The Mahant sees Elokeshi at the Tarakeshwar temple. The Mahant (the high priest of the Shiva temple, Tarakeshwar) holds a 'nargila' pipe and sits on a striped rug in front of the temple, a second man, perhaps his agent, Kinaram, behind him. Before him stand three women -Elokeshi, the young wife of the clerk, Nabin Chandra Banerjee, holding up a plate of rice or sweetmeats in her left hand and boldly unveiling her face with her right; her younger sister, Muktakeshi, unveiled, stands behind her with folded hands; between them in the background, Telebo, the female servant of the family who acted as procuress, looks away