Near the beginning of the story, Rakesh's status within the community instantly rises with the news of his astonishing academic success. It is clear that Rakesh was placed above all other children in the village with the statement: “no one could understand, but everyone recognized his talent and skills” (Desai, 78). The level Rakesh played at was unfathomable and he was ultimately placed above everyone else due to his incredible skills. Varma being an uneducated man is only capable of performing a certain level of work, which has earned him an unfavorable lower class image within the village. However, Rakesh excels in his studies, which gives him a greater opportunity to increase his social status and widens the gap between Varma and Rakesh's rankings. In an Indian society, “individuals and caste groups can hope to slowly rise in the hierarchy through economic success”(2), and this is exactly how Rakesh gains his status. The society of the village in which Rakesh grew up was very economically oriented and there was a direct correlation between status and wealth. Given the poor economic situation of the village, any gain in wealth would increase social status. After completing his studies, Rakesh “worked at the city hospital, quickly rising to the top of the administrative organization... Before leaving to create his own clinic »”