Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger : An Exposure of The ...researchlink.co/wp-content/uploads/issues/121/8-English-Literature.pdf · A study of The White Tiger may be helpful, ... The

Research Link - An International Journal - 121 Vol - XIII (2) April - 2014 77

Literature is the mirror of society.What is happeningin a society is reflected in the works of its art and literature.There have been a number of works in the field of IndianEnglish literature projecting Indian culture and traditions.Various famous Indian novelists such as M.R. Anand,Arundhati Roy, V.S. Naipaul etc have covered in their novelsthe picture of India shining in various ways. It is a pity that afew of them have given a place to the dark and gloomy side ofIndia. Aravind Adiga winning the prestigious Man BookerPrize for his debut novel, The White Tiger(2008) ,has attemptedto explore India with all its darkness i.e. Indian brutal nexus ofpolitics, and the loopholes in the government machinery. AsIndia has been suffering from the pangs of corruption in allthe spheres of society. It has become a burning issue whichadversely affects its economy. In 2012 India has ranked 94thout of 176 countries in' Transparency International's CorruptionPerceptions Index'. A study of The White Tiger may be helpful,to some extent, to root out the causes and the factors behindthis corruption in India. What is the real picture of Indianvillage schools ,how our govt. doctors work in rural places,what does election mean in India behind the curtain ,how ourpolice and judiciary work, all these questions have beenanswered truly in The White Tiger of Aravinda Adiga.

Aravind Adiga 's famous novel The White Tiger is anunflattering portrait of India as a society racked by corruption.The White Tiger is presented as an epistolary novel- a seriesof letters written over the period of seven nights to theChinese premier who is going to visit India in the comingweek after being very much impressed with India'seconomical growth and development. The plot of the novelrevolves round Balram Halwai alias Munna ,the son of arickshaw puller who becomes the owner of a famous companynamed The White Tiger by involving in crime and corruption.

Research Link - 121, Vol - XIII (2), April - 2014, Page No. 77-78RNI No. MPHIN-2002-7041, ISSN No.- 0973-1628

E nglish LiteratureAn International,Registered & ReferredMonthly Journal :

Aravind Adiga's The White Tiger : An Exposureof The Corruption in India

Through his letters Balram explores the burning issue ofcorruption and bureaucrats and entrepreneurs and somethingof the new India.

Educational institutes are the sacred places where thelesson that honesty is the best policy is taught to thestudents .Schools are supposed to be free from corruption.But what do we see in India's village school. There is mid-day meal scheme in government schools. Uniforms are alsoprovided free of cost to the poor students ,but the schoolteacher has stolen money allotted for the mid day meals ofthe children. Their uniforms are sold in neighboring villages.Balram Halwai says-

�If the Indian village is a paradise, then the school is a

paradise within a paradise. There was supposed to be freefood at my school a government program gave every boythree rotis, yellow daal, and pickles at lunch time. But wenever ever saw rotis or yellow daal,or pickles ,and everyoneknew why: the school teacher had stolen our lunch money.�

(The White Tiger,33)There is no duster in the classrooms, there are no chairs

the money for these articles has been digested by the schoolteacher. When asked by the inspector while inspectingMunna's school about children's uniforms and furniture inthe school the school teacher accepts his cheating and givesthe excuse to steal the money as he hadn't pay his salary insix months.

As the stories of rottenness and corruption are alwaysthe best story, India's government hospitals' condition isalso pathetic. They are meant for the poor people for theirtreatment but the fact is that they are meant for the doctorsto make money. The government doctors take their postingsin village hospitals only to get their salary .For this purposethey bribe the govt. Medical superintendent for considering

DR. ALKA SINGH

Professor (Department of English), Govt. P.G. College, Shivpuri (Madhya Pradesh)

The layers of corruption are opened from the very beginning of The White Tiger.Arivind Adiga represents India 's picture deeply rooted in the mess of corruption androttenness, dominated by entrepreneurs who use money to achieve their ends. The basicfactor responsible for this corruption is either poverty or the ambition to get power over theothers. The poor persons indulge in corruption to meet their needs while the entrepreneursand the politicians use money to achieve their ends. With no moral standards and valuesystem, a dismal and murky picture of India emerges. Hence I feel a study of the workslike The White Tiger will open the eyes of our common people who can see the height ofcorruption shadowing the society and politics of India.


their absence from hospital duty. They go for work in someprivate hospitals to earn more money. They maintain fakerecord of patients and medicines in government hospitals.When Munna's father starts vomiting blood due totuberculosis, Munna inquires about the doctor in agovernment hospital as there were no doctors during theduty hours, the ward boy after having bribe of ten rupees,informs him that a doctor may come in the evening. At lastMunna's father dies waiting for the treatment in thegovernment hospital. When Munna inquires an old Muslimman about the negligence of the doctors in the governmenthospital the Muslim man says-

The workings of Indian police are not free fromcorruption. They are not serious towards their duties. Theydeny to file FIR against the crimes. The irony is that theinnocents are tortured and terrified by them to withdraw fromfilling FIRs against the rich and the powerful. When a boy iskilled in an accident by Mohammad Asif, the company driverof Balram Halwai, Balram bribes the assistant policecommissioner to save him. The case is not filed due tocorruption, and the on the other hand the police commissionerthreats the brother of dead boy -

�See, at the time accident yours brother bicycle had no

working lights that is illegal ,you know�. (The White Tiger,309)Apart from the government educational institutions and

the government hospitals and police system ,Aravind Adigahas also commented on Indian politics and democracyengrossed in corruption. In India ,politics has become socorrupt that it makes a mockery of democracy. We have leadersand ministers engaged in different criminal cases but ourjudiciary has no courage to punish them the reason may bethe bribe offered to them. The leaders are depositing theirmoney in foreign banks in the form of black money. The leaderof the great socialist party has been described to be the bossof the darkness. He is a man wining election after election .

�you see, a total of ninety-three criminal cases- for

murders, rape, grand larceny, gun smuggling ,pimping, andmany other such minor offences- are pending against theGreat Socialist and his ministers at the present moment. Noteasy to get convictions when the judges are judging inDarkness ,yet three convictions have been delivered andthree of the ministers are currently in jail, but continue to beministers. The Great Socialist himself is said to have embezzledone billion rupees from the Darkness ,and transferred thatmoney into a bank account into a small ,beautiful country inEurope full of white people and black money�.

