Setting

Physical setting

The physical setting of the short story “Chokra” by Numair A. Choudhury is South Asia, most likely Bangladesh. This is suggested by Hindi words such as “chokidar ” (p. 305, l. 16), “lungi” (p. 305, l. 32), and “chapati” (p. 305, l. 37), as well as the word “Amma” (p. 304, l.2) which is Bangla for mother. 

In the first part of the story, the events take place in the slums: “Amma took me behind the railway tracks where rough men sat outside tea stalls and wooden slants (…) After much walking, we stopped outside a tin hut” (p. 304, ll. 2-5). Particular attention is given to the hut, where almost a hundred kerosene drums were kept: 

The smell was that of rotting dampness. That of spoiling meat, like from a week old carcass. But much stron...