A Fetching Virtue

On the road to Gorapak, Agastya finds himself in a packed car full of his favorite people from Madna. The conversations that take place during the trip are all relatively enertaining (mainly because the reader has the liberty of knowing Agastya's true thoughts) but one in particular stands out. As the car is passing villages on the way to the picnic destination, Agastya becomes interested in the way the rural people live. He attempts to ask the people in the car questions about why the villagers gather around the roads instead of the earth. He doesn't receive an answer. He tries again, this time in a different fashion. The car remains silent. Then Agastya comes up with his own deduction about the cause of the villagers roadside gathering: the shade. This excites him, but only him. Everyone else in the car couldn't care less about the cause of Agastya's sudden burst of inquisitiveness. Agastya can no longer contain some of the questions he wants to ask about rural India. After spewing out a few more inquiries, Agastya finally provokes a response. Mohan's voice breaks the silence, "You make such a fetching virtue of the display of your ignorance." Agastya ceases the questioning. He knows nothing about rural India because of his upbringing. He has never experienced the side of his country that doesn't live in big beautiful houses full of the amenities that many Indians will never even see. His interest in the thoughts and purposes of rural India causes him to ask the other people from Madna questions, and this causes Mohan to point out his ignorance. Mohan refers to this display of ignorance as a "fetching virtue." I wonder if he is intending to make Agastya appear even more suited for the job of Assistant Collectorate because his extremely privileged past has provided him the "luxury" of never witnessing, or considering, the happenings of rural India and the poverty exists within it. Although, Mohan's aim could be to quiet down Agastya's questioning because it is an embarrassing showcase of his lack of knowledge about the majority of India. I find the former option to be more likely, but there are other angles that Mohan may have intended with his rebuke/praise of Agastya's questions. In any case, no one in the car cares to speak about the conditions of rural India. They would prefer to gaze through the frame of the car window and watch as the poverty streams by.