Chapter fifteen explores the meaning behind the title of this book, I enjoyed this chapter the most since it really gives you a look at what Rushdie is saying, and what his meaning is. The ground beneath her feet symbolizes so many things; an image of Vina's last day, what Rai and Ormus worship about Vina, the angry gods, smell of hell, and it is the final good bye from Ormus to Vina. Rushdie uses great imagery in this chapter to really put the picture in your mind of what it looks like. It is also the time in the book where Rushdie starts to wrap things up, and the reader is taken to a different level. Instead of all the constant problems these characters have, Ormus and Rai now have to deal with saying goodbye to the one they both loved, Vina. Each character deals with their problem individually, Rai takes pictures, and Ormus writes her a song, but both convey the same image of the ground beneath her feet.
English: Salman Rushdie at the Vanity Fair party c...
Salman Rushdie presenting his book "Shalimar the c...
The Ground Beneath Her Feet"In my last photograph of Vina the ground beneath her feet is cracked like crazy paving and there's liquid everywhere. She's bending left to compensate. Her arms are spread wide, her hair is flying, the expression on her face is halfway between anger and fear. Behind her the world is out of focus. There is a sense of eruptions all around her lurching body: great releases of water, terror, fire, tequila, dust"(466). Rai's last picture of Vina is something that he will cherish forever, while she is the one that is in focus, the one that he loves, everything else is just exploding all around her, how Rai really feels inside whenever he sees her. It is not hard to vision this scene in the novel; Rushdie's words are...