1960s

The 1960s mark the period when Madame Zhou arrived in New Delhi, placing her obscure and contested past against a city described as undergoing a turbulent decade. The novel uses this date to anchor rumors about her beginnings without resolving them into a verified biography.

Historical Setting

Madame Zhou arrived in New Delhi during the 1960s, a decade presented as as wild for the city as it was for most Western capitals. The contrast between the capital’s newer and older districts gives the reference a specific urban frame: New Delhi was celebrating its thirtieth year, while Old Delhi was three centuries old.

Madame Zhou’s Arrival and the Rumors

Most accounts placed Madame Zhou’s age at twenty-nine when she arrived. People said she was Russian, but, as Karla explained, that detail and the other claims about Madame Zhou’s private life could not be verified; the Russian identity persisted as rumor rather than established fact. Another legend held that she had been the mistress of a KGB officer who used her beauty to influence prominent Congress Party officials. The account presents this allegation as hearsay, not confirmed history, leaving the 1960s as the point of entry into a deliberately uncertain past.