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Chapter 4
Themes
and Colors
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in In Custody, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Memory and the Passage of Time
Ambition and Failure
Family, Gender, and Indian Tradition
Beauty vs. Utility
Indian Identity and Pluralism
Summary
Analysis
Deven and Murad are sitting in Murad’s Delhi office. Murad complains that Deven says no to everything, and Deven explains that he can’t possibly give up his job, life, and family to become Nur’s secretary. So, Murad tells Deven to “go back to [his] village” and “rot with your buffaloes and your dung heaps.” He insists that many other poets would happily take the job, and that Deven is disrespecting the Indian tradition of apprentices learning from gurus. Deven declares that he has given up on being a poet and doesn’t need a guru.
Once again, Murad uses every insult and argument he can think of to pressure Deven into lending his time and energy, all against his better judgment. Specifically, Murad plays on Deven’s love for literature by suggesting that his life only has value if he sacrifices his normal obligations to spend time with Nur. (But Deven doesn’t just have “buffaloes” and “dung heaps” in his village: he has his family, his job, and his home.) People with artistic inclinations may be familiar with this tension between everyday obligations and a creative calling—and, quite possibly, people who try to shame them into working for free by promising them greatness (like Murad).
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Deven demands to know why Murad offered his services to Nur as a secretary. Murad insists that he didn’t—he just ran into Nur, who asked if Deven was returning for the interview. But Deven doesn’t believe a word Murad says, and he points out that the word “secretary” never once came up in his conversation with Nur. Murad complains that Deven blames other people for making him do things, instead of just making his own decisions, and tells him to go do the interview. Deven complains that nobody listens to anything he says, and then despite his best instincts, he leaves and heads straight to Nur’s house.
By this point, readers have learned to take Murad’s claims with (at least) a grain of salt. His story about running into Nur is obviously a lie—in fact, one of this novel’s more understated mysteries is that the reader never actually sees Nur and Murad interact, which contributes to the sense of mystery around whether they are secretly orchestrating the whole interview scheme to defraud Deven. At the same time, in this passage, Murad is totally correct when he criticizes Deven for letting other people push him around and failing to take responsibility for his failures. The irony is only that the person Deven most needs to stand up to is Murad himself.
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Deven finds people rushing into Nur’s house and supposes that he is giving a poetry recitation. He enters the courtyard and sits among the crowd, which grows and grows until he finds himself pushed toward the front, unable to breathe. The guest of honor sits at the front of the crowd: it’s not Nur but his wife, Imtiaz, dressed in her black and silver veil. Two men carry Nur to the front row, where he sits right in front of Deven. Feeling that he owes Nur an apology, Deven mutters that Murad passed on Nur’s message. Nur asks if Murad is coming to the event, and Deven realizes that Murad has been deceiving him again.
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The crowd cries out for Imtiaz to recite her poems. Her musical accompanists come downstairs, and she teases them for drinking. Attendants bring her a box of betel leaf to chew and a glass of water. Nur whispers to Deven that it’s Imtiaz’s birthday and this event is intended to honor her. Deven is confused: he still doesn’t even really know who Imtiaz is.
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Deven doesn’t even pay attention when Imtiaz starts to sing. Instead, he gets annoyed that Nur isn’t performing instead, that Imtiaz’s voice is so high, and that her verses tell conventional stories about love and God. He assumes that Nur taught her everything she knows, and so her poetry is just a disgraceful parody of his. He can’t stand how the audience joyously celebrates such inferior art—it reminds him of how Sarla’s family gossips when they come to visit. He can’t stop wondering whether Imtiaz is also a prostitute or dancer, how old she is, and who let her perform at Nur’s house.
Suddenly, Imtiaz clears her throat, stops the music, and replaces her harmonium player with another woman, who starts singing alongside her. Imtiaz explains that her throat is troubling her, and she starts to sing in lower tones. Nur stands up in the middle of the performance to declare that he’s had enough and wants to lie down. When Deven helps him stand, someone asks if he isn’t enjoying the performance. Deven and Ali help Nur stand and walk upstairs to his bed, where he collapses.
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Ali brings Nur a drink, then he returns to the concert, leaving Nur and Deven alone. Nur complains about women’s vanity and explains that Imtiaz used to be satisfied hearing his poetry but eventually became jealous and started performing her own. He moans that she has stolen his house, jewels, and friends. Already drunk, he insults her in “the most filthy terms he [can] assemble” and calls out for more alcohol.
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Deven changes the subject, asking whether Nur really wanted him to take dictation, but Nur moans about how others have already stolen from him. Deven brings up Nur’s postcard, and Nur explains that he sent the card because, one day, he started to remember an old poem he had written and wanted someone to help him write it down. Deven offers to help right now. Nur complains that he’s “too broken and crushed” to try remembering his old poems—but perhaps the right kind of friend could help him.
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Before Deven can respond, Imtiaz walks in, disheveled and enraged. She mocks Nur and accuses him of being jealous of her poetic success. Then, she drops a flood of rupee bills on the floor and calls Ali to pick them up. Nur tells Ali not to touch the money, but Imtiaz declares that without it, Nur won’t be able to afford alcohol—which has ruined his poetry and his voice. Another woman (Safiya) comes to the door, starts harshly insulting Imtiaz, and tries to attack her by jumping over Nur’s bed. Overwhelmed by the drama, Deven runs away.
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Deven goes to Murad’s office, where he explains that he has to get home to Sarla. Murad mocks him, but Deven says he refuses to throw his life away to get involved in Nur’s family drama. Murad calls Deven a disappointment and suggests that he doesn’t really care about Nur’s poetry or the interview. But Deven insists that he respects Nur’s genius and reveals that Nur is planning on dictating new poems to him. He thinks he may even be able to get Nur’s memoirs, too. Impressed, Murad proposes a whole Awaaz edition on Nur’s new work; Deven says it could be a book.
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But Deven worries that he won’t have enough time for all the dictation. Murad suggests tape recording, but Deven finds the idea repulsive. Still, Murad insists that print is dead, and the solution is just to get Nur drunk and tape record him, then transcribe the poems later. Deven admits that it’s a good idea, but he doesn’t have a tape recorder. Murad screams that it’s not so hard to get one, and he sends Deven out.
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