BOOK – REVIEW
LOWLAND - BY JHUMPA LAHIRI
Bengali
literature is full of emotion, sentiments, rich ; very rich and therefore one
expected Jhumpa Lahiri's book 'Lowland' to be reflection of the Bengaliness ;
but it is different . It is cold, clinical, detached, aloof, distant,
indifferent and yet arresting and interesting in its own way. Whatever
sentiments, emotions, the characters feel is conveyed through their actions.
They do not say much, as one expects them to. There are five principal
characters in the story. Subhash and Udyan - the two brothers, Gauri- Udyan's
wife, Bela- Gauri's daughter and Bijoli- mother of Subhash and Udyan.
It
is essentially a story of two brothers and their wife- Gauri ! The story is set
in the fifties and traverses to the next century . The two brothers of middle
class origin have a natural childhood bonding but at college stage embark on
different paths as Udyan takes admission at the famous Presidency college and
Subhash at the Jadavpur University. Soon Udyan is engulfed in the Naxalite
movement and Subhash on the path to research and study in the US . Whilst Subhash is in the US Udyan falls in love with Gauri his friend's
sister and a student of philosophy, he sends her photo to Subhash and after a brief courtship marries
Gauri. The parents accept the bride reluctantly, it is a cold and workable
relationship at home. At the US Subhash most of the time is on his own immersed in his area of
research.
Suddenly
there is shock ; Udyan is killed by the police in a fake encounter; his wife
witnesses his killing from a distance; helpless. Subhash returns home, Gauri is
pregnant with Udyan's child and from the attitude of his mother they are not
very keen to keep Gauri with them after the child's birth. A sense of
responsibility compels Subhash to marry Gauri and take her away to the US. Then
a ‘churning’ takes place and affects all the players! All are put to test .
Is
it guilt? Is it responsibility? which directs the actions of the characters
need to be explored and interpreted. The story returns to Kolkata when Subhash
and Bela visit their parent and grandparent respectively. Gauri never forgives
Kolkata it seems , but does visit the city at a very distant future, as it was
there her husband was killed or she shares some responsibility of having
participated tacitly in the Naxalite activities in support of Udyan? The tragic
death of Udyan shatters the parents too who cannot come to terms with the
tragedy ;never let the wounds heal too for they had seen their son being
searched and then captured and then heard the gunshot. There was no police
complaint registered, no accountability? They were probably subconsciously very
hurt with the system and their son too! The main characters remain an enigma. So
‘monk’ like they have been created .There is this strong sense of 'sacrifice'
and 'self-denial' for worldly pleasures and society in them. Is it out of
idealism? Is it out of strong sensibilities? One wonders! What ails these characters is not known. It
can only be conjectured. In today's materialistic world people may wonder as to
what is the fuss about?
The
Naxalite movement is not much debated in the story but looms large on the
setting, characters, specially Udyan's ,Gauri's and Subhash's who are victims
of it, also the parents .The daughter Bela born in America is an outdoor person
like Udyan. In her commitment to the cause of farmers; is she reliving his dreams
in another country; another setting. Idealistic and very independent she is! They
do find, to the relief of the reader some solace in the dying chapters of the
book. There is some satisfaction , but it is 'too late -too little'. As I have
said earlier Subhash, Gauri, their daughter Bela, and their mother Bijoli are
like ascetics/ renunciates caused by the death of Udyan. Subhash leads a studies and sedate life at Rhodes island
with his daughter and then later largely alone. The stay in US it seems barely
changes his outlook, he could have settled in any academic atmosphere . In the
story the 'geography' of the characters is more associated with 'distance',
'farness', 'aloofness'. Gauri emerges as the most complex and seemingly
ungrateful one. She abandons her physical identity soon on reaching the US by
cutting her hair short and switching to slacks from sari! Her sudden action is
very uncharacteristic! She pursues her studies in philosophy and acquires a PHD
and later rises to be an imminent Professor.
There
is this dominant sadness in the story as after
many years of emotional toil and detachment the principal characters find
balance and peace. For they have stayed restless and withdrawn all their life.
Sadness is on account of the time lapsed. The prime of their youth is lost in
brooding and only when they are past their fertile and productive years they
settle to some scale of satisfaction in their separated lives. Subhash evolves as someone so pure and unreal. Gauri;
despite her defects and oddities is likeable for her self sacrifice. Bela is
admirable for being committed to social cause, for her idealism and for being
an unlike American. One cannot stop thinking of the writer; though she carries
a Bengali surname ; how unbengali is Jhumpa Lahiri! She too seems to be part of
the characters she portrays! Distant yet captivating. She seems to know
Bengal/Kolkata as an astute observer and yet not mingles with it. There is
hardly Bengali in her expression, her setting , her characters, her treatment.
By the time one completes the novel one is convinced that the writer too is
discovering herself with her characters. It seems very difficult to separate
her from the plot or the book. She has created such unique and strange
characters that the reader is struck by the approach and personality of the
writer too..
There is much symbolism in the book. The
'lowland', 'the two ponds'. One brother seeking Presidency college for
education while the other goes to Jadhavpur- indicating divergent paths! One
brother taking ‘left’ ideology and the other ‘right’ to US for education and
occupation. Silence , isolation, desolation is dominant in the atmosphere
created – of all the places in US, Subhash takes admission in Rhodes island a
secluded studying center! Some of the symbolism is evident- when Gauri is
leaving for the Airport on her way to US suddenly the clouds appear indicating
her anxiety, it slows down her journey but soon the clouds clear- she overcomes
her fears! Also when she is being driven home from the airport in her maiden
journey by Subhash she wants to turn to left, but Subhash steers to right! The
death of Kanu Sanyal is also perhaps death of her left idealism and adopting US
life or coming to terms with it late in life!
This book is serious reading ,
not a routine one, I had not read any of her work prior to
this, had seen the movie ‘Namesake’ and had liked it. Such a work arrives, occasionally . Strongly
recommended.
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