(The White Tiger,97-98)Here Aravind Adiga has a scathing attack on the politicians

and the ministers of India, hiding their money in Swiss bankaccounts. Adiga also mocks at the voting right of the poorsIndian citizens who's votes are sold by village headman to someparties. There is proxy voting also. Balram's father once has toldBalram how he has been deprived of voting -

�I've seen twelve elections-five general , five state, two

local and someone else has voted for me twelve times .Ihave heard that people in other India get to vote forthemselves- isn't that something?� ( The White Tiger,100)

In India fake birth- certificates are supplied to increasethe number of voters whose votes are sold. Balram writes -

� I had to be eighteen .All of us in the tea shop had to

be eighteen ,the legal age to vote. there was a election comingup, and the tea shop owner had already told us. He had soldour fingerprints the inky finger prints which the illiterateperson makes on the ballot paper to indicate his vote .I hadoverheard this from a customer ��.he had got a good

price for each one of us from the Great Socialist's party.�(The White Tiger,97)

Not only the leaders and politicians of India have beendepicted as having a corrupt character but also the commonclass of workers. The servants are not loyal to their mastersthey may murder them , rape them and rob them to get money.The driver class is also very corrupt. They earn extra moneyby stealing petrol from their masters' cars .They can alsocontact with some mechanics for making extra bills. Theysell drugs and provide prostitutes to their masters .BalramHalwai is no exception of it .He himself admits this fact

�I was corrupted from a sweet ,innocent village fool

into a citified fellow full of debauchery ,depravity ,andwickedness�. (The White Tiger,197)

Corruption breathes in Delhi. Mr. Ashok was aninnocent person but the life in Delhi corrupts him. He has tobribe a huge sum of money to achieve his ends. Once themaster of Honda City becomes corrupted how can the driverstay innocent. Balram's grandmother realizes this fact bywriting in her letter to him-

�The city has corrupted your soul and made you selfish,

vain-glorious, and evil.�(The White Tiger,212)

Thus we see that the layers of corruption are opened fromthe very beginning of The White Tiger. Arivind Adiga representsIndia 's picture deeply rooted in the mess of corruption androttenness, dominated by entrepreneurs who use money toachieve their ends. The basic factor responsible for thiscorruption is either poverty or the ambition to get power overthe others. The poor persons indulge in corruption to meet theirneeds while the entrepreneurs and the politicians use money toachieve their ends. With no moral standards and value system,a dismal and murky picture of India emerges. Hence I feel astudy of the works like The White Tiger will open the eyes ofour common people who can see the height of corruptionshadowing the society and politics of India. The list of scams inour country is too long to mention. Many scams such as theAdarsh Building Scam, the 2G Scam, the Fodder Scam, the TajCorridor Scandal, Cash for Vote Scandal ,and presently theAugusta Westland VVIP Helicopter Scam are notable. Someanti-corruption activists are pursuing to check these scandalsand corruption by starting a movement. Aravind Adiga ' purposein writing this novel is not to mock India but to examine it. In aninterview to Stuart Jeffries he says-

�It is not an attack on the country. It is about the greater

process of self-examination.�References :

(1) Adiga, Aravind. The White Tiger, New Delhi : HarperCollins Publishers India, 2009. (2) www.guardian.co.uk/books/2008/oct/16/booker-prize.




Introduction :Anita Desai is one of the most distinguished novelist

among the young set of Indo-Anglian writers. She is adominant figure in the twentieth century Indo-Anglian fiction.She has added a new dimension faced by an individual in theIndian urban setup, she gets interested in analysis andportrayal of human relationship. She is concerned with thedelineation of psychological reality and hence prefers suchcharacters who are peculiar and eccentric rather than generaland common place.

Anita Desai has a deep understanding of humanemotions. Her effort is to communicate to the world Indianwoman`s bitter experience. A woman`s inner self, her agonies,her desires and her pleasures are depicted in her fictionalworks. She mainly focused her attention on the inner psychicstate of her protagonists at the crucial juncture of their lives.She is one of the novelist whose preoccupation is with thewoman`s world. In Western or Indian literary tradition, thewomen are seen as launching themselves for their identity.She does not view her women as earners or career women,but as wives, daughters, and mothers and it is in these rolesthat they wish to experience freedom and fulfillment; and, tobecome aware of themselves as individuals and to beaccepted as equals. Anita Desai excels in writingpsychological novels. She plungs into innermost depths ofthe human psyche to fathom its mysteries, the inner turmoil,and the chaos inside the mind. Her imagination is horrifiedby the emptiness of modern life. She describes the emotionalworld of women and their sensibility as well as psychology.Desai examines with honesty the emotional world ofwomankind. Her women characters exhibit social reality from

psychological perspective. Throughout her novels, Desaifocuses on personal struggles and problems of contemporarylife that her Indian charcters must cope with. She portraysthe cultural and social changes that India has undergone asshe focuses on incredible power of family and society andthe relationship between family members, paying closeattention to the trials of women suppressed by Indiansociety. For her the external world of action is not as importantas internal world of emotions, feelings and psyche. Theoutside world gains significance only in relation to thecharacter perception of it. She tries, �to discover its

significance by plumbing the depths; then illuminating thosedepths till they become a more lucid, brilliant and explicablereflection of the visible world.�(1)Her chief concern is humanrelationship. Looking inward in her characters, she exploresthe intricate facts of human experience bearing upon thecentral experience of psychic tensions of characters. Desai`swomen are all reflective about their condition. Their protestis not for equality but for the right to be acknowledged asindividual-capable of intelligence and feeling. They do notlook freedom outside the house but within, without paintingtheir lives in various artificial shades of sentiments.

Desai`s Clear Light of Day(2) is a story of familyrelationship in urban Indian setup. The Das children-Bimla(Bim), Tara, Raja and Baba- though separated from each otherand emerging from a traumatic childhood show no sign ofpsychic disintegration of `Self `in a world that seems to befalling apart, where misunderstanding and separationprevails. This novel is four dimensional that oscillate betweenpresent, past and present again with futuristic perspectives.Desai, in fact parallels four parts of the novel with T. S. Eliot`s

Agony of Existence : A Motif in Anita Desai's Novel'Clear Light of Day'

SABRATTA MANZOOR* & DR. SEEME MEHMOOD**

*Research Scholar (Department of English), Barkatullah University, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)**Assistant Professor (Department of English), Excellence College, Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh)

Today`s women are trying to create an identity for themselves. They arebecoming more independent and have successful career. In competing with world,they are trying to maintain balance between their life and professional life. Desaideals with complexity of human relationship as one of her major theme, which is auniversal issue.


Four Quartets: where time is the destroyer and the preserver.(3)

The `Time` assumes a significant structural device in thenovel. Time is an important presence in the novel that decidesand teaches Das children how perspectives, affections,bonding keep changing. Das family children voyage fromyouth to age experiencing a gamut of emotional strainsinternally and paralleled on external front by nationwide eventof partition and its after effects. The partition is viewedthrough reminiscences of Bim: At present Bim has aged,partition was an event she saw at her youth. `Time` actsupon her reminiscence. She looks back at partition with asense of loss- personal /emotional loss and nation loss. Sheloses Raja and their intense sibling bonding. Reminiscingpast dulls these external details and only grief of loss inBim`s heart is poignant.

