Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard: Chapter 15 Summary & Analysis

Early that same morning, the newspaper man delivers the story of the dangerous monkeys to the doorsteps of Shahkot. One of his stops is the home of the town’s Chief Medical Officer (CMO), who shouts at the newspaper man when his paper lands in his morning tea tray. The CMO is always afraid that his own health is in decline, and he believes that his stress about the matter is making it worse, creating a vicious cycle. Dismayed, he considers how this monkey news will be difficult to deal with and likely bad for his stress levels. He decides to go on an herbal diet immediately and drink plenty of onion juice.

Just then, Mr. Chawla arrives at the CMO’s house, immediately demanding that the CMO do something about the monkey problem. Rattled and feeling unfairly pressured during his delicate morning routine, the CMO attempts to defuse the situation. He mentions that monkeys are associated with the god Rama and are thus respected by many in town, including himself. But this is only his attempt to placate Mr. Chawla and make him go away, so the CMO also agrees to call the head of biology at the nearby university. Mr. Chawla asks if this head of biology is the same man who devised a failed plan to capture monkeys with sleeping pills some time ago.

Meanwhile, the man they’re discussing (Verma) reads the morning paper himself and discusses it with his wife. He excitedly mentions that this might be his chance to test out his new hypothesis: if they kill the monkeys’ leader and display its body in public, the other monkeys will lose morale and retreat into the forest, never to return. Meanwhile, his wife has always been unimpressed by his theories. She remembers all his past failed experiments and makes fun of him, saying that the monkeys will probably attack him if he tries his new approach. Sighing at his wife’s mean sense of humor and apparent lack of scientific knowledge, Verma decides to call the CMO for more information about the monkeys.

At that moment, the town’s Brigadier receives a call at the local army outpost. It turns out to be Verma, who’s called the Brigadier instead of the CMO on accident due to faulty phone lines. After this happens several more times, the frustrated Brigadier enters the bathroom and sits on the toilet by the window as he begins to engage in his favorite pastime: birdwatching. He keeps a notebook of all the birds he sees, and he’s determined to spot the elusive green pigeon, as he hears its song but never sees it. He also glances down into the compound where the army men are doing their morning exercises. He wonders what the use of their discipline is during chaotic times like this. From the window, he shouts at his men to pick up their pace.

During his bath later that morning, the Brigadier thinks of the monkeys and suddenly realizes with horror that the army base has a mess hall with a fully stocked bar. Knowing that this bar must be protected from the monkeys, he rushes out of the bath to call the police superintendent. The assistant on the other end informs him that the superintendent is unavailable, as he's on an investigation (when in reality, he’s getting his shoes shined). Undeterred, the Brigadier tries to call the CMO instead, but the faulty phone lines put him in touch with several other people instead.

Growing more frustrated, the Brigadier sets out to visit the CMO in person. But the CMO has already left home to visit Verma with Mr. Chawla, while Verma himself has left home to walk through the gardens to the university. As a result, none of the three authorities meet each other to discuss the monkey problem this morning. Meanwhile, Sampath gently berates the monkeys for their episode of bad behavior, feeling like a disappointed parent. But despite his scolding, he still feels that he can forgive the monkeys entirely, as he loves them too much to stay angry with them.