I've come to realize that i feel horrible for the children of Samad Iqbal. These poor children have been wrapped up in the horrible maelstrom of karmic bullshit that has followed their parents (the sins of the father...). At barely the age of ten they've already been acquainted with mad men and women, tried to feed a toothless old man apples and coconuts, haplessly stumbled upon and ruined Samads affair, been degraded at constant intervals, have watched (seemingly) numerous fist fights between their father and mother, so much so that it's become routine to bet on the winner, and eventually Magid was even kidnapped by his father and sent back to Pakistan to learn the "Old Ways". All this before they even hit puberty.
It strikes me as surprising to see that Samad could so easily separate himself from what was clearly his "favorite" son, and how it seemed alright to him to just send away one of his children having never told his wife. Archibald, of course helped in the matter, but like most things in their friendship he was just a pawn. Archibald is a man who has little understanding of things, and finds contemplation a waste of time. "Why can't everyone just get along?"