The novel deals with the partition of India andchildhood days of the main characters. It revolves roundtwo brothers and two sisters in a house in old Delhi. Whenthe novel opens in present, Bim and Tara meet after a longtime. Tara is married to Bakul, an IFS officer. They have arrivedin anticipation of the wedding of Raja`s daughter Moyna.Bim and Tara form the core of novel. Bim the elder sister, is aspinster teaching history in local college. Everything thathappens is reflected on this relationship. Though sisters,they are opposite to each other. Bim is �grey and heavy now

and not so unlike their mother in appearance.�(4)Tara, as achild was �languid little girl, listless, a dawdler.�(5)

Bim is the central figure in the novel Clear Light of Day.She is complex and three dimensional. She cannot be reducedto a type.(6) She is a round character because she changesand surprises us. She is a solid living human being with asignificance in real life. Hers is a perfectly individualized anddistinct figure.(7) Her ambition was to be emotionally andeconomically free. She never wanted to marry: �I think of

hundred things to do instead. I won`t marry, ---I shall earnmy own living---and look after Mira Masi and Baba and beindependent.�

The parents are conspious by their absence from thegrowing years of the children and when they die it is no lossto the children. Bim, Raja and Tara share unfulfilled childhoodand youth. When challenges and crisis come they reactdifferently to it. Tara marries Bakul and leaves Das householdto escape its ugliness. Raja also marries and leaves for hisricher in-laws house in Hyderabad. Marriage is viewed asescape route. Bim is left alone to care for her father`sinsurance business she does not understand, old widowMira Masi and autistic brother Baba. To keep the householdrunning she gets a job of a history teacher. Bim too couldhave married Dr. Biswas she realizes that marriage was notan escape route for her as she has to take care of herimpending family and financial demands despite marriagewith Dr. Biswas. So Bim decides not to marry but singleshoulder demands of family crises. However, Bim wants Rajato take care of their father`s business, But Raja shuns hisresponsibilities and leaves for his richer in-law`s house and

comforts. Bim alone is left to carry the family away from itsperturbed atmosphere. She assumes role of a surrogatemother to alcoholic Mira Masi and autistic Baba. She isdisappointed with her siblings for deserting and leaving heralone to tend and care for responsibilities. Bim is taken forgranted by Raja and Tara. Raja also betrays her by asking forrent. This wounds her self- respect. Therefore, Bim`s worldshrinks to her college and her home with her dependentbrother, and neurotic aunt and her pets. No one cares for heremotional needs. She is forced to no longer believe inrelationships. There is agony of existences and also identitycrises.

Desai brings forth two faces of womanhood: Tara andBim. Tara is the docile ambitionless devoted woman, wifeand mother; and Bim is an independent, confident, working,unmarried woman. Both were educated and equipped to facechallenges and responsibilities yet Tara marries to escapelife`s responsibilities. Bim remains unmarried to bravely facelife. Both react differently to the same crises. Bim is educated,financially independent but not empowered. She is exploitedby her siblings emotionally, mentally and physically.Conclusion :

Today`s women are trying to create an identity forthemselves. They are becoming more independent and havesuccessful career. In competing with world, they are tryingto maintain balance between their life and professional life.Desai deals with complexity of human relationship as one ofher major theme, which is a universal issue.

References :

(1) Desai, Anita, �Replies to the Questionnaire�, Kakatiya

Journal of English Studies, Vol.III, No.1, 1978, p-2.(2) Desai, Anita, �Clear Light of Day�, New Delhi: Random

house Publishers India, Pvt.Ltd. 2012.(3) Desai, Anita, �Tremendous changes, Interview by Sunil

Sethi, India Today (Dec. 1-5, 1980), p-142.(4) Desai, Anita, op.cit. 2012, p-2.(5) Ibid. p-15.(6) Singh, R.A., �Anita Desai`s Clear Light of Day: A critical

Study�, Prakash Book Depot, Bareilly, 1996, p-26.

(7) Tripathi, J.P., �The Mind and Art of Anita Desai�, Prakash

Book Depot., Bareilly, 1986, p-108.


Marxism is a broad intellectual movement and it isimpossible to define it in a single term. But it takes its originin the writing of Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels. In theireconomic and cultural theories they enunciate that the wholehistory of human beings is the class struggle to control overthe means of production. It is the economy which regulatesthe whole society, they call it the 'base' upon which thesuperstructures (ethics, laws, morality, philosophy, religion,education, politics, art) are constructed. However, Karl Marxand Friedrich Engels did not give any proper theory to defineliterature in the economic terms. Both of them have liberalviews about the autonomy of art; and relate literature toeconomic forces only in the last instance. But the laterMarxist, like Lenin, advocates that literature should be thereflection of the party interest, literature has no specialautonomy to define in its own rights. But the modern Marxistthinkers, like, Louis Althusser, Antonio Gramsci, TerryEagleton, Fredric Jameson, have such more flexible viewabout the organization of society, they do not see it on thebasis of base and superstructure rather they give emphasisto ruling class ideology, hegemony and relative autonomywhich in diverse ways construct the society.

The present paper examines some of the basic tenetsof Marxist criticism, including the social class conflict, socialprivilege, dominancy of one class to another, aspiration oflower middle class family to raise above its standard, socialformation of the writer, spreading of the dominant ideologyby the ruling class, and above all to analyze the role ofeconomy in the formation of the society.

Gurcharan Das, son of an engineer, was brought up inmiddle class Indian family. He went to America as a schoolboy in the 1950s, later did his graduation in Philosophy fromHarward University, then joined business school and startedhis career in the commercial world and achieved high position,like C.E.O in many reputed companies.



�Marxist literary criticism maintains that a writer's social

class and its prevailing 'ideology' (outlook, values, tacitassumptions, half-realized allegiances, etc.) have a majorbearing on what is written by a member of that class� (Barry

152). Gurcharan Das's outlook as a writer is largely based onhis western education and his job as a manager in thecommercial world. He is the representative of bourgeois world.In the Introduction to his collection of the plays, he shows therelationship between literature and bourgeois world as,�Modern literature and art is hostile to the bourgeois world,

although it is financed by uneasy bourgeois money� (Das 3).

Gurcharan Das writes the play '9 Jakhoo Hill' in histwenties. The setting of the play is in Shimla where the writeris familiar with its surrounding, as he himself acknowledges,�I had seen or heard talk of Rai Sahebs and Amritas throughout

my childhood� (Das 19). He sets the play during the Diwali of

1962 when the war between India and China are going on.Marxist criticism concern with the collective social

consciousness rather concentrates on individualconsciousness. Every character of the upper middle classfamily and member of bureaucratic family in the play indulgesin his own private world. They have no concern for socialwelfare, all the time they remain busy in drinking, laughingand talking. Rai Saheb, an I.C.S. officer, describes the verypurpose to live in Shimla in these lines:

RAI SAHEB : (Tempo increasing as he speaks.) Butwhat is there to do in Simla, my dear - except go to the Mallevery evening; find your friends eating ice cream at ScandalPoint; drag them to the Green Room for the latest gossip;rush to Rivoli for the new picture; plan picnics to Anandaleand Mashobra; and throng to the Sunday morning for bingoand beer. (Das 150)

In the play we find that there is constant struggle betweenthe social classes for one class to maintain the position as aprivileged class and for other to raise its position as a lower

Research Sholar (Deptt. of English & Foreign Languages), M.D. University, Rohtak (Haryana)

Gurcharan Das's 9 Jakhoo Hill : Marxist Study

ARUN KUMAR

The play has many features by which we can understand it through Marxistperspective. In the play '9 Jakhoo Hill', there are the class struggle, class privilege,aspiration of one class to move upward, separate private world of dominant class,perpetuation of the ideology by the ruling class, socio-historical background of the textwhich can be related to the social-class status of the author and the money mindedpeople. All these aspects of the play come under the Marxist study.


middle class to upper middle class. Amrita and her family belongto the upper middle class family and Chitra and Deepak belongthe lower middle class. Amrita's family suffers a heavy loss onthe business side, but as a member of upper middle classfamily, she continues practices the luxurious life style equal tothe aristocratic family, she wears costly sarees, attends latenight parties with the member of the same class, praises herfamily's past of great wealth. She is aware that they have notenough money, but she cannot help herself by imitating thelife style of bourgeois class, she is very conscious of her classstatus and wants to maintain the same standard of privilegebut all in vain. Everyone knows their current financial positionwhich declines rapidly after her husband death. They have tosell their factories, lands and even the sprawling housing inDelhi. Now, she finds herself in the hot water when she realizesthat their last property, a house in Shimla, once there summerresidence is going to sell sooner or later.

