Hello and welcome to the Discourse. Amitav Ghosh is a renowned Indian author known for his works of fiction and non-fiction that often explore themes of history, migration, identity, and the environment. Born on July 11, 1956, in Kolkata, India, Ghosh has gained international acclaim for his richly detailed narratives and profound storytelling. He won the 54th Jnanpith award in 2018, India's highest literary honor. Some of his most important works include The Glass Palace (2008), a historical novel that spans several generations and countries, focusing on the impact of colonialism in Burma, India, and Malaysia; The Ibis Trilogy, a series of historical novels set in the 19th century, which include Sea of Poppies (2008), River of Smoke (2011), and Flood of Fire (2015). The series explores the opium trade between India and China and its far-reaching consequences. The Great Derangement: Climate Change and the Unthinkable (2016) is a non-fiction work examining literature and history's role in understanding climate change.
The Shadow Lines (1988) is one of the most successful novels by Amitav Ghosh that delves into the complexities of memory, history, and the partition of India. The novel is set against significant historical events, including the Partition of India in 1947 and the communal riots in Calcutta and Dhaka in the 1960s. The story is narrated by an unnamed protagonist who reflects on his childhood and family history, particularly focusing on his cousin Tridib and their shared experiences. The narrative moves fluidly between different periods and locations, including Calcutta, London, and Dhaka, weaving together personal and collective histories. Ghosh's writing is characterized by its intricate structure and rich, evocative prose. The narrative shifts between different periods and perspectives, creating a mosaic of interconnected stories. This non-linear approach mirrors the fragmented nature of memory and history. The Shadow Lines has been widely acclaimed for its literary merit and depth of insight. It won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1989 and has been praised for its nuanced portrayal of historical events and their impact on individual lives.
Characters of The Shadow Lines:
The protagonist is an unnamed narrator, a young boy born and raised in Calcutta. He narrates the events of his early life, leaping back and forth in time. He adores his uncle, Tridib, and enjoys his stories about history and foreign places. His journey to understand the past, particularly the death of Tridib, drives much of the narrative. Tridib is the narrator’s uncle. He is a sensitive and worldly person. He is a dreamer and storyteller who profoundly shapes the narrator's worldview. As a child, he lived in London with the Price family while his father received medical care. He develops romantic feelings for May Price as they engage in an exchange of letters. Tridib's death during the 1964 communal riots in Dhaka becomes a pivotal event in the novel, symbolizing the fragility of human connections across borders. May Price is a family friend of Tridib and the narrator. She is a professional oboist with a British orchestra. She develops a close epistolary friendship with Tridib and eventually finds herself falling in love with him. She represents the intersection of cultures and the complexities of cross-cultural relationships. Her relationship with Tridib is both tender and tragic, reflecting the novel's themes of love and loss. Th'amma is the narrator's grandmother. Originally born in Dhaka, she becomes the headmistress of an all-girls school in Calcutta and moves there earlier in her life. She is respected within the community and by the narrator's family and is portrayed as patient and strong-willed. Her experiences during the Partition and her deep attachment to her ancestral home in Dhaka highlight the themes of displacement and belonging. She embodies the struggles of a generation caught between tradition and the upheavals of history. Ila is the narrator's cousin. The narrator is romantically interested in her from a young age and frequently feels hurt by her flippant treatment of him. When he inadvertently reveals his feelings, she expresses sympathy. She shows an inclination to be dishonest at times, fabricating stories that make her life seem more glamorous. She comes from a wealthier background than the narrator and, seemingly as a result, treats Indian places with casual boredom. Later in life, she shows a strong preference for Western culture, as she believes India is stifling her freedom. She marries Nick Price and stays with him even after he cheats on her with multiple women. Nick Price is the younger brother of May and a friend of the narrator's family, Nick is a somewhat enigmatic figure. He marries Ila, who treats him with reverence throughout the book. The narrator expresses jealousy and frustration towards him. It is later revealed that he is engaging in multiple affairs, though the marriage still continues. Mayadebi is Tridib's mother and Th'amma's sister. She is described as decisive and strong. Shaheb is Tridib's father. He is characterized as being thoroughly Europeanized in a way that the narrator's grandmother finds distasteful. She repeatedly describes him as useless. Jethamoshai is Th'amma's uncle. She describes his efforts to care for her family in her youth. She travels to Dhaka to "rescue" him, only to cause his death at the hands of a violent mob. Robi is Tridib's younger brother. He is a more practical and grounded character compared to Tridib.
