Since Nanima’s arrival, we had fallen into a comfortable routine.

The house would be warm and delicious smelling when This extract is a compilation of Nanima’s appearances in Meena’s life, a
we opened the front door and nothing would be where we left it the previous morning. Pots and pans would be stacked turning point which occurs in the middle of the text - chapter 8.
neatly in the larder, cushions from the settee would be arranged in symmetrical piles at the foot of the stairs, my
magazines would be behind the television and papa’s shaving things would have somehow found their way into the
bicycle shed. Although Nanima wanted to be useful, she had no idea where to put things once she had used them or Answer the following questions in full sentences in your books. At this point
picked them up to clean round, so she figured as long as they were in a tidy pile, she had done her bit. I admired this you know how these questions should be answered. With your final
mad logic, and actually looked forward to the chaotic treasure hunt for our possessions on our return. assessment coming up this is your opportunity to impress!

I found myself doing jobs I had run away from just a few weeks earlier, mashing up boiled vegetables into a runny goo
for Sunil’s meals, boiling water for his bottles and nappies, even carrying his incredibly stinky nappies out to the bicycle How does Nanima’s arrival act as a catalyst for Meena’s growing sense
shed, albeit at arm’s length, where they would solidify in a plastic bucket until mama spent a day boiling them clean, of cultural identity and why is Meena’s connection with Nanima so crucial
filling the whole house with clouds of citrusy steam. When I sat him on my lap after Nanima had given him a massage in in shaping her identity, and how does this relationship highlight the
warm olive oil, naked and slippery as a fish, feeling his legs bump against my knees and his tin pot dictator belly taut generational impact on cultural understanding?
against my hands, I could not imagine how I ever resented him, could not even remember why. I decided that either I Consider how the warmth and chaos Nanima brings influence Meena's perception of
must be getting soft in my old age, or that Nanima was indeed some kind of sorcerer. her heritage and her changing relationship with her Indian roots.
Reflect on how the bond with Nanima introduces Meena to cultural
traditions and stories that help her better understand her own place within
For the first time I desperately wanted to visit India and claim some of this magic as mine. her heritage.
In what ways does Meena’s attitude toward her brother Sunil reflect
It was all falling into place now, why I felt this continual compulsion to fabricate, this ever-present desire to be someone her emotional and identity development?
else in some other place far from Tollington. Before Nanima arrived, this urge to reinvent myself, I could now see, was Analyse how Meena’s evolving sense of responsibility and affection for Sunil contrasts
driven purely by shame, the shame I felt when we ‘did’ India at school. with her earlier resentment, and what this shift reveals about her maturity.
*** Analyse how Meena’s perception of her surroundings, such as the
‘No! Naughty boy! Nah ker!’ I said to Sunil, hoping the Punjabi phrase would echo Nanima and shock him into good descriptions of the warm, aromatic home, reflects her changing attitude
behaviour. I realised I was acting as if she had already left us, and I shivered involuntarily. toward her cultural background.
Ten minutes later, I found myself struggling through our front gate with Sunil’s perambulator, and Nanima waddling Discuss how sensory imagery in the extract reinforces Meena’s shift from viewing her
behind me, swathed in two Kashmiri woollen shawls. I had never taken Sunil out for a walk on my own before, he would heritage with embarrassment to embracing it with curiosity and affection.
not have got further than the end of the road before yelling for mama , but now he was screaming excitedly as I How does the author use language to highlight Meena’s struggle with
struggled with the unwieldy pram which looked like a waltzer car on wheels and seemed just as heavy. I tried out some her cultural identity?
of my recently acquired Punjabi on her, which I had absorbed with bad grace after realising that Nanima and I would Focus on Meena’s attempts to speak Punjabi and her frustration with not mastering
spend our days in silence unless I made some effort. ‘Nanima!’ I puffed. ‘You don’t need them shawls. It’s warm! Um, the language. What do these moments symbolise about her inner conflict and desire for
tunda hai...oh no, that’s cold, isn’t it...er HOT! Phew!’ I mimed, wiping the very real sweat that was pricking at my connection?
temples. Nanima harrumphed in agreement, gathering her shawls more tightly around herself. ‘Hah beti, bowth sardi AO3 - Consider how her evolving relationship with her cultural identity might resonate
hai,’ she said, agreeing that it was freezing, oblivious to the bees buzzing lazily around the gate post and the heavy may with readers who have similar experiences, and what broader themes this addresses.
blossom which filled the air with its sickly sweet smell. Discuss the significance of Meena’s realisation about her urge to
*** reinvent herself. How does this turning point affect her understanding of
I felt hot with fury. How dare he steal my Nanima from me! How dare this fat man with the ridiculous crimplene strides belonging?
know more Punjabi than me! I went into a deep sulk and made a pretence of rocking Sunil’s pram so I could move further Evaluate how the narrative shifts from Meena feeling ashamed of her background to
away, hoping that Nanima would finish soon. She was giggling away like a schoolgirl, she’s even flirting with the old sod, I her yearning to embrace her heritage, and why this is pivotal in her journey.
thought angrily, and then she eventually gave him another long namaste and nodded her farewells. How does the bedtime scene with Nanima use symbolism and imagery
to convey Meena’s deeper understanding and acceptance of her identity?
Nanima looked up as I approached; she swallowed something quickly so she could flash me a grin. Sunil was cooing Explore the significance of Nanima’s stories and how the imagery of Meena resting on
noisily, his hands and face were smeared with chocolate, the last chunk enclosed tightly in his fist. He held it up to me Nanima’s chest represents comfort and the bridging of cultural gaps.
proudly for inspection. ‘Nanima!’ I turned on her. ‘Why didn’t you tell me? Thusi kew ...’ I was too tired to think of the
translation, I wanted to lie down right now on the pavement and curl up into a very small ball. Instead, I yanked the pram
towards me, making Sunil sway and clutch the sides nervously, and heaved myself up the road, not caring if Nanima
caught up or not.

Later on, I could not tell exactly when, I felt Nanima sidle into bed beside me and pull my head onto her mountainous
chest, which she fluffed up for me like a pair of pillows. And then she talked, and the strange thing was, although I am
almost sure that she spoke in Punjabi, I understood every word. At first she did not make sense, but her broad vowel
sounds and earthy consonants knitted themselves into a cradle which rocked me half asleep, then out of the rhythm
came words, one or two I recognised, then phrases, then sentences, then all the stories I had been waiting to hear, the
stories I knew Nanima owned and kept to herself, but I had never owned enough Punjabi myself to ever ask her if she
would share them with me. And now she was, and I did not even need to open my eyes.