Chitra and Deepak belong to lower middle class family.She is very conscious about her status in the society. Shesuffers the feeling of being poor throughout her life. Herclass consciousness can be understood in the following lines:

CHITRA : Oh-ho, we always needs more money. There'snever enough Oh, tu kya janta hai, what it is like to grow uppoor. What do you know what it was like to be tenants ofthese people in Lahore? Kisi ke tukdon par palna, tu kyajaanta hai? After Partition, what do you know what it was liketo be a petty kiranawalla's wife in Ghatkopar? (Disgust in hervoice.) Ghatkopar! (Das 191)

So, her motive is cleared to everyone, i.e., to moveforward in her life and aspires for high position in society byany means fair or foul. In her journey of aspiration she breaksup her friendly relationship with Amrita's family, makes sexualrelationship with Rai Saheb for son's success and finallyfinds a rich daughter-in-law who is the niece of Rai Saheb.Deepak is also very ambitious about his career; he desiresfor high position in his company and wants to merge in thelife style of upper middle class family.

Marxist criticism relates the context of the work to itssocio-economic, historical and political condition of the time.�A Marxist critic typically undertakes to explain the literature

in any historical era, not as works created in accordance withtimeless artistic criteria, but as �products' of the economic

and ideology determinants specific to that era� (Abrams 160).

On the social level the play depicts the transition of thesociety, i.e., the rising of the new middle class. Historically,the play presents the condition of India in the 1960s. In theplay the war between India and China are going on, and thisleads to the political analysis of the work. Because of thewar, India has poor economic condition and we have noright strategy to cope with the economic crisis because ournation builds on the ideologist theory of Jawahar Lal Nehruwho believes more in ideas than in action. Karan Chand, acharacter in the play, is the symbolic representation of theworking of the Indian politics which only have ideas buthave no vision to exercise his ideas into action.

The most basic tenet of Marxist criticism, i.e., is the'economic base' which regulates the whole society. On thesurface level, the play dominates with many themes like thebetrayal of sexual love, dominancy of Indian mothers on

their sons, incestuous relationship, and the transition of thesociety. But the closer scrutiny reveals that every characterin the play is motivated by the 'economic base'. Deepak andAnsuya love passionately to each other but in their mindother passion dominate than love. For Deepak, it is the licensefor his company which is more important than his love forAnsuya. By getting license, he might be expected a highposition with good salary in his company. Even Ansuya lovesDeepak, but she wants money to save her house from selling.Their love represents the spiritual world but the world ofspirituality declines when it confronts with the material world.Material world is controlled by money instincts.

Chitra is the most money minded character in the play,who can reach to any extent in the acquisition of money. Shedesires that her son earns more and more money. To achieveher aim, she makes sexual relationship with Rai Saheb withthe intension of getting license for Deepak's company and inreturn the company bestows a high position and good salaryto Deepak. She is not satisfied with that and later finds RaiSaheb's niece as her daughter-in-law because she expectsgood dowry from Rai Saheb's family. The following linesfrom the play reveal her money mindedness:

CHITRA: Rai Saheb's niece! Look Deepak, you won'tfind another match like her, Beta beta, tande dimag se soch.My guess is the dowry is not going to be under two lakhs.And maybe they will also give a car, a fridge and an air-conditioner. Uff! Main to khushi se pagal ho rahi hoon! Idon't think I shall be able to sleep tonight, Deepak. (Das 192)

The house, '9 Jakhoo Hill' is a symbolic representationof maintaining hegemony and perpetuation of ideology bythe privileged section of the society. �Bourgeois ideology is

regarded as both producing and permeating the social andcultural institutions, beliefs, and practices of the present era-including religion, morality, philosophy, politics, and the legalsystem, as well as (although in a less direct way) literature andother arts� (Abrams 160). The house represents the world of

hypocrisy, artificial mannerism and living style of an uppermiddle class family. The house has an aristocratic flavor withits French window, furniture, drapes, upholstery, elegant roombig painting, chandeliers and boilers; all these are symbol ofperpetuation of the ideology that only bourgeois class shouldhave execs to all these materialist things.

The play has many features by which we can understandit through Marxist perspective. In the play '9 Jakhoo Hill', thereare the class struggle, class privilege, aspiration of one classto move upward, separate private world of dominant class,perpetuation of the ideology by the ruling class, socio-historical background of the text which can be related to thesocial-class status of the author and the money minded people.All these aspects of the play come under the Marxist study.

References :(1) Abrams, M.H. A Handbook of Literary Terms. New Delhi:

Cengage Learning, 2009. Print. (2) Barry, Peter. Beginning Theory:An Introduction to Literary and Cultural Theory, 3rd ed.Manchester: Manchester Uni. P., 2011. Print. (3) Das, Gurcharan.�Introduction.� Three English Plays. New Delhi: OUP, 2003. Print.

(4) ---. �9 Jakhoo Hill.� The English Plays. New Delhi: OUP,

2003. Print.


While addressing a large group of students atSymbiosis, Chetan Bhagat recently said;

�Don't just have career or academy goals. Set goals to

give you a balanced successful life. I use the word balancedbefore successful. Balanced means ensuring your health,relationship, mental peace are all in good order. There is nopoint of getting a promotion on the day of your breakup.There is no fun in driving a car if your back hurts. Shoppingis not enjoyable if your mind is full of tension.

It's OK, bunk a few classes, scoring low in couple ofpapers, goof up a few interviews, take leave from work, Enjoywith your friends, fall in love, little fights with your lovedones. We are people not programmed devices.�(1)

Chetan Bhagat is, perhaps, the most popular novelist,thinker and motivator of the early 21st Century in India.Moreover, he is also a popular face on T.V. aids, a sincereinterviewer and a thought provoking columnist. It is becauseof his multiple roles that he is very popular among the youthsat Pen Indian level. Simultaneously, his popularity is alsowide spread among the elderly men and women of UrbanIndia, too. Undoubtedly, his popularity among the educatedclass of India is chequered. In the quotation quoted above,he has given a very practical and useful tip to his targetaudience to look at life. He tells people a make life meaningfulby striking a rhythmic rapport between health andrelationship through mental peace. He wants us to lead abalanced and successful life and extorts us not to lead a lifefull of contradiction. He hints at making our strivingharmonious. Without harmony, according to him, life istantamount to death. This is why he suggests not take lifeseriously. On the contrary, he suggests us to enjoy life as itcomes to us. Thus, the ideologies of Chetan Bhagat havebeen well received specially by the Indian Youths today. Hisuse of simile and metaphor makes his English all the moreattractive. For example just one line of aforesaid quotationsis enough to grab the attention of any conscious reader andthat line is 'we are like a pre-paid card with limited validity'.This comparison is also very modern in overtone because'pre-paid cards with limited validity' are being used by modern



man for multifarious purposes. He also doesn't want thatyouths of India should waste the precious time of life afteruseless deeds. That is why he suggests the youths to keepthemselves usefully busy:

