The story presents the attitudes of the two generations namely the mother and the Shamnaths. The mother is full of love and sacrifice. She has come from a rural background of family-centric values. She has no idea of aristocracy and sophistication. But she is tolerant, accommodating and sacrificing. She has sold her jeweler for the education of her son.
She is willing to make a phulkari for the Sahib for her son’s promotion. Despite her son’s ill treatment to her she prays God for his long life. On the other hand Mr. Shamnath and his wife represent a value-system in which there is no place for love and sacrifice. They are full of self-interest.
Shamnath invites his Boss to dinner because he wants to please the Sahib in order to get a promotion. He had material interest. He treats his mother as an odd thing of the house. He does not want her to be seen by his Boss. He and his wife try to present an aristocratic and sophisticated scene to the Sahib. They develop artificiality in their attitude and behavior and neglect human values.
Shamnath ignores the sacrifice of her mother. He wants to develop his position even at the cost of his mother’s labour and toil. There is a sharp contrast between the generation of the mother and that Shamnath. The mother could win the heart of the guests by natural way. The Boss deals with the mother in good humour and elevates her position in the story.