But confession cleanses, whatever form it takes. Damini is talking to the ojha, and to Lord Golunath. There’s no test to know if the ojha is speaking or Lord Golunath. Which is the human, which the divine? Everyone seems to believe and know Lord Golunath is here. Have I become so Catholic I can’t feel the presence of god in any other form but Christ? Anyone in this room could report Damini to the SDM—who, she notes, has not been invited. They won’t, because there’s enough guilt here to fill the jails of Jalawaaz and Shimla for several years. Sister Anu will have to confess her presence at this ceremony to some new priest who probably won’t understand. Bishop Tutu, orchestrating Truth and Reconciliation trials in South Africa at present, would endorse this event. But neither truth nor pretence will bring back the real victim. That child, that poor infant girl. What does it do for Leela, who may have struggled to forget her baby girl and now may have to begin the journey of mourning again?
