Chapter Summaries

Aditya returned to the Diya Textile Factory and found Dipti exhausted from managing its growing workload. He approved her hiring Paro and Usha, reassured her that he trusted her, and left with her to inspect the workshop.

• Aditya arrived at the factory and learned from Raju that Dipti had been working late and skipping meals.
• Aditya found Dipti asleep at her desk, startled her awake, and asked why she had been overworking herself.
• Dipti explained that she had hired her classmates Paro and Usha to help manage the factory, and Aditya approved their hiring and let Dipti set their pay.
• Paro and Usha teased Dipti about missing Aditya, then Dipti sent them to take inventory in the warehouse.
• Aditya encouraged Dipti to eat, and when she asked whether Paro and Usha could stay, he told her he trusted her judgment.
• Aditya asked Dipti to accompany him to inspect the workshop, and she followed him.

Aditya inspected Diya’s textile factory, reviewed its improved output and profits, and set plans to recruit and train more workers. He accepted a large, urgent Allahabad order, then headed to the canteen with Dipti and Madan before discussing further business.

• Aditya toured the workshop as Abid and Ram reported that all twenty-eight machines ran during the day, while unstable power forced them to shut four down at night.
• Dipti reported September output of 934,000 meters and daily gross profit of up to 2,000 rupees, while Paro and Usha detailed yarn supplies, finished stock, and an upcoming shipment to Allahabad.
• Aditya ordered Abid and Ram to screen new workers and have them shadow a shift for five days, and he assigned Dipti to set their wages and post the schedule.
• Aditya instructed Raju to give water to the people waiting outside and told Paro and Usha to prepare recruitment notices and red and blue shift tokens.
• Madan brought an offer from Boss Suen for 100,000 meters of cloth at 8.65 rupees per meter, to be collected from the factory within five days, and Aditya accepted it after Dipti confirmed they could meet the deadline.
• Aditya told Madan he had more important business to discuss that evening, then led him and Dipti toward the canteen as the factory changed shifts.

Aditya explained that the falling rupee and shortage of dollars would drive more Kanpur factories into bankruptcy, so he planned to borrow money in Mumbai and convert it to dollars for Diya. He prepared Dipti to manage the factory and intended to contact Hong Kong trader Wang Changgui before leaving.

• Aditya discussed the exchange-rate crisis with Madan and Dipti, predicting that the rupee would keep falling and more Kanpur factories would fail.
• Aditya said he would take Diya's accounts to Mumbai to secure a loan and convert it into dollars; Madan objected to being left behind, while Dipti supported Aditya's plan.
• Aditya told Dipti to prepare the factory accounts, recruit and train workers, and develop Paro and Usha as managers.
• Aditya drove Madan and Dipti to their villa, where Madan said he would travel to Allahabad to answer Boss Suen.
• Aditya examined Wang Changgui's business card and decided to contact the Hong Kong trader the next day.

Aditya sent a fax to Hong Kong while overseeing recruitment and a major cloth shipment at the Diya Textile Factory. When Mary Cohen called to say Solomon wanted to see him, Aditya drove back to Varanasi, leaving Dipti in charge of the factory.

• Aditya dropped Madan at Kanpur station and took Dipti to the Diya Textile Factory, where Raju organized recruitment.
• Aditya faxed Wang Changgui in Hong Kong to propose a business discussion, but no reply arrived that afternoon.
• Aditya checked recruitment and the warehouse, then told Dipti to prioritize Allahabad's cloth order after Madan signed a supply contract with Boss Suen.
• Mary Cohen called Aditya and said her father Solomon was stable but wanted to see him.
• Aditya told Dipti to keep the factory running and drove to Varanasi to visit Solomon.

As Solomon lay dying, he arranged for Mary Cohen and Aditya Mishra to inherit his shipping company, giving Mary the controlling share and Aditya responsibility for its operations. Aditya accepted Mary’s Rakhi and promised to stand by her, and Solomon died after the transfer documents were signed.

• Mary told Aditya that Solomon was waiting for him and that a lawyer had arrived from Mumbai.
• Solomon warned Aditya that his textile factory needed a way to ship its goods and offered him a share in Cohen Shipping Services Company.
• Aditya insisted that Mary receive seventy percent of the company and that he receive thirty percent, and Solomon agreed.
• Solomon asked Mary to tie a Rakhi on Aditya, and Aditya accepted it as a promise to protect and support her.
• Aditya and Mary signed the share-transfer deed, naming Mary chair and Aditya executive director.
• Solomon called to Mary and Aditya, then exhaled and died; Aditya closed the window.

