Page 108 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes it is an option because of their economic privilege. Kamla has no such options. When the lives of
Ramchand, Kamla, Rina, and Chander intersect in a shocking climax, lives change forever.
The stunning ending is melodramatic, and Ramchand’s change of character may not be completely
realistic, but the story moves effectively from its quiet character study at the beginning into a
compelling story of characters whose lives overlap, often unwittingly. Sometimes darkly humorous,
the story has considerable charm because Ramchand himself inspires empathy. Intimate and
thoughtful in its depiction of the various social strata which make up the community, the novel is
more understated—less sensational and less political—than some of the more panoramic epics
which have come from India in the past decade. Mary Whipple.
There are, apparently, an endless supply of narratives portraying the class inequalities in
contemporary Indian life. Few of them have made it into the hands of western english readers. It
is a treat that this one has overcome the narrowness of western ethnocentricity to give us an
insight into the world of modern Indian culture. Rupa Bajwa opens the window for us to see the
world she was born and raised in. While not biographical, it is still first hand. We see a world of
rich, deep culture. But a culture, to the western mindset, of indescribable inequality without
recourse to true justice. We witness a society at the crossroads of modernity and inescapable
prejudice. It is not, at its core, a sad or tragic story. Neither is it a story inciting change to the
established order. But it is an insight into the complex nature of the Indian psyche that must be
unraveled and attempts made to resolve it before this nation can join the club of first world
nations. This is Bajwa’s first novel. Her newness is obvious, even to the unskilled. But that is not
a criticism per se. Her imagination, vulnerability, and even her weaknesses are cause to want to
read on to the end. It is because she is not yet refined that the reader extends her grace and
continues on to learn what she has to say and see where her characters go. I applaud this first
effort and hope she will give us further enrichment into her world and opportunity to watch her
mature into a major force in literature.
Self-assessment
1. Fill in the blanks:
(i) ............... lost his parents, who he adored and looked up to, in an accident when he was
very young.
(ii) The Sari Shop revolves around Ramchand a ............... person at a sari shop in the old area
of Amritsar.
(iii) Rina Kapoor was a literate whose family hires the shop to provide saris for her upcoming
............... .
12.3 Summary

• 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.

102 LOVELY PROFESSIONAL UNIVERSITY