Summary of The Shadow Lines:
The story is divided into two parts. The first part is titled ‘Going Away’ and it begins in London in the early 1980s. The unnamed narrator recounts a series of stories and memories to his cousin Ila and his uncle Robi. The stories and memories belong to the narrator; his uncle Tridib; and his grandmother, Tha'mma. He describes Tridib's various habits, including his somewhat distant manner with other people and frequent visits to a tea stand in Gole Park. He informs that in 1902, Tha’mma’s father and her uncle Jethamosai alienated and began practicing their feudal duties (Jamindari) separately in Dhaka, British India. The two split their huge house and farm in two parts and raised a wall between them. The two families stopped talking to each other. Tha’mma’s younger sister Mayadebi got married to Saheb who was the son of Justice Chandrashekhar Chaudhuri, a friend of Mayadebi’s father. After their marriages, Tha’mma and Mayadebi lost all contacts with Jethamoshai’s family. Tha’mma becomes a reputed teacher and she actively takes part in processions against the British India government. The narrator’s father was still a child during that period. Saheb becomes a wealthy diplomat of British India. In 1939, he falls ill and it is advised that he must go to London for better medical treatment. When Mrs. Price, the daughter of Lionel Treswason, a British friend of Tha’mma’s and Saheb’s fathers, came to know about Saheb’s illness, she invited him to her home in London. Tridib was nine years old when he accompanied Saheb and Mayadebi to London while his elder brother Jatin stayed in Dhaka. Tridib comes close to Snipe, Mrs. Price’s husband, and he was hugely inspired by Alan Treswason, Mrs. Price’s brother. In 1940, during World War II, a bomb hit killing Alan and his friends. After that, Saheb and his family return to Dhaka. After Partition in 1947, Tha’mma’s and Mayadebi’s family moved to Calcutta.
In India, Mayadebi gives birth to her third child, Robi, while Tha’mma’s son also marries and his wife gives birth to their son, the narrator. Jatin also marries and becomes the father of a daughter named Ila. Mrs. Price, whose daughter May was an infant when Tridib was in London, has a son named Nick. Ila's parents are wealthy, and she spends her childhood traveling around the world for her father's work. The narrator, on the other hand, never gets far outside of Calcutta. Instead, he spends his time listening to Tridib tell stories about London and other faraway lands. Tridib teaches the narrator to use his imagination and explains that the world in one's imagination can be just as real as the outside world. Meanwhile, Jatin moves to London with his family where he lives with the Price Family. Ila gets enamored with Nick, son of Mrs. Price. They often visit India and Tha’mma is not happy as she finds that Ila is too much westernized. She wears western clothes, smokes and drinks alcohol. In 1959, May Price begins writing letters to Tridib and they develop a romantic relationship. Meanwhile, Ila develops a relationship with Nick whom she loves. The narrator describes a time when Ila, Robi, and the narrator were all back in Calcutta from their respective colleges, and Ila came to visit, wearing blue jeans and asking to go out to a club. Robi is hesitant, but Ila calls him a hypocrite, as he drinks when he is at school. They go to a club with music and a burlesque show. Robi wants to leave and Ila tries to dance with some businessmen, but Robi violently intervenes. Upset and angry, Ila screams at the narrator and Robi, saying she is only free when she is not in Calcutta. The narrator informed Tha’mma about the incident and she got very upset and never spoke to Ila again. The day before she dies, she sends a seething letter to his school saying that he should be expelled for visiting brothels. He finds her letter particularly disturbing as he did in fact go to those places, and had no idea how she knew. Since his childhood, the narrator fantasizes about Ila. After graduation, the narrator visits Mrs. Price’s house in London. Ila flippantly comments that life means very little outside of London and Europe at large, which angers the narrator. They have dinner at the Prices' home and May reveals that Nick lost his job because he was accused of embezzlement. The narrator and Ila go upstairs to sleep and he inadvertently reveals his feelings for her. She expresses sympathy, but prefers Nick over him.
