Chapter 2: Plant response to elevated CO2 - DRUM - University of ...

self conscious and a little frivolous with her salwar kameez with its gold tasseled
dupatta and her bejeweled butterfly clip. The room seemed very small, closing in
on her.
“Where are you from, Bén?”
“She’s from Mumbai, father,” Durga said. Megha watched his eyes open
wider.
“You have come here all alone? Where is your husband?”
“I…you see…I’m not yet married,” Megha replied, taken aback by his
directness.
“Not yet married? How old are you Bén?”
“ Twenty three.”
“ Twenty three and not yet married!”
“Yes not yet; is she married already?” Megha asked, looking at Durga,
eager to diffuse this sort of interrogation.
“God willing, once the monsoon is over perhaps it will happen; she’s been
working on her trousseau since she was five.” The girl looked away shyly.
She handed the glass back to her and looked around. A few steps away
from the entrance was a fireside made of dry branches; grey ashes lay in between
the branches and beneath, a few coals smoldered amber. A grinding stone lay at
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