Hindu philosophy divides life - this unique gift and source of amazing experiences and encounters - into four ashrams, four periods, each of which has its own characteristic traits, regardless of who is going through it. We are all aware of the truth in the idea that both childhood and old age have much in common, but we usually only refer to it within the context of ourselves and our elementary needs, and with regards to our dependence on others. Ghosh however uses his protagonist, an old man who makes friends with a little girl, to show another kind of kinship, one much more fundamental, and at the same time, oft unheeded. Old age is a time when a person relinquishes his ambitions and superficial social roles and can once again live in the authenticity he enjoyed in his childhood. It is also a time when a person is able to accept the world in all its complexities, with its pitfalls, betrayals, and iniquity, like a child who doesn’t become bitter from the experience of pain or injustice...