In Madras, Philipose confronts both relief and humiliation as his struggles at MCC culminate in a visit to the ENT clinic. Dr. Seshaya brusquely examines him, declares his ears structurally normal, and diagnoses irreversible nerve deafness, offering no treatment and sending him for audiology tests.

At audiology, V. K. Gurumurthy confirms nerve deafness through detailed testing. Unlike Seshaya, Gurumurthy is empathetic and instructive, introducing “face-reading” as a practical strategy and spending hours sharing techniques and a booklet to help Philipose navigate the world.

Back at the hostel, Philipose packs to leave. Using Uplift Master’s letter, he secures a room at Satkar Lodge with Mohan Nair, who warns train tickets are scarce but promises to try. Feeling unmoored, Philipose wanders Moore Market and finds solace at Janakiram Books, where Janakiram refunds his texts, listens to his story, and reframes success as loving one’s work.

Mohan Nair shows him contraband radios as war jitters and blackouts grip the city. The tactile immediacy of sound through the radio sparks an idea: if he must leave college, he can still access the wider world from home. He buys a radio with money from his tuition refund.

During a rain-soaked blackout, Janakiram curates a personal canon—classics beyond the Harvard set—and gifts stray Britannica volumes. Philipose purchases trunks of books and secures a train ticket for the following week. He decides to return to Parambil not in defeat but with a plan to self-educate, bringing the world to his doorstep.