The Painter of Signs (Pages 87-111) Summary

The last part opens with Raman visiting Daisy’s residence late at night. Daisy tells him to bring in his bicycle after they turn down the lights so she won’t be held accountable if it gets stolen. They spend a lot of time together and eat together frequently as the days pass. Daisy begins to nod off in her chair and become groggy at work. She starts to worry that her job may be declining and looks for ways to hide how tired she is.

To discuss his impending marriage to Daisy with his aunt, Raman steels himself. She gets upset when he tells her. Daisy, according to her, is not even a true Hindu and comes from a different caste. According to Raman, the only thing that should count is that she is a decent person and would make a good wife. The discussion ends when they come to a standstill. Raman understands how much he needs his aunt’s blessing in this situation. He retires to his bed. He works on a sign for his job the following day.

He learns from his aunt that she is making a religious pilgrimage to Benares. This surprises him to hear. She informs him that, like many others, she intends to pass away there and does not require a return ticket. She sees it as the pinnacle of her spiritual journey. His aunt makes a few more disparaging remarks about Daisy as they talk about business. That evening, he complains to Daisy out of frustration. She tells him it’s not a huge problem and he should just grant his aunt’s wish.

The following day, Raman’s aunt tells him she has to discuss a few practical issues with him. She claims to have taken care of him ever since his parents passed away. He attempts to change the subject from his parents as she has been talking about them a lot and it always gets her very sad. She expresses her hope that Daisy will pick up the cleaning. Daisy had previously assured Raman that she would not abandon her work for him. They choose to tie the knot with the least amount of pomp and circumstance.

Raman makes the travel arrangements and assists his aunt in getting ready for her trip. To Raman’s dismay, she packs a tiny bag before explaining the thorough planning that goes into keeping the household running efficiently. She did so lot for the household, he had never realized. She expresses concern that Daisy won’t take up the slack. After three days, the stark emptiness of the house starts to worry Raman. In an attempt to get it ready for Daisy’s upcoming move, he gets it cleaned. When Daisy visits his home late one afternoon, she notices the modifications he has made to suit her, such as the locking of his aunt’s religious sculptures in the cabinet. Pointing out his room and work space, he takes her about the house.

Daisy invites him to approach closer as they sit together. Excitement and anxiety mix as he asks her when she plans to move in with him. She promises to do so when her apartment’s lease expires on the tenth. She nods out before he had a chance to ask some more questions. The day before her move-in date, the ninth, Raman pays her a visit at work to have a conversation. He claims he was in route to deliver a board to another somebody within the structure. Daisy had a number of guests. They are from different villages, she continues, where the population has increased dramatically. She claims that in order to carry out her campaign, she will need to go there. He enquires about her living with him and the uncertainty that comes with it.

She claims she can no longer live with him. She urges him not to cause a disturbance in the office when he becomes agitated with her. He tells her angrily that it seems like he turned his life upside down for her. She believes she has to stay dedicated to her cause and that there is nothing she can do about it. As the women head back, Daisy prepares to depart. He grabs her by the shoulders as she descends the steps, promising to never love anyone else but her and to welcome her into his home at all times. She is upset, but she is determined to go. Raman observes her driving off. He tosses the key into a nearby fountain as he was ready to give it to her.Ready to return to his former life, he mounts his bicycle and rides back to the Boardless Hotel.

The Painter of Signs (Pages 68-86) Summary

Raman is running his regular errands in Malgudi when he is overcome with fear. He can’t stop waiting for the cops to show up at his door and take him into custody. He fears that Daisy is following through on her threat to report him to the police, and that it will not be long before they find him. He reads in his chamber and converses with his aunt. He spends a lot of time in and around the house and becomes fairly sedentary.

He makes the decision to go out at last after this for eight days. After getting dressed, he heads to Boardless. There, he runs into Gupta, an old buddy, and they converse over coffee. He talks about the family-planning campaign and his peculiar journey with Daisy. According to Gupta, social workers should keep in mind that superstitions are prevalent throughout the nation when conducting their educational programs. Raman concurs and experiences a return to normalcy in his life. He feels happy as he exits the motel.

