Anita and Me: Chapter 5 Summary & Analysis

The next time Meena runs into Anita Rutter is in late October, by which time her mother’s tummy has already grown visibly. Meena has seen Anita around. She has noticed that Anita always locks arms with one friend at the time, leaving the other to walk behind, thus creating a rivalry between friends. Meena has also seen Tracey with their new dog, whom she discovers Deirdre has called “Nigger.” When Meena first told her parents about this, they both laughed wholeheartedly, criticizing the English’s ignorance and their lack of concern for using such words in front of children.

From that moment on, Meena's mother decides to treat Deirdre coldly, showing her only a polite façade, at odds with the warm conversations she has with other neighbors. Meena knows that this also makes her friendship with Anita more problematic. One day, though, Anita knocks of Meena’s door to see if Meena wants to see workers unload trucks.

That day, Meena’s mother has been cooking for weeks to prepare for Diwali, what she refers to neighbors as their version of Christmas, unwilling to explain the details concerning the Hindu Festival of Light. Meena is shocked by the village’s indifference to Diwali and understands why her mother makes it a point to celebrate Christmas, so that Meena might not feel left out.

Meena’s mother tells her that all religions coexist peacefully in India, and that religions all lead to the same god. Meena’s father never had a religious upbringing because of Dadaji’s communist beliefs, and is frustrated by what people do in the name of religion, arguing that he always acts in the name of humanity. Meena, though, wishes her family had an elegant shrine, like her Auntie Shaila’s. Auntie Shaila, the most boisterous of all the Aunties, once told Meena that people’s bad behavior affects them in their next life, and Meena, who knows that she lies a lot, came home crying. Her father simply told her that she should listen to a little voice in her head, her conscience, and she will always find her way to God.

The day after this, Meena’s mother took her to the gurudwara in Birmingham, the Sikhs’ place of worship. This was surprising both because mama is not very religious, and because she is a terribly slow driver and this would be her first time driving alone. Although the journey initially went according to plan, they reached a difficult crossroads on a very steep slope. After they missed the green light and were forced to brake, mama soon yelled at Meena to go tell the bus driver behind them to move back, because their car was moving backwards.

Meena exited the car and apologetically asked drivers to go back. She had expected aggressiveness, but noticed that people behaved courteously, with an expression that signaled that they expected this kind of behavior from people like Meena, as though this were an act of charity on their part. However, the woman in the last car nonchalantly began insulting Meena, calling her a “bloody stupid wog”—an offensive term for non-whites. Meena feels as though she has been punched and runs back to her car.

Meena was so shocked by the woman’s words that she could not concentrate on the prayers and rituals and does not remember much about that day. Back home, when her father asked her about her day, she almost told him but then realized that her father must have had these kinds of experiences countless times and knows the same feelings of anger, confusion, and powerlessness that she was experiencing. She decided that, in the same way her father did not share these painful moments with her, she would not make him preoccupied, and so does not tell him what happened.

On Diwali, Meena’s parents organize a mehfil with the Aunties, Uncles, and their children. Meena, who wishes she received presents on this occasion like she does at Christmas, decides that she will treat herself by going to the fair with Anita. Her mother tells her to be back by five o’clock. On the way there, Anita tells Meena that she is going to receive a pony for Christmas and that she will later live in a shared apartment with Sherrie in London, which makes Meena feel jealous.

When Meena and Anita pass by the Big House, Anita crosses herself, saying that a witch lives there. She mentions Jodie Bagshot, a four-year-old girl who went missing a few years ago and was found to have drowned in the water-filled old mine. Anita tries to scare Meena by telling her that the witch can see into Meena’s bedroom.

When the two girls reach the fair, Meena reflects on the fascinating, romantic life that the fair people must lead, as they move constantly from one place to the next. They run into Sherrie and Fat Sally, who have a lot of make-up on their faces and are wearing very short clothes. When the group notices three boys nearby who have stopped work to look at them, Anita walks toward them and begins to chat, after saying that the tall one is hers. Meena is fascinated to see Anita make the boys—who in other occasions Meena would have done her best to avoid—laugh.

By the time Anita invites the other girls over, Dave “The Poet” has put his arm around her. Sherrie chooses to stand by a boy called Tonio, which leaves Fat Sally and the last boy, Gary, to stay together. Meena sees the boy’s disappointment about being stuck with Fat Sally change into relief when he notices Meena, as though Meena were so unattractive that Fat Sally, by contrast, looked beautiful.

When Dave says something in Anita’s ear, Anita pulls the girls aside and begins to whisper to them, finally admitting that he said he wanted “to shag the arse off me.” Meena, who until then has felt completely invisible, concludes that this must be a compliment. Noticing Meena’s puzzled face, Anita says that this means he really loves her. The girls then return to the boys and Meena realizes that Anita has never introduced her, which means that the boys don’t even know her name.

When Meena arrives home, she pretends that she is fine. She looks at herself in the mirror while wearing a traditional Indian outfit and puts on some of her mother’s make-up. She also grabs her mother’s gold necklace, with a diamond in the center, but hides it underneath her vest, even though she assumes her mother would not be bothered to know she borrowed it. When Meena opens the door, Auntie Shaila reproves Meena for her make-up, accusing her of trying to look older, and Meena finally accepts to take it off at her father and her Auntie’s insistence.

