In custody summary by Anita Desai chapter-8 and chapter-9
In custody by Anita Desai Chapter-8 summary
In this chapter, Deven is benumbed at the demand of Nur's wife. So he keeps away from Delhi for some days. This surprises his wife and Deven nur over his own life as a failure. He feels trapped between his literary ambitions and family responsibility. Deven decides to visit Siddique in the "ruin" of a house that the latter occupies at the end of the town. Siddique treats him with liquor, kebabs and pilau as well as the game of poker.
This chapter reveals to us about the Siddique character which strikes Deven as similar to Nur's dissolute lives. Siddique, a bachelor, has a homosexual relationship with his servant who sings for him and his friends; But Siddique helps Daven to procure funds to pay Nur's wife to facilitate the recording of poets memoirs and poetry. Deven defies his Cantan Kerous head of the Hed of Hindi department in getting a week's leave at the end of the team for the project he still considers dubious.
He also sends his wife and kids to his in-laws in advance of summer vacations so that he has all-time to record Nur's memoirs for the journal. Even after doing all this, he is still doubtful of the outcome of his efforts. Where it will lead him to another failure or fulfilment of his ambitions in life?
In custody summary of Chapter-9
In this chapter we come to know how Deven manages to organise the money and when he feels this now his troubles are over, Nur loses his interest in Deven and denies giving him the interview. Nur wants to die in Deven gets his funds to pay it to Nur's wife but that is not what troubles him, in some ways he had feelings of uncertainty and incompetence which he has inherited from his father. At the beginning of this chapter Murad who had put him into such a task, ridicules him by congratulating him on his rare strokes of good luck.Deven hands money to Nur's wife and is near a brother room nearby where Nur is with his servant boy at the appointed time. Deven had a feeling that he even have to pay for the room which eventually turns out to be true. Nur is accompanied by his sycophants and comics and they demand food and drink for which Deven had made no provision. He requests Murad who arranges peace. the cash but on one condition that amount will be deducted from Deven's fee for his contribution to Awazz.The interview stretches to three weeks from the originally scheduled three days. Deven at the end hardly get any work done first, on account of the noisy rabble that accompanies Nur and constantly demands food and drinks; Second on account of Nur's health, age and whim's. Finally, Chiku, who has been imposed by Murad and Mr Jain, lost most of his time to serve people demands and lost all his money for the non-existence to contract.
Deven dream remains a dream at the end of three weeks that he spends in the house of school friend Raj, a ladies tailor, the only solace where he doesn't have to pay. Raj's pious aunt looked after Deven as well as several over destitute like him. By that time Murad gets impatient and asked Deven to wrap up the ride and submit him in a week. He doesn't listen to Deven's Please. Deven decided to get a notebook to write Nur's Poetry.
But by now Nur has lost its interest in Deven. The old and ailing poet can't take more. He wants to go home and die in peace. A Distraught Deven feels when Nur shuts the backdoor behind him. However, he still retains immense respect and reverence for the poet with whom he has found kinship.
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