The poverty of the lila's family is very evident in the writings of Desai. Throughout the book, the poverty is emphasized over and over again to promote the theme and hence develop links with other themes such as superstition and helplessness.
Lila "went in with a tumbler of tea" and she "stopped to add a little extra milk to it." This shows that she is very caring of her mother as she adds some more of the 'precious' milk for her mother. …
