The Gram Vendor

The gram vendor is a street seller who first draws Suno's attention to the park as a potential study spot. He is depicted as having "a crippled arm that hung out of his shirt sleeve like a leg of mutton dangling on a hook. His face was scarred as though he had been dragged out of some terrible accident.”

Suno

Suno narrates the story. He is a young man whose family constantly pressures him to prepare for a crucial exam that will shape his future educational path. Suno finds himself extremely frustrated and distracted by the various noises and interruptions from his family as he attempts to study in his room. In frustration, he leaves home to try studying at a café, but the proprietor and waiter both insist on chatting with him. After giving up on the café, Suno wanders into the local park, where many young men like him are studying or attempting to study for similar exams. From that point on, Suno frequently returns to the park to study. One day, he witnesses a scene he later considers a "vision": a very sickly young woman rests her head on the lap of an older man, and the two are so engrossed in each other that they are oblivious to their surroundings. This "vision" inspires a significant change in Suno. He decides against taking the exams and chooses not to yield to his family's pressure, opting instead to view life as a "search" rather than a "race."

Suno's Father

Suno's father, like the rest of his family, constantly pressures him to study for his exam and distracts him from his studies by listening to the radio news in six different languages.

Suno's Mother

Suno primarily mentions his mother as one of the many family members who persistently urge him to study for his exam. She frequently makes noise, mostly from cooking, or interrupts him to offer him milk with sugar.

Young Woman on the Park Bench

While in the park one day, Suno encounters a young woman lying on a park bench with her head resting on the lap of an older man. He describes what he later considers his "vision" in these terms: "She was a Muslim, wrapped in a black borkha... I saw her face. It lay bared, in the black folds of her borkha, like a flower, wax-white and composed, like a Persian lily or a tobacco flower at night. She was young. Very young, very pale, beautiful with a beauty I had never come across even in a dream.” Although he never sees her again, the sight of this woman, his "vision," inspires Suno to pursue a different life path than the one his family had been pushing him toward.