When Ice-candy-man puts on the disguise and claims to be telephoning Allah, a pregnant woman comes asking for him to ask Allah for a son via telephone. Ice-candy-man, dressed as a “lunatic holy man,” proceeds to put on a completely nonsensical exhibition of showmanship of making a supposed phone call to Allah. “Holding the ends of the copper wire in one hand, the holyman stretches the other skywards. Pointing his long index finger, murmuring the mystic numbers “7 8 6,” he twirls an invisible dial. He brings the invisible receiver to his ear and waits. There is a pervasive rumble; as of a tiger purring. We grow tense” (Sidhwa 107). Ice-candy-man presents himself as a non-descript holy man, not belonging to any particular religion, whether Islam, Hinduism, or Sikhism, or christianity. He holds a trident, which is a mythological symbol belonging to the Ancient Greek god of the sea, Poseidon, granting him the ability to control the oceans. On top of his ambiguous costume as a lunatic holyman, Ice-candy-man claims to be able to speak to Allah, the God of Islam, through his invisible telephone, dialing the meaningless combination of numbers, “7 8 6.” He also dangles a copper wire around his neck which appears to have no purpose except to add to the showmanship of his act, which is an effective one, capturing his audience with each little gimmick. Finally, when he speaks to Allah he does so in an informal tone, as if he were having a casual telephone conversation. “Then, startling us with the volume of noise, the muscles of his neck and jaws stretched like cords, the crazed holyman shouts in Punjabi: “Allah? Do you hear me, Allah? This poor woman wants a son! She has four daughters…one, two, three, four! You call this justice?” (Sidwha 107). The crazed holyman parodies the role that religion plays in peoples’ lives. The whole idea of contacting Allah in this way is far-fetched, but on top of that, the only thing the woman wanted to ask for was that her fifth child be a boy.
Her four daughters, who are still very young on the other hand, are all wearing golden high heeled slippers are dressed identically. “The four daughters, ranging from two to eight, wear gold high-heeled slippers and prickly brocade shirts over satin trousers. Frightened by Ice-candy-man’s ash-smeared face and eccentric manner, they cling to their mother” (Sidwha 106). Judging from their dress and their immature behavior, these young girls seem to be nothing but a nuisance in the view of their mother, each of them seeming to act in unison as one entity. In this way, the individual value of each young girl is diminished and their combined worth is less than that of a single son. Next, however, the sisters are seen as acting immaturely, evoking punishment from their mother, who punishes them almost as if they were a single person. “The girls, clearly feeling their distrust of him vindicated, lean and wiggle against their mother, kick their feet up, and whimper. Their mother’s hand darts out of the burka, and in one smart swipe, she spanks all four. Nervous eyes on Ice-candy-man, the girls stick a finger in their mouths and cower quietly” (Sidhwa 106). The husband of the pregnant woman pays the holyman to commune with Allah to ask for a son as if after having to deal with four daughters they are entitled to one. Basically, the woman is asking the wrong question altogether and pleading her case with religion and is unable to see that society is truly at fault and not Allah. The woman is seeking some kind of empathy and a sense of control where she is powerless. Her husband is ultimately the one who pays for his wife’s spiritual indulgence. “The woman in the burka, believing that the holyman has interceded successfully on her behalf, bows her body in gratitude and starts weeping. The bearded man fumbles in the gathers of his trousers and places two silver rupees bearing King George’s image at the holyman’s entranced toes” (Sidhwa 108). The crazy holyman is fulfilling a need that is not being met by the traditional religious leaders, that of the theatrical, for which he is rewarded by the silver rupees, a remnant of colonial occupation.
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