�Be so busy improving yourself that you have no time

to criticize others.�(2)

The second novel of Mr. Bhagat is aptly entitled OneNight @ the Call Centre because the events of the story takeplace in One night 'Call Centre' is a very modern town.Therefore, the title itself easily draws the attention of thereaders. Another word 'night' in the title again attracts thereaders because, at times, it symbolises the struggle anddarkness in human life. No doubt, the title truly reflects theendless struggle of the employees of the call centre. Now adays call centres are spread in every developed anddeveloping nations. In India, too, the call centres have notonly establish their identities but are also serving as jobproviding centres to the mediocre boys and girls of India inboth urban and rural surroundings. Definitely, the popularityof call centres in India has become a subject matter ofdiscussion in every nook and corner and if Chetan Bhagathas mode 'Call Centre' the subject matter of his novel, hedeserves to be uploaded. Throughout the night Shyam,Vroom, Radhika, Esha, Priyanka and Military Uncle are not inthe state of peace and harmony. Throughout the night, theystrive for betterment, satisfaction, contempt and settlement.They struggle hard and there is panic and chaos in the nighteverywhere. The night shift of their job also symbolizesbewilderment, restlessness and timelessness in their life.Fortunately, the novel ends with the arrival of the sparklingsun which symbolizes the beginning of new life for all the sixcharacters of the novel. Thus, the novel ends with an optimisticnote. Since the novel is all about the contemporary youthsof India its popularity has remained unchallenged. And, withthe popularity of the novel, the author automatically becomespopular. This way the popularity of Mr. Chetan Bhagat hasalso remained unchallenged.

Without giving much pause to his writing spree, ChetanBhagat came out with his third novel entitled with The Three

Chetan Bhagat : A Popular Voice of the BurgeoningIndian Youths

UMA KANT SINGH

Research Scholar (Department of English), V.K.S.University, Ara (Bihar)

Chetan Bhagat is a great motivator, a highly successful litterateur, a verysuccessful columnist and a high profile television presenter. Now- a- days, he ispresenting a popular programme on a popular television channel ABP News entitled7RCR that has been attracting the viewers on a larger scale.


Mistakes of My Life that proved to be a grand hatric. This isa novel that covers a real story of Mission, Obsession andSacrifice. The novel records the passionate ambition of threegrowing boys Govind, Ishaan and Omi, while the narrator isGovind himself. The three characters of this novel have threedifferent obsessions. Ishaan is obsessed about Cricket, Omiis concerned with religion because of his parent's attachmentto temples and Govind is extremely passionate about hisbusiness. Therefore, 'business', 'cricket' and 'religion' echothe thematic pattern of the novel. Interestingly, Bhagat'sapproach to these characters is objective and he does nottake the side of any of them in the novel. In the very beginningof the novel, the narrator Govind expresses his desire tocommit suicide by writing a sentimental letter to the authoritself but in course of time, there is change in his outlookbecause insidiously, he is man of strong conviction. As thestory grows he projects himself to be less emotional andmore practical in life. Somewhere, in the novel he says;

"As far as I can remember, I was never good withemotional stuff. I love maths, I love logic and those subjectshave no place for emotions. I think human beings waste toomuch time on emotions."(3)

Thus, Govind's statement about emotions is not onlypractical but also imitable. Ishaan, being a popular cricketer,proves to be a profitable partner for Govind. Omi alsobecomes Govind's partner in his business. The trio makes athumbing success in business with the help of Omi's mamaBittu who is the follower of Parekhjee, an ardent Hindu leaderof good and popularity. As the story of the novel developes,the characters come across many ups and downs. Thebusiness witnesses both success and failure and their livesget affected by communal factor, with the arrival of Muslimboy called Ali in the lives of the three friends. To add someelement of romanticism in the novel, Bhagat also adds afeminine character called Vidya. Love flourished betweenVidya and Govind with hurdles as usual but their love,triumphs at the end. The novel ends with a happy note.Govind gets Vidya, Govind and Ish become friends onceagain after temporary break-up and both do their best for Ali.Written against the backdrop of Ahmedabad, this novel hashighlighted some of the burning contemporary issues of ourcountry. One dialogue of Govind's mother in this novel isdidactic enough to be followed by one and all:

"Life will have many set backs. People close to you willhurt you. But you don't break it off. You don't hurt themmore. You try to heal it. It is a lesson not only you, but ourcountry needs to learn."(4)

Had Chetan Bhagat not been a popular writer, his novelwould not have been adopted into the fields. Very recently, avery bold film has been made on the story of his fourth novel'2 States' and to make the film more acceptable the producerand the director have adopted the same title for the film.Though, the songs of film have been released, yet the releaseof film itself is due. Very shortly, the film would also hit thebox offices across the country and the critics hope this filmto be a grand success because it depicts the conflict of twodifferent cultures of India itself. Moreover, the novel beingautobiographical is all to shake the psyche of the viewersand bring them to theatre in large number.

'Revolution 2020' is the latest novel by Chetan Bhagat whichhas invaded the book stands around the country and has againproved to be one of the best- selling novels to recent times. Thetitle of the novel bears a futuristic note because the author ishopeful that many of the dark shades of our society would cometo an end by the year 2020 because the present time is passingthrough multiple problems and many socio-economic-politicalevils. This novel directly attacks the various types of corruptionexisting in our society at national level. The writer devotes himselfin spreading his messages of social responsibilities towardssociety and nation in straight way. He is not shy to express hisfeelings and emotions towards any issue related to society ornation. Through this novel, he has poured out his idea of makingthe country free from corruption. He is not shy to lambast shrewdpoliticians who are always busy in playing with the fate of thenation. He thinks that these politicians often risk the nations forthe sake of their own personal benefits.

Revolution 2020 is a well plotted novel that deals withstory of three childhood friends. Hear, Chetan Bhagat hastried to dive deep into the emotions and passions of Gopal,Raghav and Arati. His attempt is not futile. He is successfulin handling their relationships and has shown maturity andobjectivity in the presentation. Like Salman Rushdie, Bhagat'stalent specially lies in his mode of candid remarks on variousissues related to society. The author, quite intelligently linkssocial issues with esoteric characters resulting in multiplebenefits. This novel deals with the themes of love, corruptionand ambition associated with Gopal, Arati and Raghav.Bhagat's unique style of presentation makes him the mostwidely read writer in India. The great Indian musician of thepresent time, Mr. A. R. Rahman rightly comments on ChetanBhagat's manners of articulation. He says;

"Many writers are successful at expressing what's intheir hearts or articulating a particular point of view. ChetanBhagat's books do both and more."(5)

This novel also deals with the multiple problems in thefield of education. Education, in modern times, has becomemore and more materialistic. It has nothing to do with themoral or intellectual or spiritual upliftment of students. Onthe contrary, Mr. Bhagat believes, modern education is allabout hardships, mental shocks and emotional breakdownof the students. The novel contains the satire on privatecoaching centre's and other such institutions. The authorunderstands that the modern education makes the studentsmachine and not the human beings, the result is inevitable.There is no respect of cultural values any more. The roles ofparents and teachers have minimized.

