The Secret Keeper of Jaipur (The Jaipur Trilogy, #2)

by Alka Joshi

“My brother. Vinay.”

That’s my brother’s flock.”

When it comes to smuggling contraband goods, it’s hard to know whom to trust—even

There should have been a lot of cement used and very little brick for a project of this size.

Malik

There is no need to shield the child from death; we do not do that in my tribe. We want our young to understand that death is as natural as life for man and animals alike, and the sooner they’re aware of that, the better.

Nimmi w dead brothet a gold smuggler

little gold, the universal panacea for what ails us Indians.

gold that will protect the bride in case of widowhood, sickness or financial calamity. The gold is what ensures her future.

an Indian jeweler stays with a family for a long time, becomes a trusted friend and guide to several generations throughout marriages, births and festivals.

“Lord Brahma, the creator of our universe, threw a seed from his body into the waters. That seed became a golden egg, an incarnation of the creator himself. This gold, symbol of purity, good fortune and godliness, is what we sell here.

Everyone who’s anyone will be at the Royal Jewel Cinema that night.”

we predicted, every animal was carrying four bars. We put the gold in Nimmi’s flower basket, then tie

learned early that talking to the police has never been a good idea.

Incompetence and corruption. There’s always a chance that the police are

colluding with the gold racketeers, pocketing protection money. And if the police

means we have to sheer the sheep completely and as soon as possible.

In Jaipur I’d often been asked about my blue eyes.

“You’re part of Malik’s life, Nimmi, and so you are a part of mine.”

Lakshmi

sheep are used to being sheared and know they’ll feel much better when they’ve lost their heavy coat, so they lie still. The

The work of shearing has a rhythm that can be soothing and, at times, hypnotic. It

me the Royal Jewel Cinema collapsed tonight.

Manu was in charge of it. He’s beside himself! Says he has no idea how it could have happened.”

When I had my henna business in Jaipur, Kanta was a client—and among the few who offered me their friendship from the first day we met. She knew I was a fallen Brahmin in the eyes of other matrons because I handled women’s feet when I painted their henna. That task, considered to be unclean, was reserved for lower castes; it wasn’t respectable for Brahmins to do it. Then when Radha became pregnant with Ravi’s child, Kanta, who was also pregnant at the time, took her to Shimla, where they could have their babies together, far from prying eyes and wagging tongues. Sadly, Kanta lost her baby because of septic shock and almost lost her own life. But fate, aided by a bit of nudging on my part, led to the adoption of Radha’s son by Kanta and Manu. It was Jay, of course, I had to nudge.

Recap of last book

scandal in which lives are lost will never be forgotten. Or forgiven.

“Why is it so important for anyone to read-write when all you need to survive is air and mountains and apples off the trees and pine nuts and the sweet milk of goats?

Nimmi

It’s time for you to let him go. He needs to hear it from you. Please. He’ll let go if you let go. Mrs. Kumar, you have to let him go. You have to.”

Nimmi to lakshmi

We’re still in the lobby, making our way back to our seats after the refreshment break, when we hear the crash.

Malik

Hakeem is nervously swiping at his mustache as if he’s wiping away the memory of the accident that’s just occurred.

The few ambulances in Jaipur are privately owned and come only when called.

two columns supporting the balcony gave way, sending several rows—maybe fifteen, twenty seats—to the ground floor. These are the seats that landed on the audience sitting directly below.

the bricks I’m looking at have no factory stamp—just a shallow indentation where the logo would usually

Royal Jewel Cinema in Jaipur collapsed, killing two and injuring forty-three others.

“Mr. Reddy confessed to selling far more tickets than the balcony could support.

“Everything is settled. We will make a formal announcement about who will pay for what.

Manu’s signature is on everything. He’ll be held responsible for the greatest calamity Jaipur has known in decades. The Singhs will walk away with only a portion of

“Still, don’t the engineers overbuild...just in case? To compensate for human folly? Aren’t there standards that have to be met for the overbuild?”

Does Manu know Ravi gives orders to his staff? Isn’t that a conflict of interest?

Someone has carefully scraped off the old entry with a fine razor blade and inserted the new figures. I

someone has doctored the information to match what should have happened—that more cement concrete should have been used to shore up the balcony. If the right amount had been used, there would have been no collapse.

With Radha, I think I fell short. She met Pierre Fontaine at the Shimla Mall in her last year at Auckland House School. Pierre was twenty-eight—ten years older than Radha—and absolutely smitten with her. He knew nothing about her past,

Radha will be main character of book 3

Radha trained at a fragrance house and became a perfumer.

Radha has what she always wanted: a family.

Malik’s saying makes my heart race. He describes the ledgers where he enters figures; how the purchase receipts for bricks and cement were altered by Ravi right in front of Malik’s eyes and then replaced in the files; how the numbers in the ledgers have been altered, too.

“May you live a thousand years,” I say, “and may every year have fifty thousand days.”

Lakshmi

“The monkey and the crocodile!”

Folk tale

I’m pretty sure Samir knows we’re raising his grandson.”

After years of trying for a baby, having several miscarriages and one stillbirth, Kanta had been so excited to become a mother. If

Repetitious- summary of last book

pick a piece of indented brick with no logo that’s three-quarters intact. I also pocket a chunk of cement; it’s also too porous, which suggests the ratio of water to cement powder

Now I understand why Ravi wanted me to come. It wasn’t so we could make peace. It was to warn me.

Malik?

know only one thing for sure: a father and a son are bound by blood. Samir and Ravi have no kinship to me. I’m the odd man out. Samir would like me to believe he has my back, but I know better.

“During the performance of his duties, Malik has inadvertently come across receipts for substandard materials being applied to the cinema project.”