constantly evolves depending on his situation, her face is obscured in each vision Thomas has of her. 

The Church of St. Mary runs an orphanage, and Thomas is put up for adoption. He is finally adopted at two years old. However, six days after his adoption, the adopted parents split up and Thomas is given back to Father Timothy, the parish priest. Two men, a Hindu and a Muslim, approach Father Timothy and demand that the baby be given an Indian name instead of a Christian name. This is how Thomas comes to be called Ram Mohammed Thomas—a name that satisfies both Muslims and Hindus. Father Timothy, a middle-aged Englishman, raises Thomas in the church compound and teaches him English. Thomas has a happy childhood at the church until Father John Little, a much younger associate priest, joins the parish. 

When Father Timothy goes back to England for holiday, Father John curses at Thomas and tries to get him to watch horror movies. Thomas also finds Gay Pride magazines under Father John’s bed and sees him riding on motorcycles with leather-clad men. One night Thomas peeps through Father John’s keyhole to see him and one of the leather-clad men snorting a white powder. When Father Timothy returns, Thomas tells him these things about Father John. Father Timothy chastises Father John. Shortly after, a young English backpacker, Ian, visits the church. One evening Thomas looks through Father John’s keyhole to see that “Ian is stooped over the table and Father John is bending over him. His pajamas have fallen down to his feet” (49). Thomas rushes to tell Father Timothy what is happening. Father Timothy tells Thomas to go to his room. The next morning Thomas awakes to the sound of gun shots. Thomas and Ian rush into the church to see that Father John has shot Father Timothy, then killed himself. Thomas and Ian both cry, and Thomas discovers that Ian is Father Timothy’s son. 

Thomas tells Smita that after the tragedy he was sent to live in a juvenile home. Smita plays the footage of Thomas answering the second question. Prem Kumar privately asks Thomas if he knows what the FBI stands for, and Thomas says no. Since the quiz show producers want Thomas to at least win a little money, Prem Kumar asks Thomas if he knows any other abbreviations. Thomas says that he knows INRI is written on the top of a cross. As a result, Prem Kumar changes the next question to reflect this, and Thomas answers it correctly, winning 2,000 rupees. 

Thomas and Salim are living together in a decrepit chawl, “a bundle of one-room tenements occupied by the lower middle classes” (56). Chawls are considered a step up from slums. Salim and Thomas are excited because they are getting new neighbors: Mr. Shantaram, Mr. Shantaram’s wife, and Gudiya, his daughter. Because the walls are so thin, Thomas listens in on his new neighbors and finds out Mr. Shantaram used to be a well-respected astronomer. Now, however, he is a violent drunkard who beats his wife and daughter. Gudiya is a college student who recently got a pet kitten. Mrs. Shantaram rarely speaks.

Thomas reveals that he is thirteen years old and Salim is eleven, yet both work full-time jobs and live alone in the chawl. Thomas often dreams about what his mother was like, and what it would be like to be part of a family. Listening to Mr. Shantaram abuse his family makes Thomas especially sad. But his sadness turns to anger on the night that Mr. Shantaram throws scalding-hot water at his wife, missing her and accidentally hitting Gudiya instead. Thomas rushes out to catch a taxi; two days later, Mrs. Shantaram asks Thomas to visit Gudiya in the hospital. Gudiya’s face is obscured by bandages. She and Thomas wind up forming a sibling-like bond.

While Gudiya is in the hospital, Mr. Shantaram kills Gudiya’s cat. Thomas doesn’t have the heart to tell Gudiya this. Mr. Shantaram continues to abuse his family, and begins trying to molest Gudiya. Through a small hole in the wall, Thomas and Gudiya often holds hands, and Thomas vows to protect her. The next evening, Mr. Shantaram is standing outside his chawl when Thomas comes outside and charges him. Mr. Shantaram falls over the railing and “hits the ground facedown and lies spread-eagled, hands and legs outstretched” (69). Thomas assumes that he has killed Mr. Shantaram. Afraid of being arrested, he runs away. 

Smita plays the video of Thomas answering question number three. Prem Kumar asks Thomas “Which is the smallest planet in our solar system?” (72). Because of eavesdropping on Mr. Shantaram, Thomas knows the correct answer and wins 5,000 rupees.