After fifteen days, Raman ultimately gets back to his regular routine. When he returns to work, his once-obnoxious clients are suddenly appreciative of his efforts. Then one day Daisy shows up at Raman’s door, shocking him. After a brief exchange of words, it’s evident that Daisy isn’t angry with him and that she was hoping to see him again. She claims that following their return, she became distracted by a written report detailing her campaign. They stroll to his garden brook together and dip their toes in the water.

Daisy responds to Raman’s admission of love by saying he’s only repeating things he doesn’t mean. He vehemently disputes this. He clasps her hand in his. As they converse more, she tells him that she didn’t have a great childhood growing up in a big family. She was almost coerced into an arranged marriage when she reached marriageable age. She addressed her potential husband immediately when they first met, which scared him away. Her family was furious with her for not making more of an effort to court him. She decided to leave them because this deeply distressed her.

She sees it’s becoming late and quickly leaves Raman’s place. It is Raman’s aunt preparing dinner. He tries to think of a way to get her to quit inquiring about his romantic history. To stop her from making assumptions about him, he says in passing that he has to go to an office the next day. He considers what he should do next.

Raman visits the bangle vendor the following day and hangs up his sign. The man declines his request for seventy-five rupees after thanking him for his assistance. They eventually get along and converse about Daisy. The vendor of bangles requests that he make a good impression on her since she has promised to buy a large quantity of bangles to give to the villagers as a prize for receiving a birth control procedure.

The Painter of Signs Pages 87-111 Summary

The Painter of Signs Summary (Pages 36-67)

Raman leaves Daisy a sign, and two weeks go by. Raman wakes up in the morning with a start. His aunt enters his room and informs him that he has a guest. It is Daisy, much to his horrified surprise. He gets ready and cleans up in an attempt to look decent. Daisy tells him that she is going to start her family-planning campaign with a tour of various Indian villages. She claims she needs someone to paint signs for her because the trip will take three weeks. Is he interested in going with her? she asks. Yes, he responds.

They spend three weeks traveling together. Raman discovers during this period that Daisy has a variety of facets. She gets really passionate and furious when talking about family planning and sex education. On the other hand, she can be warm and amusing while discussing her personal life. As he gets to know her more, Raman’s feelings for her grow. He also respects her simple lifestyle, forgoing many little luxuries like a plush bed and fancy dinners. She informs him that she does not wish to live a better life than other people in their nation. He also observes that following their visit to a village, she seems especially content and at ease. He gets resolved to wed her.

A father who has had twelve children is introduced to them when they visit a village. Daisy informs Raman that a woman’s body suffers greatly after giving birth. He starts to worry about his work about the same time. He believes he is being hurried through this campaign and has some unfinished business at home. He believes that love is ruining his art and that this journey has affected the caliber of his work. Raman and Daisy stroll up a hill one evening. Due to his reverie, Raman loses sight of Daisy, who is walking far ahead of him.

They come upon a teacher who gets into a fight with Daisy on this hill. Daisy claims that because the families in the hamlet are growing too quickly, their resources are running out. The instructor is not in agreement. The constant listening to this argument wears Raman out. The fact that Daisy never seems to run out of energy strikes him. She tells them they have to finish all of their job before the monsoons arrive right after this meeting. Raman feels let down. She and the teacher are still at odds. He asserts that production rises with population size. A growing population, in her opinion, only depletes resources. The dispute continues in the same heated fashion.

They are halted the following day by a local priest from a neighboring temple. He professes to be able to restore fertility to infertile ladies. Daisy disputes his assertion, and they get into a heated debate about family planning. He admits that he knows she ran away from home when she was a child as she is about to leave. She seems offended that he is aware of this. When Raman goes back to ask the man additional questions regarding Daisy, the priest declines to elaborate. Daisy and Raman get ready to head back to Malgudi from the village.