The second part is titled ‘Coming Home’.
Tha’mma retires as a respected head teacher of her institute and struggles against the boredom of retirement. After settling in Calcutta, she never visited Dhaka, her birthplace, again. Now she begins missing her childhood memories. She informs the narrator about her childhood and their huge house in Dhaka and how their family split apart. One day while taking a walk, she meets an elderly man who informs her that her uncle Jethamosai is still alive in Dhaka. The narrator’s father feels nervous and uncomfortable when Tha’mma expresses her strong will to visit Dhaka and rescue her uncle. Meanwhile, Tridib continues his pen friendship with May. In a letter, he recounts how he saw a couple having sex in a home with a hole in it. She is upset by the letter but also feels overcome with emotion for him.
During the same time, Saheb gets a promotion and is transferred to the Indian embassy in Dhaka. When the narrator’s father informs Thamma about this, she decides to go to Dhaka with Saheb and Mayadebi. In London, Ila decides to marry Nick and the narrator feels heartbroken. During their wedding, Tridib drinks alcohol and under its effect he tries sexual advances on May who resists. The next morning, Tridib apologizes and May forgives him. After a few years, the narrator meets Ila at a concert at St Martin's-in-the-Field. Ila is too disturbed and begins crying. The narrator tries to comfort her and asks what happened. Ila informs that Nick has been cheating on her and he has many extramarital affairs. However, she insists that she will continue the marriage because she truly loves him.
Tha’mma prepares to leave for Dhaka with Tridib, Roni, and their parents. The narrator informs that it was the last time he saw Tridib. He then recounts his memories of riots. One day, when he was at school, he heard gunshots and a roar of the mob. In Dhaka, Tha’mma notices that everything has changed. Their old huge house is dilapidated now and has been turned into a bike mechanic shop. When she inquires about Jethamoshai, she comes to know that he is still living. A mechanic named Saiffudin takes her, Tridib, and May to Jethamoshai’s current address. Tha’mma is shocked after seeing Jethamoshai and her cousin in such poor condition. Jethamoshai is too old and cannot remember anything. He fails to recognize Tha’mma. Tha’mma asks her cousin to come with her and live a better life. While her cousin is willing, Jethamoshai refuses to go with them. Somehow they trick him to get into their car. Soon they leave his home, but at the same time, a riot breaks out and they encounter a violent mob standing by a fire. During their struggle against the mob, Tridib gets murdered.
The narrator recounts the violent riots in Dhaka and Calcutta during that period and how both the governments of the two nations tried to ignore the suffering of common people. He informs how the death of Tridib affected the whole family. Once Ila took the narrator and Roni to a faux Indian restaurant in London, and the owner asked them about Dhaka. Robi storms out when the owner starts praising a certain neighborhood, as it is where his brother Tridib was murdered. Outside the restaurant, he then tells the narrator and Ila that he has a recurring nightmare about the scene. One night when the narrator was having dinner with May, he asked her about Tridib’s death. She informed that when they were trying to take Tha’mma’s uncle to Saheb’s house, they were trapped by the violent mob. The mob asked them to leave Jethamoshai and they wished to kill him. Tha’mma intervened and tried to protect him. Tridib stepped in to save Tha’mma and was killed in the process.
So this is it for today. We will continue to discuss the history of Indian English literature. Please stay connected with the Discourse. Thanks and Regards.
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