Page 112 - DENG503_INDIAN_WRITINGS_IN_LITERATURE

Indian Writings in Literature

Notes Amritsar for his education, but his uncle selected a more economical curriculum. Ramchand spent
summers with his grandmother. At age 15, Ramchand was withdrawn from school and received
a school leaving certificate. Ramchand did not leave school with the knowledge of English he had
hoped to achieve. He observed later that no one had ever asked to see his certificate showing he
completed eighth grade. His work would not require much reading, writing and figuring.
The astonishing thing is that Ramchand’s family expected him to support himself fully and to live
independently from age 15 on—and he did without any further contact from his family apparently.
The action of The Sari Shop opens when Ramchand is 26 and he has been living and working in
the same place since he was 15. Through his work at the Sari Shop, Ramchand becomes acquainted
with the absolute wealthiest famlies in town and even arranges a quick and dirty invitation to the
wedding of one of Amritsar’s wealthiest daughters. There is a lot of description of the different
kinds of saris available at the shop. They are divided by fabric, by design—by type of border, by
type of skirt; there are saris and salwar kameezs, and each garmet can have a head piece called by
various names such as pallu or chunni. The colors are vividly described e.g. “bottle green.”
Ramchand learns from his friends at the Sari House, particularly Chander, that one of the wealthiest
families in Amritsar withheld temporarily, then permanenetly, three months of regular wages
from a significant number of workers. Ramchand tries talking calmly to the factory owner and is
firmly told that the profit margins don’t allow the wages to be paid. Ramchand also learns that
Chander’s wife is the victim of “persuasion” outside the law for demanding her husband’s wages.
She is drunk, arrested, raped, then sexually assaulted by the police using a lathi or night stick. In
a different incident, Chander’s wife Kamla threw a sharp object at another of the rich family
heads, Ravinder Kapoor. This time the reaction was catastrophic. Kapoor —no doubt off the
record—hired goons to break all of Kamla’s bones, parade her naked through the slum
neighborhood, and burn down her slum house with Kamla inside. This systematic destruction of
Kamla’s life creates a moral crisis for Ramchand. The families responsible are the same ones who
buy the most expensive saris. The other shop boys do not see the overall implications. Ramchand
stays home two weeks without authorization trying to figure out what to do. The book has a lot
of comical elements that ride on the gossip of the ladies from the different families as they browse
the saris. There is real color in the book as the descriptions of the fabrics jump off the page.
For me one of the most charming threads in the story is Ramchand’s desire to learn English. Bajwa
really makes it clear how lack of context makes it so hard to span the words, when one word can
have so many meanings. Ramchand needs the “tuition” that the rich boys are getting. He also
deserves it. Yet Ramchand is making real progress. I rarely give just two stars. The setting and
details of life in India is very descriptive and visual. I enjoyed that. The story itself pulled me
along but I was disappointed in the end. Some of the events seemed inevitable. The book jacket
calls it a “satire.” I just don’t “get” it as such. Perhaps I’d have to have grown up in India.
Here is my biggest problem with the book (besides plot), there are endless references to specific
things in India that are not commonly known by an American. These words are not italicized, nor
is there a glossary. One could assume some general meanings. I found this disconcerting to the
flow of the book. It is written in English, I presume, as there is no translator. However, when I
want to read with a red pen in my hand, it is not a good sign. This could have been much tighter.
If you love India, well, I still can’t recommend it. There are so many beautifully written books
about it. I’d say, pass. As I will pass along this copy to a friend who is so called to return to India,
that I suspect she will overlook all of the picky details I have mentioned.
Rupa Bajwa makes her debut with a haunting story set in Amritsar. It is a quintessential Indian
story, but one that diverges from the usual existential woe stories of the Indian middle class.
This one goes a bit lower, in terms of the protagonist - a sari shop assistant, and through his eyes
paints a miniature picture of ‘the other india’. In spite of a troubled childhood, he lives an

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