Manak
Outer characterization
Manak is one of the main characters in the short story “Stench of Kerosene” by Amrita Pritam. He is married to Guleri, and they do not have children. He is indirectly described by Guleri’s father, who considers him “a worthy young man of a good family” (p. 3, l. 19).
Manak lives with his wife and his parents in the village Lakarmandi (p. 1, l. 11). The story also reveals that Manak smokes – “Manak pulled at his hookah” (p. 1, l. 27) – and plays the flute (p. 2, l. 20). Towards the end of the story, Manak takes a second wife and has a son with her: “A son was duly born to Manak's wife” (p. 6, l. 9). Because of this, we can also assume that he is a Muslim Indian, for whom polygamy is accepted in India.
Inner characterization
Manak’s inner c...