Lila takes care of their mother and performs the household chores while Hari works as a laborer in the fields to earn money to support the family.

Yes, it can be harsh, but living within the natural environment is often better for the soul than living in the city of Bombay with its crowds, its whirling pace, its squalor, its pollution, its anonymity, and its indifference. Our challenge has been to integrate new buildings into this setting in a manner that will enhance and not detract from the beauty of the place. Working from the base of an excellent masterplan, we have developed an architectural approach that combines the latest environmental standards with new buildings that match their neighbours, by reflecting the essential Georgian elements of proportion, simplicity and close attention to detail.

At first, Hari is somewhat optimistic about the factory that is to be built in Thul, and he is also optimistic about potentially getting work on Biju’s fancy new boat. Since that day, their father stopped drinking and stayed at the hospital so that he could be of any help in case his wife needed him. The characters struggle to survive and prevail in a difficult and mysterious world, one edged by the rhythms and power and beauty of the sea.

The novel focuses on how fast Hari and Lila are forced to grow up before their time and how they adapt to their new living conditions. There is no doubt that the location is breathtaking and we have already seen literally hundreds of people register their interest. Desai accurately paints a picture of how lonely, confusing, and destabilizing the city can be, especially to a young boy from the rural seaside. Some parts of the plot did not really seem important to the storyline, nevertheless it clearly depicted rural India. There was a hurried 'happily ever after' closure for the main protagonists but the focus dims when others are concerned.

It is not only the story of Lila and Hari that I found myself worrying over, but also the overall fate of the region. Additionally, the helpless feeling conveyed in the story with two parents barely helping the family survive was quite heart wrenching. years old Lila and her brother, 12 year old Hari live with their younger siblings Bela and Kamal and their parents in the village of Thul near Bombay. She is skillful in depicting the world as it is; the characters are very true to life and she has managed to weave in the many facets of the society, politics and religion into a single work. The main protagonists are Lila, the eldest child who is 13 years old, and her 12-year-old brother Hari.