This way, it can be concluded that Chetan Bhagat is agreat motivator, a highly successful litterateur, a verysuccessful columnist and a high profile television presenter.Now- a- days, he is presenting a popular programme on apopular television channel ABP News entitled 7RCR thathas been attracting the viewers on a larger scale.References :

(1) Chetan Bhagat at Symbiosis; Chetan Bhagat Quotes/LifeQuotes on Wikipedia. (2) http://life-quotes.in, Life Quotes onWikipedia. (3) Chetan Bhagat; The Three Mistakes of My Life, NewDelhi: Rupa, 2008, p. 8. (4) Ibid. p. 255. (5) A.R. Rahman, TimeMagazine.


Introduction :Aurobindo and modernism?, seems impossible, but it

is reality. When the image of Aurobindo comes in our mind,the face of a saint and philosopher appears automatically.But it is true that this great saint in the form of Sri Aurobindowas also a great lover of modernity. Apart from being a Rishi,Yogi, Poet and Philosopher, he was also a man of love andliterature. Although, it is true that Sri Aurobindo was a Rishiand Philosopher yet along with this, he was also a great lovepoet. The glimpse of modernity obviously is quite visible inhis poetry. He was never out of touch with modern life orcontemporary life, and with modern trends in arts, literatureand science. His Savitri is replete with modernity andmodernism. It has love theme. Although, Savitri is an epic ofsuperb kind, yet it is not untouched modern elements. Savitrihas closed affinities with the mode of the Vedas and theUpnishads. Savitri is certainly is concerned with ancientHindu legends. The theme of this great epic has beenobtained from Mahabharata. In this way, Aurobindo's Savitrihas a depiction of modernity. It has love, literature andscience of contemporary life. M.K. Nayak says �Savitri is

not just another imitative and stale exercise in the westernepic mode; it is an utterly unconventional, highly originaland deeply philosophical Hindu epic in which Sri Aurobindohas mattered the rhythm-beats of eternity.�(1)

Subjectivity and Inwardness:- Savitri is full ofsubjectivity and inwardness which is the prominent featureof contemporary literature. It has the study of the humanpsyche from beginning to end. This increased interest in thehuman psyche is to be seen in the works of a number ofnovelists like Jems Joyce, Virginia Woolf and many others,and of poet's like Carpenter, Eliot, Stephen Spender, R.N.Tagore and many others. Following the researches of Freudand his followers, increased subjectivity has become thehallmark of twentieth century literature. According to modern



psychology, there are layers within layers of consciousness,that beneath the conscious, there is the sub-conscious andeven the unconscious. The sub-conscious and theunconscious self-determine the actions of a man more thanhis conscious-self.

Vision of Devine Life : In Savitri, we find vision ofDivine life. Savitri has been portrayed in dual form; as anordinary lady and Divine power who fights even with Deathfor the sake of her husband Satyavan. In this respect, sheseems to be like P.B. Shelley, a poet of England who, in hispoem 'Death Be Not Proud', challenges to Death by sayingthat Death is not powerful. Sri Aurobindo's awareness isfully reflected both in the form and content of Savitri,Aurobindo's wants to convey his own vision of life or cosmos,he wants to convey some special aspect of human nature ofindividuality, he wants to interpret to us the flocks which hesees or notices around him, he wants to convey his subjectiveperception of human life. A greater subjectivity implies thepredominance of the thought element. The poet observesthe life around him and the whole field of human experience,reacts to it intellectually and so his writing contributes to abetter understanding of life and its many problems in Savitri,it happens just exactly where we form idea of life, and areaware of a far greater life-spirit at work behind the forms andphenomena of external nature. One of the basic trends inmodern poetry is a sense of a greater spirit, the divine, atwork both in man and in nature, and this sense or vision, toois reflected at every step in Sri Aurobindo's Savitri. Such avision of divine life at work behind the shows of things,results not merely from intellectual apprehension, but fromwhat Sri Aurobindo said �Over-had inspiration�(2)

Sri Aurobindo is intensely conscious of this overheadinspiration, this intuition, this seeing mind, which is the sourceof the highest creations, and it is this overhead inspirationwhich imparts beauty and grandeur to Savitri also. We get

Depiction of Modernism in Aurobindo's Savitri

DR. KAPIL SHRIVASTAVA

Lecturer (Department of English), Maa Pitambra Peeth College, Lahar (Madhya Pradesh)

In this research paper, I have tried to focus on modernity in Aurobindo's Savitri, agreat epic in Indian writing in English. Although Aurobindo's name is associated withphilosophy and spirituality in which modernism is rarely keeps a place. Aurobindo's Savitriis an exceptional issue because in this epic modernism is found from beginning to end.Aurobindo was deeply concerned with modern and contemporary life, with modern trendsin arts and literature and science.


clarity, beauty and simplicity instead obscurity andunintelligibility of most mystical poetry.

Modern Search for Novelty : In the earlier days, poetrywas not taken as the high literary device. But in the modernage, poetry has made for herself a very high and prestigiousplace. The function of poetry have been advanced in themodern age which is a great age of experimentation, and ahost of varied theories regarding the nature and function ofit. A world-wide quest for novelty is going on. As SriAurobindo wrote in 'The Future of Poetry' Everywhere, thereis a seeking after some new thing, a discontent with theforms, ideas and powers of the past, a spirit of innovation, adesire to get at deeper powers of language, rhythm, andform, because a subtler and vaster life is in birth. There aredeeper and more significant things to be said then have yetbeen spoken and poetry, the highest essence of speech,must find a fitting voice for them. The human intelligenceseems on the verge of an attempt to rise through theintellectual into an intuitive mentality.

Higher Lever of Consciousness : We find, in Savitri, ahigher level of consciousness. Savitri is a pious, faithful(Pativirta lady). She is always ready to take risk for the sakeof her husband about whom she knows very well that hewould die after a year. She does not lose her courage andmakes her best to fight with the challenges. In spite of denialof her father, she marries with Satyavan. Aurobindo signs ofsuch a change in the deeper and higher psychological andspiritual strains visible in the field of poetic expression, healso sees the signs of such a change in the modernist efforts.The Aurobindo's idea has made again its appearance. Thisnew poetic departure will not necessarily be the old, ordinary,outer, physical, emotional and mental life of man, but willcontain, even when it deals with these fields, the deeper andthe higher strains from the regions of the intuitive theinspirational, the revelatory and the spiritual consciousness.The modernist is attracted by the abnormal in the lowerregions of human consciousness by a kind of fallssubjectivism. But, the highest strains of his expression, thereal fulfillment of his efforts would be attained when he wouldcontact the higher levels of human consciousness which areattainable, and which, in a way, are inevitable in the courseof his upwards evolution.

