Kusum Character Analysis

Kusum is Shaila Bhave’s friend and neighbor, whose husband and youngest daughter were killed in the attack. At Shaila’s house just after the attack, Kusum gets into an argument with her oldest daughter, Pam. Pam accuses Kusum of wishing that she was dead instead of her sister, who she says is Kusum’s favorite child. Kusum travels with Shaila to Ireland and identifies her family members quickly before traveling to India to arrange funeral proceedings. Her journey through grief is presented alongside Shaila’s—while Shaila finds herself in shock and turns to Valium to process her grief, Kusum turns to religion. Overlooking the bay where the plane crashed, Kusum paraphrases her swami (a religious teacher in Hinduism) and tells Shaila that fate led everyone to be on the plane that day and that they should be happy because their family members have gone to a better place. Kusum eventually sells her house in Toronto to move to an ashram run by her swami in the Indian city of Haridwar (referred in the story to Hardwar), where she plans to pursue inner peace.