Page 106 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes forty desserts set out on the table or his surprise when he sees all the women customers and the
sarees from the shop on them. The laugh aloud moments are, when I took in the spiteful chatter
of the ladies on a saree buying spree or observe Ramachand's sensual day dreams revolving
around Sudha, the young wife of his landlord or see him ticking off his shop manager in a
perfectly structured droll English or view his attempts to combat his smelly feet with lemon juice.
It is laughter mixed with pathos, when I glimpsed Rina interviewing Ramachand to exploit his
naïve, comical appeal in her debut novel, while Ramachand imagines himself as suave with Rina.
Is it not utter duplicity of the world where law exists for the rich while the poor timidly accept
injustice? The brutal rape of Kamala, the involvement of the rich Guptas, the apathy of the educated,
articulate and empowered Mrs Sachadeva, the police who pocket the bribe and punish the victim,
the anguish of Ramachand who is just a bystander, left a lasting impression on me. Ramachand's
new found perception, battles to bring some order into the skewered justice system in the society.
His sanity rightfully takes a beating, withdraws into insanity with the intensity of its demoralization
and returns to the present deceitful world to maintain its status quo. I honestly salute Ramachand's
efforts, even though brief, to challenge the social hierarchical system of rich and poor.
Ramachand's attempts to imbue his life with some imagination and beauty by buying English
books and trying to educate himself is very moving. At that particular moment, I recalled the
mania of the Indians for the English language and their use of it as a benchmark to judge a
person's knowledge and place in community. I believe, the novel is very perceptive in giving a
social commentary of the society which reflects the existentialist torment of every human creature.
At the same time, there is a fine balance between reality and expectation, as the incongruities of
life is deftly woven into the story,
I found the novel darkly humorous as it effortlessly drew me into the lives of the characters as
they go about their business of living. I feel, without our volition we can empathize with Kamala
or Ramachand or sneer at the hollowness of Rina or Mrs Sachadeva. It may not possible for us to
break out of our boundaries or change the world around us but sometimes it is necessary to just
try and understand ourselves and our life. The novel definitely does that. Kudos to Bajwa for her
sensitive effort...
Geetha Kariappa is a research scholar with her area of interest being "Feminist Criticism." She is
actively involved in the field of Education and Soft skills as a teacher and a trainer. She loves
reading fiction, short stories and books on travel. She has written literary articles for many literary
journals.
12.2 Plot of the Sari Shop

Bajwa dramatically illustrates the class gap in contemporary India in her debut novel, focusing on
the fortunes of Ramchand, a lowly, disaffected clerk in a popular sari shop. The novel opens with
Ramchand happily going about his duties serving the shop’s mostly upper-class clients. Opportunity
for advancement comes from an unlikely source when he attracts the attention of the beautiful,
literate Rina Kapoor, whose family hires the shop to provide saris for her upcoming wedding.
Inspired by his foray into a wider world (“there were cars and flowerpots and frosted glass trays
with peacocks on them”), Ramchand embarks on a half-baked self-improvement effort that includes
a reading program and some unintentionally comic attempts to learn English. Shortly afterwards,
though, Ramchand sees the other side of Indian life when the wife of one of his co-workers, a
woman named Kamla, descends into public drunkenness. Ramchand is a tenderly drawn character,
reminiscent of Naipaul’s innocent strivers, and the rest of the cast is vividly sketched. There are
several typical first-novel flaws: the narrative is slow in the first half, and Bajwa’s transitions
between her character-driven subplots are occasionally uneven and erratic. But Bajwa’s loving
attention to detail—Ramchand washing his feet with lemon juice before he visits the Kapoors, the
malicious chatter of the sari-shopping ladies—paints a compelling, acerbic picture of urban India.

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