The Glass Palace

Before leaving for Rangoon, Uma is told that Dolly spends an inordinate amount of time alone each morning; Dinu says that she is meditating. Once onboard the ship, Uma and Dolly rekindle their old friendship. While talking, Dolly confesses that Dinu’s illness changed her and that she has decided to one day join a Buddhist nunnery. Only her family has stopped her from doing so. There is a bubbling resentment towards Indians in Burma, Dolly explains, and it makes her fearful.

Uma finds Rangoon transformed from the city she once knew. An earthquake strikes the city, toppling the Shwe Sagon Pagoda. Taking a tour of Burma, Uma notes the widening rift between the locals and Indians. One day, driving through Rangoon with Dolly, Uma sees a queue of men having their chests tattooed. Dolly panics, as the tattoos mean the men are preparing for war. Fleeing home, they see an Indian man killed in the street. Uma hides in the back seat.

The riots last several days. Uma delays her departure, noting Dolly’s fear whenever she is about to leave. Months pass; a man stops Dolly in the street and tells her to prepare for the coronation of a new Burmese prince, a man who will liberate Burma.