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Padma Padma is associated with the lotus goddess Lakshmi - although Saleem earlier emphasises the root of her name meaning "Goddess of Dung". She acts as a surrogate reader of Saleem's narrative illustrating another element to the partiality of the narrative. She shows that if the narrator is partial - then so too is the reader.She strongly influences Saleem's narrative with her 'down to earth' nature - demanding that he dispense with his self-concious ramblings and bow to the doctrine of "what came nextism". She demands an objectivism that Saleem cannot supply without deception. Symbolically their marriage (of the lustful reader and impotent narrator) can never really be consumated. This perhaps illustrates the gap that cannot be bridged between author and reader. Also her collaboration in the work suggests the 'reader's share' in constructing the narrative - both in terms of interpretation and demand for substance. Saleem seems to depend on her for support. When she leaves him briefly because of his arrogant assumptions, Saleem find's it difficult to find meaning without her. It is at this point that he notices his error about the date of Gandhi's assasination.
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