After Meena comes back down and notices the various groups that have formed, she realizes that her mother’s tranquility and elegance will always make her feel insecure, since, by comparison, she is too awkward in her own body. Meena’s father then begins to sing, and Meena is deeply moved by the music, feeling as though she is reconnecting with a country she does not know but which forms part of her identity. After her father is done, everyone asks Meena to sing. She knows that, however much she refuses, she will have to give in, because it is customary for Indians to understand “no” as a form of modesty. Meena recalls an anecdote in which her mother politely offered their neighbors the Mitchells a ride, expecting them to refuse, but they accepted, thus forcing her to drive them to the shops.

Meena thus finds herself forced to sing. As Meena sings in Punjabi, though, she notices people giggling and hears Auntie Shaila say that she sings in Punjabi with a Birmingham accent. Embarrassed and confused, Meena interrupts her singing and decides to sing an English pop song, with a dance routine, which her audience welcomes enthusiastically, applauding Meena for her charisma. Meena then explains she loves the song so much that she “could shag the arse off it.” This comment leads to the adults’ sudden, shocked silence. Meena’s father angrily asks her to repeat what she said but Meena, suddenly ashamed, does not. She fears for a second that her father might hit her and runs upstairs as soon as her mother suggests it.

In her room, Meena changes out of her Indian outfit. She goes back down after a long time, though no one sees to notice her, because everyone is so busy eating or getting food ready. Meena thinks of offering to bring people water, even though she hates how the men never even look at her, merely expecting for their water to be refilled, but she then overhears her mother talking to Auntie Shaila about her. Her mother complains about Meena’s frequent bad behavior, and Auntie Shaila says that she is probably seeking attention. Mama then enumerates Meena’s various lies and misdeeds. At one point, Meena interrupts the conversation by saying hello. Embarrassed, mama asks her if she wants to eat, but Meena says she is going to use the toilet.

After stepping outside, Meena heads toward the fair instead of their outdoor toilet. She notices Sam Lowbridge and his friends. When Sam sees Meena, he offers to teach her how to shoot a gun. Meena feels honored to feel Sam so close to her, helping her make the right gestures to shoot the gun. When they succeed in shooting a target, Sam places their prize, a plastic bracelet, around Meena’s wrist.

Meena then walks toward Sherrie and Tonio. She sees a bruise on Sherrie’s neck and does not understand why Sherrie seems so happy about it. She wonders if such abuse is a normal feature of spending time with boys. Meena then sees Anita and her mother Deirdre get out of a ride. Choosing to forget what happened earlier, Meena waves at her and, after waving back, Anita immediately kisses Dave, which Meena understands is meant to impress her.

Anita then yells at Meena that she is going to buy some food and Meena agrees to wait for her. Once Anita is gone, Meena is shocked to see that Deirdre, who has taken off her heels, is running with the Poet toward the caravans. Meena sees them kiss wildly before Deirdre drags him inside a caravan.

When Anita returns, Meena decides that she will not leave the girl alone. She lies to Anita that Deirdre has walked toward their home and suggests they go on a ride. Meena notices that Anita is impressed by Meena’s local accent and the fact that she is alone at the fair at night, without her parents. Without offering Meena any French fries, Anita gobbles them up and the two of them walk toward the rides.

When the girls finally get off their last ride, hours later, after Anita has screamed to Gary to tell the Poet to call her tomorrow, Meena once again tries to keep Anita away from the caravans. However, Anita leads Meena past the caravans toward the Big House. Meena is shocked and frightened to see Anita open a section of the fence and walk into the Big House’s yard. Meena tells her that they have dogs, but Anita replies that she has never seen any and that she thought that Meena wanted to hang out with her. Meena, who is still wearing her mother’s necklace, holds onto it as though it might bring her good luck.

Meena decides to follow Anita, who shows her Hollow Pond, where Jodie Bagshot drowned years ago. Meena knows never to swim there, because it is made of many tunnels in which one could easily get lost and drown. Meena is terrified, which only makes Anita laugh. The two of them walk in the yard and Meena looks through the house’s windows, where she notices a diamond chandelier. Anita then points to her secret spot, an object a few steps away that looks like a statue in a dome with marble pillars. Meena wants to see what it is and walks toward it, fighting vegetation and spiders. Finally, she reaches the dome and pulls at the plants covering the statue. Suddenly, she realizes that the statue is a representation of Ganesha, the Hindu elephant god.

The sudden sound of Anita running interrupts Meena’s moment of fascinated stupor, and Meena realizes that an angry dog is following them. Completely panicked, the two girls run as fast as they can, and when Meena finally slips through the fence, into Anita’s arms, Anita closes the fence again. In her panic, Meena has hit herself and is now bleeding on her face. Her clothes are also torn. As the girls walk back home, Meena dreads what the adults will say to her. She also realizes that she has lost her mother’s necklace. However, when Anita asks her what the statue was, Meena says it was nothing.

When Meena reaches her home, which is still brightly lit and full of activity, she is surprised to see that no one is paying much attention to her and notices that the adults look scared and sad for her. Auntie Shaila drags her into the kitchen and, as Meena tries to decipher people’s expressions, she hears an ambulance. She then sees her mother on a stretcher, in pain. The neighbors are there, and Mrs. Worrall offers to do a rotation to make sure that Meena and her father eat. Meena goes to stand by a girl named Clara Mitchell, who is known to have mental problems, and hears the girl sing to herself.