Shukumar is the main character in “A Temporary Matter”; he is grieving the loss of his son by miscarriage alongside his wife, Shoba. The miscarriage has made him distant from his wife and unproductive in his graduate work, and in his withdrawn state, he has become a homebody. The miscarriage has likewise had a profound impact on Shoba; she used to be a caretaker, putting away stored spices and chutneys and filling the freezer with goods, but now she takes on extra work and stays away from the home as much as possible. She is a planner, a trait that initially seems to have also been lost in the tragedy, but it is revealed that she has been planning to leave Shukumar and has worked everything out.

As the two confess things to each other over the course of their story, Shukumar begins to soften toward Shoba, but that progress is halted when she reveals she is leaving him, and he confesses to holding their deceased child, a fact that he withheld out of love but now admits to freely when he knows their relationship is over.