Fasting,Feasting

By reading this novel I have made another conscious effort on understanding and appreciating the Indian authors…and it has paid off…Indian authors have a very desi feeling to the whole storyline which makes it easy to relate to…but then there is a distinct disadvantage to it as well…the outsider who reads this book may find it difficult to comprehend the situations, dilemma’s and the undercurrent….also there is a conscious effort on showing the negatives more than the positive…

Coming to the novel, the first thing that attracted me to this novel, was the title…unusual but apt…the novel was a shortlist for the booker prize 1999 and it was worth the nomination… It is a study of Indian culture at length…vice versa the culture abroad...

The main characters in the novel are:

The Parents

Uma

Aruna

Arun

Patton’s Family

Talking about the parents first…they are the typical parents you would find in India… working dad who has only two desires…one is for a son which gets fulfilled thankfully and the other is earn enough dowry for the respective son in laws…he wants to fulfil his dreams through his only son which is again a common habit with many dad’s… mom is a housewife working her way out with limited income & endless household chores…she just experiences two emotions…. burden of two daughters and pride of getting a son!....

The parents would definitely remind many of us of similar set up at home…the usual bickering of mom’s about what to do and what not to do, endless moments where we feel that the world should come to an end….and even sometimes wishing “to hell with mom and dad”….I need my life!!!

The central character of the novel is no doubts Uma …the eldest one…she is clumsy and has no major achievements to her credit except that she took care of his small brother and failed her school exams regularly…the black sheep of the family on which nobody has any hopes…but the character does evoke sympathy…the life which she leads