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Unit 10: Rupa Bajwa: Sari Shop—Detailed Study of the Text

Essence of Amritsar Notes
The Sari Shop is not autobiographical as most first books tend to be. However it does capture the
essence of Amritsar with all its gossip, its alleys, its busy bazaars, its dhabas (eateries), mannerisms
and its petty rivalries among the rich and bored women. "Bits of yourself always creep in, sometimes
without you being aware of it," she says.
The book is about the underprivileged class but Bajwa has broken away from the usual practice of
Indian writers who tend to focus on their sorry circumstances, their financial problems and their
oppression by the rich. She has instead made her story revolve around the anxieties of Ramchand,
a lowly shop assistant at Sevak Sari House in Amritsar.
Ramchand was not born poor. His parents are killed in an accident and he is brought up by his uncle.
As soon as he is old enough to fend for himself his uncle finds him a job as a shop assistant where he
is condemned to a life of ennui and drudgery and far from the education he craves so much.
But all this changes suddenly when he is dispatched to the rich, English-speaking Kapoor household
to deliver saris and fabrics for the daughter's trousseau. Seeing them converse in English,
Ramchand's passion gets re-kindled and he buys himself a second-hand grammar book, an Oxford
Dictionary, a fresh pair of socks and a bar of Lifebuoy soap. These four things, he is convinced,
will give him the kind of life he has wanted since childhood.
The plot for the book was developed from Bajwa's short story she wrote a few years ago. "The idea
and the character stayed with me and I kept working on the story to make it a longer narrative,"
she says.
The Orange Prize selects fictional work of women writers across the world. "I wouldn't want to
make any sweeping generalizations here. Of course your gender affects your perspective and your
experience to a certain extent, but beyond that, when it comes to the nitty-gritty of writing, I think
all writers - men or women - eventually have to struggle through the same things."
Reading has been Bajwa's passion since childhood but Amritsar doesn't have many good book
shops and she had to get them from Delhi or Chandigarh. She has a big list of her favourite
writers. As she says, "It is a pleasure to know that you can always read a good book - at least that
is one thing you can count on in an otherwise uncertain world."
And sure enough those who have read The Sari Shop agree with her statement.

10.1 Brief Introduction to the Text

Sari Shop is about many things, but for the main character, Ramchand, it is about the development
of character itself, particularly about putting one's morals into practice under morally impossible
circumstances. Ramchand is born into a Hindu family of shop owners.
His mother is an observant Hindu who takes him to temple weekly, but he is too young to absorb
any special identity or spirituality that can be called Hindu. As an adult, Ramchand proves to be
especially
empathetic toward a Sikh couple who have lost two barely adult sons in an Indira Ghandi assault
on the Golden Temple of Amritsar (Operation Blue Star, 1983), trying to give solace to them in
their own home.
Ramchand's parents enrolled him into English medium school at age 6, but that same year, both
parents were killed in a catastrophic bus accident. Ramchand was sent to a distant uncle in
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.

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