Psycho-Spiritual Poetry : In the poetry of Tagore anda number of poets of the west such enlargement and sublimityis to be seen. Their poetry which is psycho-spiritual in toneis irradiated by the light of soul. This radiation is also presentin Savitri which lifts the readers at once into the lofty andsublime regions of the spiritual. It provides the norm for allpoetry of the future, and hence arise its contemporaryrelevance. Aurobindo has successfully completely is taskwhich other major modern poets are still trying to do.Aurobindo has shown the path which poets of the futuremust follow.

The Double Strands : The intensely felt urge of thehuman soul for ascent to the divine is another trend noticeable

in modern poetry. A.B. Purani says that the aspiration of thehuman soul for ascent to the Divine which found a powerfulexpression in one of the inspired utterances of Whitman andfinds intermittent expression is several modernist poets isseen in the poetry K.D. Sethna in the new form where thehuman soul supplicates the Divine to come down on earth.This double strand we find in Savitri- The ascent of thehuman soul to the Divine, and the descent of the divine onearth and a promise of transformation of earth-nature in aharmonious, integral and organic expression, and it seems tosum up in a grand orchestral music all the strands that extendfar into the future of poetic creation.

Imagery From Contemporary Life : Aurobindo'sawareness of contemporary life and the recent developmentsin science and technology is reflected in the imagery anddiction of his epic. This modernism has become an organicpart of his creative faculty, so much so that, a reader of Savitri,if he wants to enter into its deepest spirit and its rich overtones and suggestive auras, should have his mind fully aliveand alert to all the progressive movements of the presentday humanity. He will find that the poet not only brings inthe �sperm and gene� and �plasm and gas� but he also takes

images and figures from all over the world and from everyfield of cultural activity to serve his purpose even the SecondWorld War. M.K. Nayak writes �The poem (Savitri) abounds

in abstract, Latinized, Keatsian double adjectives andtypically romantic imagery.�(3)

Conclusion :With its multifarious activities, the whole life of man, in

the modern age is brought within the scope of the epic. Thelines of the future evolution of earthly life have also beenindicated in this epic which is an epic of universal range ofdimension. Nothing has been left out as unimportant. Eventhe ultra-modern elements have been brought in. the epic,Savitri, requires prompt readers a wide range of acquaintancewith the latest advances in almost every branch of humanculture. M.K. Nayak says �Savitri' is thus a major epic but

not a perfect poem. It is however, an audience attempt topour God's wine which is perpetually new-into the age-oldepic bottle, transforming the receptacles itself in the process.With all its limitations and they are many- it remains a landmarkin Indian English poetry. The first major poetic voice in theannals of Indian English verse, Sri Aurobindo is a poet ofvaried achievement in lyric, narrative and epic modes.�(4)

References :

(1) Nayak M.K.: A History of Indian English Literature:Sahitya Acadmey: New Delhi 2006, P- 55.

(2) J.Ronald Warwick: Indian Literature in English: A Checklist, Landon: Common Wealth Institute, 1981.

(3) Nayak M.K.: A History of Indian English Literature:Sahitya Acadmey: New Delhi 2006, P- 56.

(4) Ibid- P-58.


Introduction :Writing about expatriate writing, Jasbir Jain observes,

�Expatriate writing occupies a significant position between

cultures and countries. It generates theory and definespositions as it constructs a new identity which negotiatesboundaries and confines and relates to different temporaland spatial metaphors. Cultures travel, take root or getdislocated and individuals internalize nostalgia or experienceamnesia.�(Jain: 11) In the recent times with the growing

importance of multicultural discourse the expatriate writerswhile performing their roles, succinctly described above, areoccupying the center stage of Indian writing in English andtheir giving expression to immigrant experience has assumedsignificance. As a diaspora writer much of Divakaruni's workdeals with the immigrant experience ��encompassing a wide

variety of themes�� and showing ��the experiences and

struggles involved in women trying to find their ownidentities.� (Shukla: 102) Her works are largely set in India

and U.S.A. and often focus on the experiences of SouthAsian immigrants. In One Amazing Thing the walls dividingcharacters and cultures seem to collapse as the novelprogresses. Divakaruni, it seems basically writes to unitepeople and cultures, to destroy myths and stereotypes, andto dissolve boundaries between people of differentbackgrounds, communities, cultures, and even worlds.Discussion, Development and Analysis :

Natural disasters are life threatening events. The sheer



magnitude of the destruction and devastation they bring innot only destroy, shatter and traumatize people's materialand emotional lives but also sometimes fire the imaginationof sensitive ones. Divakaruni informs in one of her talk showsthat the novel One Amazing Thing (2010) took roots whenshe saw the devastation caused by a major hurricane that hitAmerica in recent times. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te6JGD5XwhU) The novel is in a way a disastertext in the sense that its story takes place in the backgroundof massive earthquake that hits a certain American city wherea visa office of Indian Consulate is also located. In thebasement of the Indian visa office nine people are trappedbattling between life and death. In darkness and chaos, debrisand disappointment hours pass but no help arrives. Thenine trapped people hopelessly hope for the rescuers or forthe impending death, getting impatient, irrational and violentin the process. A saner among them comes up with an idea oftelling a tale from each one's life as a sensible and rationalway to pass time and make sense out of their uncertain lives.The lives of nine people are thus revealed as also themulticultural nature of the text. Multiculturalism aims ��to

create socio-cultural harmony, mutual tolerance and respectamong different cultures. It not only recognizes the fact ofcultural diversity but also hold that such differences shouldbe respected and publically affirmed. It is a process ofappreciating cultural diversity and enabling the visibleminorities to attain equality and social justice.�(Chaskar: 7)

Dealing with Disaster : Reading Divakaruni's OneAmazing Thing as a Multicultural Text

DARBARSING D. GIRASE* & DR. S. P. PATIL**

*Assistant Professor (Department of English), G. T. Patil Arts, Com. & Sci. College, Nandurbar (Maharashtra)**Principal, S.E.S.'s Smt. H.R. Patel Arts Mahila College, Shirpur, Dist. Dhule (Maharashtra)

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni has emerged as one of the acclaimed writers inthe field of Indian Writing in English. Her novel One Amazing Thing (2010) deals withlives of nine people trapped in the visa office at an Indian Consulate after a massiveearthquake hits a certain American city. It is a multicultural text in the sense that thecharacters in it display multiple cultural affiliations, White American, African American,Hindu Indian, Muslim Indian American, Chinese Indian American etc. It is also a textof natural disaster in the sense that it shows how disaster-affected people under stressand tension react to their situation. The present paper aims to analyze and understandthrough the study of Divakaruni's One Amazing Thing if there is any connection betweenan individual's cultural background and his or her response to disaster. If yes, how andto what effect. Keywords : Divakaruni, diaspora, disaster, multiculturalism.


In its final effect, the novel shows the slow development ofmutual understanding and affinity among the nine trappedpeople belonging to variety of cultural backgrounds thatagain proves its multicultural credentials.

