How we cite our quotes: (Abbreviated Title.Paragraph)
Quote #4
On certain afternoons Boori Ma visited her fellow residents. She enjoyed drifting in and out of the various households. The residents, for their part, assured Boori Ma that she was always welcome; they never drew the latch bars across their doors except at night. They went about their business, scolding children or adding up expenses or picking stones out of the evening rice. From time to time she was handed a glass of tea, the cracker tin was passed in her direction, and she helped children shoot chips across the carom board. Knowing not to sit on the furniture, she crouched, instead, in doorways and hallways, and observed gestures and manners in the same way a person tends to watch traffic in a foreign city. (ARD 37)
Boori Ma gets to drift in an out of the residents' households pretty freely, but it doesn't seem like she's all that welcome. What kind of community does Boori Ma really have?
Quote #5
Before the coldest weeks set in, we had the shutters of the storage room repaired and attached a sheet of tin to the doorframe, so that she would at least have some privacy. Someone donated a kerosene lamp; another gave her some old mosquito netting and a pair of socks without heels. At every opportunity we reminded her that we surrounded her, that she could come to us if she ever needed advice or aid of any kind. For a time we sent our children to play on the roof in the afternoons, so that they could alert us if she was having another attack. But each night we left her alone. (TBH 47)
As amazing as Bibi's friends are, they can't protect her at night, which leaves her vulnerable. But even so, this community goes above and beyond to help Bibi out. The community is the real star of this story.