After Solomon died, Aditya helped Mary bury him on Mishra family land, then prepared to accompany her to Mumbai to settle the port company’s affairs. They left Varanasi by train, with Mary still overwhelmed by grief.

• Mary agreed to bury Solomon on Aditya’s family land after he offered him a quiet resting place.
• Aditya and Mary lowered Solomon’s body into the grave, buried him facing Jerusalem, and marked the mound with the initials “S.K.”
• Aditya told Dipti that Solomon had died and that he was taking Mary to Mumbai; Dipti agreed to oversee the Diya Factory and its payments.
• Kulkarni left for Mumbai to register the company share transfer, while Aditya and Mary packed Solomon’s belongings and chose to travel by train.
• Aditya and Mary boarded a crowded train at Varanasi Railway Station, and Mary remained awake through the night as it headed south.

Mary and Aditya arrived in Mumbai and took control of Cohen Shipping Services Company under Solomon’s will. Kulkarni briefed them on the company’s threats and Solomon’s private assets, leaving them to decide how to protect the business.

• Aditya and Mary reached Mumbai Central Station and traveled to Cohen Shipping Services Company’s offices at the port.
• Kulkarni read Solomon’s will, which gave Mary seventy percent of the shares and the chairwoman’s role, while Aditya received thirty percent and responsibility for daily operations.
• Ghulam, Harun, and the managers accepted Mary and Aditya’s authority without raising objections.
• Kulkarni warned them that Gadkari was delaying the company’s dock license renewal, while Kumar, Haji Karim, Rajput, and Saparkar posed other risks to the business.
• Kulkarni told Mary that she had inherited Solomon’s Mercedes-Benz and villa on Malabar Hill, and Mary decided to keep the villa’s maid, Nagina, for now.

Aditya and Mary reviewed the Cohen Shipping Services Company's finances and discussed the officials and clients who could affect its business. Aditya planned to secure the dock concession renewal and left with Mary for her villa, where he intended to stay.

• Aditya and Mary examined the company's accounts, finding about 6.8 million rupees in its accounts and a monthly net profit of roughly 600,000 rupees.
• Aditya identified Gadkari, Kumar, and Haji Karim as officials receiving unrecorded monthly payments, while Mary noted that Rajput owed two months of agency fees.
• Aditya planned to visit Gadkari at the port authority to pursue the dock concession renewal and told Mary to remain at the company to reassure its staff.
• Aditya insisted on staying at Mary's villa, and Mary reluctantly followed him after he teased her and offered to drive.
• Aditya drove Mary in the old Mercedes-Benz along the coastal road as she relaxed and hummed a song her mother used to sing.

Aditya and Mary arrived at her father’s former villa in Mumbai, where the sea and harbor lights stirred memories of their last visit together. Over dinner, they discussed their plans for the next day, leaving Aditya set to visit the port authority with Kulkarni while Mary went to the company.

• Aditya and Mary reached the villa on Malabar Hill, where Nagina welcomed them and showed them inside.
• Mary looked out at the sea and recalled her father telling her that boats turned on their lights so she could find him.
• Aditya told Mary that her father had been unable to leave India and had regarded her as his hope.
• Nagina called them to dinner, and Mary teased Aditya for not knowing how to comfort anyone before they sat down to eat.
• Mary said she would accompany Aditya the next day, but he told her to visit the company while he went to the port authority with Kulkarni.

Aditya drove Mary to work, then met Kulkarni at the Port Authority to negotiate the Cohen Company's Pier Three permit renewal with Gadkari. He left with Gadkari's safety checklist and planned to address its demands before the inspection, then headed with Kulkarni to the police station.

• Aditya drove Mary to the company and told her he would pick her up that night.
• Aditya picked up Kulkarni and went with him to the Port Authority to meet Gadkari about renewing the Cohen Company's permit.
• Gadkari warned that Pier Three's condition could jeopardize renewal and presented a safety checklist while raising Saparkar's interest in taking over the pier.
• Aditya and Kulkarni challenged the checklist's unofficial status and reminded Gadkari of the company's clean record and established renewal process.
• Gadkari threw the checklist on the floor, and Aditya picked it up before leaving with Kulkarni.
• Aditya said the Port Authority could not afford to block Pier Three's revenue, and he and Kulkarni drove toward the police station.