Thirst

Faiza is Minni’s neighbor and best friend. She comes from a Muslim family and is a talented dancer. Though they have different interests and faiths, Minni and Faiza are close enough that they could practically be family. As Minni reports, “It has never mattered that I’m Hindu and Faiza is Muslim. When Faiza’s ammi makes kebabs for Eid, she always saves one for me. When Ma makes ladoos for Diwali, she saves one for Faiza” (16-17). The parallels between the two girls’ respective holidays and cultural foods help to characterize Faiza as Minni’s other half. Like many of the most central aspects of Minni’s childhood, this extremely close friendship is challenged by the events of the book.

Despite helping Minni in every way she can, Faiza struggles with feeling forgotten after Minni’s life drastically changes. To Minni’s surprise, one day she seems fed up with their usual topics of conversation: “Between your job and Pinky and her horrible grandmother, and now Priya Didi, you never ask me how I am” (101). This misunderstanding between friends is one example of how Bajaj works to illustrate her characters’ youthful perspectives. Unpracticed in the art of empathy, Faiza is not able to understand how preoccupied Minni is with her increasingly difficult life or why. Similarly, Minni is unable to step outside of her own perspective and anticipate that Faiza feels ignored. Nevertheless, Faiza helps Minni when she identifies Pinky’s father as the water mafia boss, and together they bring him to justice, resolving the problems that have separated them.

Pinky is the daughter of Rohini’s wealthy employers who are eventually revealed to be water mafia bosses. She occupies a unique moral gray area in the story. On the one hand, she belongs to a mafia family and frequently fails to be a good friend to Minni because of her privilege. On the other hand, she is just as young and innocent as Minni and always tries to treat her kindly. It is therefore ambiguous whether Pinky should be considered an antagonist or not. In fact, Minni feels a strange sort of pity for her, observing that “[s]he’s like a princess locked in a tower” (80). This simile reveals the dark side of Pinky’s privilege; although she wants for nothing, Pinky has no access to the joys or realities of the outside world. Indeed, the extreme degree of her ignorance about the outside world is part of what makes a true friendship between Minni and Pinky impossible.

Unaware of just how important it is that Minni does her cleaning work well, Pinky views Minni as a convenient playmate. Minni finds herself frustrated with Pinky’s inability to let her be productive, despite her initial instinct of also wanting to be friends. The tension between the two characters reaches its peak when Pinky fails to defend Minni against her grandmother’s classist attacks: “[Y]ou’re not my friend. If you were my friend, you would say, “Minni, my grandmother is wrong about you” (97). Minni internally processes this conflict, and it is unclear how aware Pinky is or is not of the specific problems she is causing for Minni. After her father is arrested, Minni never sees Pinky again, and as a result, readers never learn whether Pinky learned anything from her relationship with Minni.

Sanjay is Minni’s older brother. He dreams of becoming a professional chef. Minni looks up to Sanjay, and he is an essential figure in facilitating her character development, despite being physically absent for most of the story. He encourages Minni to take care of herself and provides an example for his younger sister of what it looks like to pursue one’s dreams. Sanjay is a dynamic character in his own right, achieving a full character arc over the course of the book. At the start, he is youthful and brash, with big dreams that he has yet to pursue in earnest. By the end, he has learned to have a healthy amount of humility and has taken concrete steps that will help him achieve his goals.

Sanjay’s early hubris is illustrated in one of Minni’s fond memories of him. Referencing his pastime of jumping between roofs, even at the risk of his safety, he tells Minni, “I feel like Superman and Hanuman rolled into one” (38). By likening himself to a superhero and a god, Sanjay reveals the arrogance that will ultimately lead to the inciting incident of the book, his run-in with the water mafia. In contrast, toward the end of the book, Sanjay comes to terms with his own mortality and the consequences of his recklessness. Over the phone, he tells Minni, “At first I didn’t understand why they sent us away; it all seemed so drastic then. But I understand now. I wouldn’t have wanted Amit and me to end up like Ravi” (129). In the time he has been given to learn these lessons, Sanjay also finds a path forward to his dream career by cooking on the farm in Delhi.

Shanti is a woman in Minni’s neighborhood known for her captivating storytelling skills. Bajaj uses her as a vehicle for several key points of exposition, including the colonial history of Mumbai and statistics regarding water inequity in the city. Although she is a static supporting character, the author adds depth through her tragic backstory: “After her husband and daughter died in an accident many years ago […] she went back to school to become a teacher at the community center. And she says all the children in the neighborhood are now her children” (59). Minni sees some of herself in Shanti’s loneliness and is therefore able to trust her with her fears and secrets. In this capacity, Shanti serves as Minni’s mentor, just one of the many women in the neighborhood that the protagonist looks up to.

One of the several characteristics that make Shanti an adept mentor to Minni is her powers of perception. After Minni discovers that Pinky’s father is the water mafia boss, Shanti quickly realizes that something is not right and tries to step in to help. Realizing that Minni is afraid to speak, Shanti cleverly tells her, “[D]on’t say anything […] Just nod” (145). This social intelligence reveals an immense maturity that Minni cannot approach her own situation with since she is still very young. Shanti’s adult approach to the threat of danger is a much-needed support system for a protagonist who is very young and very afraid. Thus, the wisdom that Shanti offers is a key example of a Supportive Community in Times of Crisis, a safeguard for Minni’s youthful escapades.