Taken home by a man pulling a cart pulled by an ox. After his ox becomes hurt, he has to halt the cart. He leaves Raman and Daisy alone and heads off to try and obtain medical help. After all this time, they both feel a little uncomfortable being by themselves. They decide to get back to bed as their chat comes to an end. Daisy pulls Raman away when he tries to hold her when she is in a laying position. He discovers later in the evening that she has entirely vanished. Though too exhausted to stay awake and find her, he is frightened.

The cartman comes back the following morning, and they set out again. Daisy also makes a reappearance, telling Raman that she saw a tiger and that she slept in a tree. She becomes silent, and he offends her by making a lighthearted comparison to Queen Victoria. The cartman misidentifies them as a married couple and remarks that arguments happen frequently. Raman disputes Daisy’s assertion that they are not married, stating that they are. Daisy responds angrily. She becomes enraged over this and threatens to report his misbehavior to the police. Raman finds this prospect terrifying. After they get back to Malgudi, Daisy quickly leaves for her home.

The Painter of Signs Pages 68 -86 Summary

The Painter of Signs Summary ( Page 21-35)

Raman feels discouraged as he gets home. He feels bad about all the labor his aunt does for him when he hears her preparing food in the kitchen. He considers how their house is comparatively empty, with lots of guests but not many long-term occupants. He gets ready to work on a sign for a campaigner that promotes family planning. He removes the necessary supplies. He considers how his love of calligraphy led him to pursue a career in sign painting, but that endeavor ultimately resulted in financial ruin and ongoing disputes with clients.

Then he considers Daisy, the woman who employed him to create these placards. When they first met, she exuded mystery, and he wasn’t quite sure what to think of her. She still intrigues him. After finding out her residence, he finally musters the courage to pay her a visit. They exchange brief words as he drops by her place. She appears dubious of his intentions. They discuss the lettering on the sign he is making for her, and she admits she has no idea what would look best.

Daisy fetches him a cup of tea, which makes Raman uneasy. She seems to be speaking with him in a friendlier tone as they continue to discuss the sign. They talk about the best manner to deliver her message, and he quickly leaves because she is expecting more guests. As he returns home, he muses on the fact that he barely mentioned the commercial aspect of their deal. The following day, he delivers her the partially completed sign. He sees that she already has a number of women at her office. She requests that he return in thirty minutes.

He observes the passing of thirty minutes. He lazes around Malgudi’s major thoroughfare, Market Road. He bargains for a pair of sunglasses with a street vendor. He goes back to Daisy’s workspace. She tells him to stay for a little while after praising his job. He responds that some dust got into his eyes when she asks why he is wearing sunglasses. Daisy approaches him, looks at his eyes, and says they seem fine.

After returning home, Raman mulls about their conversation. He was thrilled from the brush of physical proximity to Daisy. He starts to worry that he is becoming more and more distracted from everything because of his obsession with Daisy. He’s resolved to finish the sign she requested and move on from her completely. He believes that he cannot stay in her life in the same way or he will be more and more distracted from his career.

He grabs a book to try to divert his attention, but he quickly gets distracted by Daisy once more. He believes himself to be lovesick. He goes back to Daisy’s workplace the next day to deliver her the painted sign. She shows him where she wants it hanging and tells him it looks fine. He can’t help but be attracted to her after they converse. Hanging up, he asks if everything seemed to be okay. She heads downstairs to the street to get a better look. It’s amazing, she says.

He gets ready to say goodbye. He replies he will send her an invoice when she asks how to pay him. She thanks him for his hard work and bids him farewell. He considers how these encounters have disturbed his mental state and is relieved to be far from her. He believes that he handled the matter skillfully and that his direct style of communication allowed him to maintain a suitable level of distance from her. Riding his bike to the Boardless Hotel, he muses on how he will tell his buddies about the entire ordeal.

The Painter of Signs Pages 36-67 Summary

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