Page 100 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes You can’t but help getting reminded of the Amol Palekar era of Hindi movies reading the opening
half of the book. There is this plain, simple-minded, lonely hero with a poignant past, his only
company being his two colleagues: one, a mature, advice-giving family man, and another, a quick-
witted carefree boy. The latter named Hari, has almost been sold out to the readers, by being
presented as extremely adorable and cheerful; just like a comedian, who though crass and crude
reaches out to the audience.
The parts where Ramchand pursuits for English-language education, his turmoil while encountering
with a professor in the shop, the homework he does before visiting a royal customer’s house, and
the effort he puts in while sitting with his books, trying to make sense out of them- all form a very
delightful read. However, towards the end of the first part, the story drags, becomes repetitive,
and you wish the author would move on to unravel Lakhan Singh’s story, and also the mystery
behind the woman who drinks. You also become impatient as the apparently-unimportant characters
such as Tina Kapoor and Bhimsen Seth are pointlessly discussed extensively. It was a well-crafted
book, it began and ended well, the chapters flew seamlessly into each other. There was a good streak of
humour running through it. It received favourable reviews in the press… goes the description given by
the author about one of her characters, Rina Kapoor’s book. Coincidentally, this could be the
perfect account of the first part of the novel, that too, in the author’s own words.
When we first meet Ramchand, a clerk in an Amritsar sari shop, he is late for work. Ramchand is
habitually late for work. In fact, he is not terribly happy, longing instead for the life he would
have had if his parents hadn’t been killed in an accident when he was an child. One of the most
affecting sections describes his childhood. His father took him on his lap, saying he would send
him to an English school so Ramchand could have a better life than he. But the uncle who took him
in after his parents’ death also took him out of school and claimed his father’s shop for his own.
Thus, Ramchand is not even a shopkeeper, but a clerk in someone else’s. So Ramchand decides to
teach himself English; his bumbling attempts are both funny and sad. At the same time, an
opportunity for advancement presents itself when a wealthy family comes to the sari shop to
outfit the daughter for her wedding, and he is sent to their house. Ramchand starts to see his
world expand.
But it’s not quite so easy to escape the confines of poverty and lack of education–and this tale,
while funny, is also heartbreaking. Ultimately, Ramchand is confronted with the choice of existence
or principles. I thought Bajwa did a good job caricaturing upper class Indian families. She even
pokes gentle fun at her own class–and maybe even herself–in the character of Rina, the rich,
affianced daughter who publishes a book on a sari shop clerk. For me, this sly insertion redeemed
the subject matter because it’s too easy–too hip — to write about the victim, especially when the
writer is clearly not one. All in all, The Sari Shop wasn’t as powerful as some other Indian lit out
there, but it was very readable.
The first thing you notice about this book – especially if you have not read The Sari Shop – is the
cover. It is absolutely beautiful, with different pictures put together in an apparently random
pattern, but which come together brilliantly. The cover I have tucked here doesn’t do justice, so I
am also inserting the link to the full cover jacket. Set partly in the small, buzzing town of Amritsar
and partly in New Delhi, this is the story of Rani, a young Indian woman who enjoys her work in
a local beauty parlour, loves telling bedtime stories to her little nephew, and is blissfully in love
with Shah Rukh Khan, the movie star. However, her naturally happy disposition is marred by the
real world. Her lower middle-class family lives in a state of constant struggle – to make ends meet,
to hang on to their dreams, to keep their fragile lives from collapsing. However, as their financial
troubles escalate, so do Rani’s sister-in-law’s taunts, brother’s frustration and father’s resignation.
Rani’s stories dry up. And her solitary journey of love and loss begins. Random events happen
that affect each of them, changing their lives forever, and Rani finds herself in Delhi, in a sudden
head-on collision with a world completely alien to her. She finds an unlikely ally in her employer,
Sadhna, a stalled novelist, who has been unable to function in a savage literary marketplace.
The plot in itself is exceedingly simple. Rani is your girl-next-door in every middle class family.

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