Overview
Dr. Khurana is an antagonistic figure in “From the Branch.” He is identified by Jocy Elden as the person still running MindTree, the private educational institution she and Martin Hartford attended as children.
Role
Khurana does not appear directly in the story’s present action. He is introduced when Jocy tells Martin that he is still running MindTree and that a new pre-k cohort has recently entered. Martin immediately recognizes the name.
Jocy believes Khurana has enough money and political influence to suppress people who try to act against him. She says he has substantial resources in India and influence with city government.
Martin asks Jocy whether Khurana abused her, and she confirms it. Martin then acknowledges that Khurana abused him as well. This shared recognition turns their conversation from remembrance into a revenge plot.
Martin first proposes killing Khurana. Jocy expands the plan into an attack on the twentieth floor where Khurana and the MindTree team gather in the morning. In one branch, Jocy and Martin are arrested before they can act. In another, they bomb the floor and flee after the explosion kills thirteen MindTree staff and maims six more.
In the branch Jocy and Martin choose, they do not attack MindTree. Khurana’s later circumstances are not shown directly, but MindTree continues operating for years until a documentary crew exposes the institution.