The Bridge Home

The narrative is addressed by Viji to Rukku, who is referred to throughout the story as “you.” In Chapter 2, Viji talks about her 11th birthday when Amma, her mother, fixes a special meal for her and her sister. It is apparent that Rukku has an intellectual disability. Viji, though a year younger, is her constant companion and protector.

Appa, the girls’ father, is frequently physically abusive to their mother. He is an alcoholic and often hurts Amma, making the girls fear for their own safety. The mother sends them away into their hiding place when their father comes home drunk. Viji explains that Amma eloped to marry Appa, since she was from a higher caste in Indian society. This caused Amma’s own family to disown her and they have no interaction with her or her children. Viji writes that girls have no idea where the father's family is.

When Appa comes home, he assaults Amma and breaks her arm. She tells the girls to wait for her as she goes to get help from a doctor. Viji says that their family makes sure not to take Rukku to see a doctor, because they are afraid that she will be taken to an institution.

The day following Viji's 11th birthday, the father returns home in the evening drunk again. He apologizes for losing his temper the previous evening. He has two packages with gifts for his wife and daughters. He refers to the three of them collectively, saying “Presents for my girls” (8). He tears open the package for his wife which contains two bangles. He taunts her with them and throws them to her in such a way she cannot catch them.

He throws a package to Viji who refuses to catch it. Amma tries to put a good light on the exchange. Viji refuses to play along and picks up the package and throws it back at her father. Angrily, he strikes her. When Rukku tries to intervene, he strikes her as well. The girls push him backward and Amma catches him before his head hits the floor. In a stupor, the father crawls to the bedroom, leaving the mother and daughters to talk.

Viji warns her mother that her father has escalated to a point at which he is not just abusing her, but his daughters as well. She pleads with her mother to run away. Amma says she cannot because she promised to be a good wife.

As Viji reflects upon the situation, she decides she must protect her sister. The next morning, she gathers a few possessions in their school backpacks and, while the parents are sleeping, the sisters sneak out.

The girls walk of the opposite way from their school, which confuses Rukku. They go to a bus stop, intending to take the bus toward a large city. Rukku refuses to get on the bus, demanding a piece of candy. Viji gets on the bus while her sister stands on the ground, refusing to get on board. The bus driver is impatient. As the bus starts, Viji hops off as her sister hops on. The bus pulls away with Viji running along behind it. The bus conductor blows a whistle, and the driver stops, allowing her to catch up.

Viji uses the birthday money her mother gave her to pay for their tickets. The conductor gives Rukku a piece of candy. As they ride along, Rukku falls asleep. Viji wonders if she has done the wrong thing.

When they arrive in the city, they find the open-air terminal is a mass of humanity engaging in all kinds of activities. As they try to leave the terminal, the bus driver follows them and grabs Viji by the arm. He says he has somewhere he wants to take them and something he wants them to do. Viji, who does not trust him, tries to break his grip. She cries out for him to leave her alone, though no one in the terminal intervenes. Rukku uses her heavy wooden doll to strike the man in the head, forcing him to let go, but also causing her to lose her doll.

The girls hurry outside of the terminal onto an incredibly busy street. They wish to cross but the traffic never slows. Finally, a cow crosses the street, and the sisters walk alongside it. They move down a side street that is lined with broken down old buildings.

The girls see a merchant selling tea, pouring it from one little glass into another. They decide they will share one glass of this sweet tea with milk. As Viji hands it to Rukku, she drops and breaks the glass. The merchant demands she pay for the glass. Instead, she offers to work for the merchant, who sends the girls to help his wife in the kitchen.

Inside the teashop the sisters begin to clean dirty dishes with a pail of water, since there will not be any running water until 4 am the following morning. The shop owner’s wife is kind and thoughtful to the sisters. Rukku helps the woman, whom the girls name Teashop Aunty, make vadais, a kind of lentil fritter. Rukku made them previously and rolls the dough perfectly. After a day of working, the wife gives the sisters a little food and ushers them out the back door.