What is "A Real Durwan" about?

When I first finished reading "A Real Durwan", I was pretty perplexed. It didn't seem right for the story to just end with Boori Ma losing all her life savings and keys, and then being kicked out by the residents. It didn't make sense. It wasn't as though I thought the story would culminate in some spectacular event (such as her reuniting with her family), but I thought that at least there'd be some sense of closure or of being at peace. Instead, we're presented with this injustice, and we feel even worse for Boori Ma. Right?

If we accept that Boori Ma is a "victim of changing times" (for example, with being so stuck on the past), and the the basin is "a sure sign of changing times", then it makes sense that the basin would herald Boori Ma's departure. If the residents are so serious about improving the conditions of their building, then it's inevitable that Boori Ma will have to leave at some point or the other. No matter how much she goes on about rice cooked in rosewater, or comforts we cannot dream, we understand that her current state is pretty unfortunate, and perhaps even squalid. She cleans and guards the building in exchange for simply a place to sleep. The conditions she so easily accepts (such as sleeping on newspaper under the rain) are not very respectable or presentable, and so if the residents want to better the building (and probably also themselves), Boori Ma's outlook is incompatible with theirs.

Still, it seems kind of cruel to just kick out a woman you've known for (presumably) years, and has been responsible and courteous all that time. Perhaps it's true that Boori Ma could've prevented the basin from being smashed, had she stayed in the building rather than go out, but I still find it pretty disheartening that they all jump to the conclusion that she somehow purposefully caused its destruction. One plausible explanation, I think, would be their sudden and extreme focus on material goods overwhelming their good sense and sound judgement. Unlike Boori Ma, who talks about the better things she once had, but seems fairly okay with living so spartanly, the residents now seem obsessed with better things. The installation of the two basins, and the good fortune of the Dalals seem to have changed something in the residents. Whether it's a case of keeping up with the Joneses or something more nuanced, I'm not totally sure. But, it's definitely something relating to materialism. Take this: "Boori Ma has endangered the security of this building. We have valuables. The widow Mrs. Misra lives alone with her phone". Isn't it interesting that the residents' focus is on their valuables and Mrs. Misra's phone? The implication, at least from my interpretation, is that Mrs. Misra can't protect her phone if she's alone, and not that Mrs. Misra can't protect herself if she's alone.

Honestly, I'm still not too sure what to make of the story. If there's some hidden moral or message, it's a bit difficult to see. Perhaps a commentary on the potential pitfalls of modernization or materialism? Something I think that is very interesting to consider, though, is Boori Ma's development through the story. She's (presumably) never strayed from the building too far since she's arrived, but as the workers come in and disrupt her daily work, she starts venturing out. She starts spending some of her life savings on small treats, and she eventually loses the rest of her life savings and skeleton keys to a thief. Which, yes, is sad. But also, perhaps, freeing. If Boori Ma has held on to those things for all this time in hopes that some day she will go back home or find her family, the fact that she loses them sort of helps her gain some closure. When she loses those things, she's no longer a victim of changing times in that sense. While the residents are busy bettering their building and acquiring more possessions they'll feel attached to, Boori Ma is out exploring and ridding (not intentionally, but still) herself of possessions she feels attached to. At the very end of the story, when Boori Ma is kicked out, she only brings her broom. So perhaps this story also advocates for some sort of minimalism or austere way of living.