The fact that the nine trapped people come from differentcultural backgrounds lends the novel its multicultural appealand ethos. Among the nine people there are Indian visaofficials like Mangalam and Malathi, Chinese IndianAmericans like Jiang and Lily, Indian American Muslim youthangry with the new America, Tariq, American daughter ofIndian parents and a university student, Uma, AfricanAmerican ex-soldier, Cameron, and an elderly white Americancouple Mr. and Mrs. Pritchett. So there are Hindus, Muslims,Christians, Chinese Christians among them. There are whites,a black and what could be called as brown and yellow amongthem lending the novel an air of multi-racial, multi-religious,multi-cultural, multi-lingual look and feel.

All these people respond to the disaster in their ownways. Their individual response to the disaster is as muchabout their individual disposition as their culturalbackground. Cameron, an ex-American soldier is cool,methodical, analytical, rational and calculated in his response.He is practical, systematic and scientific in dealing with thedisaster at hand. His response to disaster is rooted in hislarger American way of life and is typical of the Americanism.Mangalam prefers to follow Cameron. His following andaccepting the leadership of Cameron can have two reasons.One, his belief in Cameron's better ability in handling theemergency situation and the other, is perhaps a subtle andunconscious instinct to follow an American accustomed ashe is to their better efficiency and intelligence, a typical faithin or submission before American supremacy. An Indian itseems is culturally conditioned to accept that his/her formerwestern colonial master as somehow better, having superiorintelligence. This view is endorsed from within the novel asTariq is seen hating Mangalam for being spineless andsubmissive. �Fool, he [Tariq] thought, glaring at Mangalam.

The man was typical of the worst kind of Indian. Let aforeigner appear, even a dark-skinned one, and immediatelythey bowed and scraped in front of him.� (Divakaruni: 33)

Tariq's plain logic that, �This is an Indian office. If anyone is

to give orders, it should be the visa officer� (Divakaruni: 32)

cuts no ice with Mangalam who finds it safer to let Camerontake the lead. Mangalam says, �Mr. Cameron Grant here has

been in United States Army�He knows better than I do

what precautions must be taken. I vote that we follow hisstrategy and offer him every cooperation.� (Divakaruni: 33)

Tariq's response is rooted in his cultural background whichcan be interpreted in two ways. First, whether his fiercelyindependent and rebellious spirit has something to do withhis religious affiliation. But the second and more immediatecause of his hatred of Cameron is his hatred of America. Heis the victim of harassment at the hands of Americanauthorities post 9/11 even if he is not remotely involved withthe perpetrators of that horrible act. Being an ex-soldier

Cameron handles the situation well enough. He informs theothers about the precautions to be taken to avoid furthercasualties. But Tariq is simply averse to the idea of followingan American, i.e. Cameron. He hates America's meddling withother people's lives everywhere in the world and he cannotlet that happen here too. He has already suffered a lot onaccount of America's high-handedness in his personal lifeand he cannot let that happen again. He, therefore, cannotdigest the idea of accepting the leadership and following theorders of American Cameron.

Malathi, Mangalam's colleague, responds to thedisaster which is typical of her traditional, religious andimpoverished Hindu-Indian upbringing. She believes thatshe has been punished for her past sins and misconductby God in the form of earthquake. She has been dallyingwith a married man Mangalam for some time, a terrible sinas per her cultural background and upbringing. Therefore,when earthquake hits she is horrified at the enormity ofher own sin and flinging herself at Mangalam, pummelinghis chest, cries out in Tamil �It's our fault! It's our fault!

We made this happen!� (Divakaruni: 19) Mangalam on

the other hand, ��no matter how resolutely he pushed

Malathi's accusations away as superstition, the wispskept coming back, weakening him� (Divakaruni: 19)

because basically he too comes from the same culturalbackground as Malathi. He is further disheartened to knowthat the shaking of the earth during earthquake had led tobreaking of ��the sandalwood Ganapathi that his mother

had given himto remove all obstacles from your pathwhenhe had left home for college.� (Divakaruni: 19) Human

being have to suffer retribution for their wrongdoings atthe hands of divinity is the Hindu cultural belief he toohas been brought up with, affecting his ability to dealwith the disaster.

Uma being a young, enlightened university studentadopts a sane and rational way of dealing with disaster athand. It was Uma who first came to know that in the basementof the building they were trapped in, the water was sippingin from somewhere filling the room that would lead to theirdrowning and suffocation in due course of time. In the dark,when she shared that information with Mr. Pritchett, whilethe others were having their brief, trustful rest after so manylong, restless hours, he was terribly frightened and angry forhiding the information from others. But Uma firmly asks himnot to panic and spread panic as there is nothing they coulddo about it and �The truth in her words pulled him down like

gravity� (Divakaruni: 44) making him see sense and feel

responsible. It is also Uma who comes with the idea of tellingothers one amazing thing from each one's life to avoid Lordof the Flies-like situation (Divakaruni: 64) as hunger,exhaustion, cold, chaos was taking its toll on the nine trappedpeople's nerves. To Uma's great relief the wise old Jiang,Lily's grandmother, volunteers to be the first to tell her story.(Divakaruni: 66) Uma's idea to focus on ��something

compelling� (Divakaruni: 65) ultimately works. It helps them


all not only to better understand each other but also to realize��how powerful stories could be.� (Divakaruni: 65)

Mr. and Mrs. Pritchett, besides other things, representthat aspect of American cultural life where the pleasure-seeking, self-centered smugness dominates other concerns.As a safety precaution Cameron had warned against smokingthat might cause fire had there been some leaked gas pipelinearound damaged by earthquake. Mr. Pritchett cooperates inobserving safety precautions in the face of disaster only aslong as he could curb his craving for cigarette. Howeverwhen that becomes difficult he is ready to endanger other'slives throwing on winds the safety precautions to satisfy hiscraving for cigarette. Hiding himself in the bathroom Mr.Pritchett, ��took out a cigarette and placed it between his

lips�He could already taste the smoke� (Divakaruni: 124),

least bothered about the consequences of his act.Conclusion :

The above analysis shows that response to disaster,even if all are equally affected, need not necessarily beidentical. Just as individual disposition of the person has itsrole in the way a particular person deals with the disaster,equally important is the person's cultural background, hispast, his beliefs, his prejudices, his attitudes rooted in thatbackground that determine his response to disaster. Thecharacters are seen antagonistic to each other in thebeginning not willing to accept and adjust with their culturaland other differences, looking at each other with suspicionand disbelief but as they talk and communicate, the wallsdividing them seem to collapse leading to their enhancedunderstanding of each other and chances of survival, betteracceptance of mutual differences and understanding of whatit means to be human, and realizing in the process the essentialspirit of multiculturalism.

References :

(1) Divakaruni, Chitra Banerjee. One Amazing Thing. NewDelhi. Hamish Hamilton by Penguin Books India. 2010.

(2) Jain, Jasbir (Ed.). Writers of the Indian Diaspora. Jaipur:Rawat Publication. 1998.

(3) Chaskar, Ashok. Multiculturalism in Indian Fiction inEnglish. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers & Distributers Pvt. Ltd.2010.

(4) Shukla, Bhaskar, A. Indian English Literature, Jaipur:Mark Publishers. 2010.

(5) www.en.wikipedia.com(6) www.chitradivakaruni.com(7) www.sawnet.org(8) www.globetrotter.berkley.edu(9) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=te6JGD5XwhU. 08.40

pm. Feb.02, 2014.

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