Samadust’s Weblog

My heart was full with love for you
I was so lucky, that is true
But love has gone, time flew away
Togetherness became so grey
The music in me I had for us
Ran into a complete fuss
It stopped playing for you, my dear
Another man came and everything was clear
I no longer was the girl behind her man
He opened my cage, kept me up in the palm of his hand
It was my pleasure being his treasure
Your world was black, you wanted me back

Now, I’m sitting here alone
I made a mistake
Before I would have never known
I will drown in heartache

“It is like talking with-servants. I do not talk with servants.” (p.133 ll.22/23)

This quotation from the Nawab after he had a talk with Major Minnies about some business affairs shows that he is very upset about the British attitude towards him as a prince. He compares Major Minnies with servants who weren’t that smart at this time and as an Indian ruler not really worth it to talk with. The fact that he says this in the presence of two British people, Olivia and Harry, is important so he can demonstrate them that he is still in the position to judge about people and with his abasement he shows that he is superiour. After this, the Nawab makes a kind of staging about himself because he says continuouisly that he is a victim of the British who have hurt his heart (p.134 ll. 12-14). The Nawab even attacks Olivia and Harry verbally by alleging them that they don’t like him and impose him as well so he generalises them with all the Britain. So, he assures that both of them are by his side and this was the sense of his reaction.

The extract of the novel “Heat&Dust” which takes place in the 1970’s shows that the narrator is torn between the adaption to Indian mentality and her own. The problem is, that she wants to help a dying beggar woman but she realises that she is the only one and that the others don’t want to have to do anything with it. The people around the place even didn’t notice the old woman lying on the ground. The narrator can’t believe this but after a while she sees why the Indians react this way. They are worried about any pollution and the epidemics which can be caused by those ill and dirty people. In this situation the narrator is shocked that somehow she thinks this woman isn’t worth it to be cared about that intensivly (she even goes to the hospital to ask for help), the woman is ‘dispensable’ (p.106 l.32). Normally, this isn’t her way of thinking about human beings but she can see that in a country and a society like India everyone is busy enough to get along with his own problems and his own will to survive. In one second the narrator even thinks that she became like the Indians, but Maji who helps her and the beggar woman shows that people can be different. She shows this by knowing the old woman’s name and telling her lifestory while she is dying. She really cares about her, but isn’t sad about her death which underlines that she knows about her fulfilled and good life so she doesn’t have to fear death. All in all, you can say that Maji helps the narrator not to become like the others and to support her good trades of personality which are rare in India so that she doesn’t really change at all.

Dearest Marcia,

you have no idea what had happened in the last weeks. Normally, I would have been happy about this, maybe the happiest woman on this earth. The fact that I could have a baby with Douglas, who would make our little family complete would have made me so thankful and delightful only one week ago. But instead of a dream coming true I can hardly realise what kind of nightmare I am going through. Yes, it is true, I am pregnant but the circumstances I am in should I explain a bit more precisely. As a matter of fact, I don’t know who the father of the child is. Of course, for my social position and my future life I hope Douglas is the father. But the other possibility has caught me and taken me fully in. One day, I was together with the Nawab and his appearance and his whole manliness have overwhelmed me, so I gave in to him and slept with him. It was a fault, but everything felt so right and still does. Both of them know I am pregnant and both are very happy about this. The Nawab didn’t doubt a minute that he is the father and I have to confess I don’t do as well. The last few weeks Douglas and I wanted to get a baby but nothing happened. My whole image of him has changed, because now I cannot see his power and manliness which have always casted their spell on me. Everything about him became boring and the Nawab can still offer me his whole world, his history, his company. He is so lovely and softly so the torn I was in became now the love to the Nawab. Douglas’ feelings and his emotions don’t catch me anymore, I am no longer touched in my soul and heart and this makes me so sad, because once I sweared he will be my lifelong lover and friend. But I cannot react after what is expected from, that I have to stay with my husband. My feelings tell that I must, yes I want to stay with the Nawab.

Confused and hoping for some advice,

Olivia

In her diary entry from 15 August the narrator discribes Chid’s arrival back home after his pilgrimage with Ritu and Inder Lal’s mother. His appearance and behaviour changed completely. He doesn’t look like an Indian ascetic anymore, but the narrator compares him with a “Christian boy” (p.129 l.21), so his religious conviction changed in a completely different direction. At first, this seems a bit strange, because he was on a pilgrimage which should lead the person to his spirituality and pure soul and this is of course connected with the Indian religion. In the time before, Chid didn’t really lived as an ascetic, but just pretended to be an ascetic or sadhu, so he could have noticed that his philosophy wasn’t true and just superficial. He learned that out of his desire of getting the spirituality he always heard of and maybe getting the sense of life he went into the wrong direction. On this pilgrimage, he probably realised that he even does not really believe in Indian religion and spirituality and even this way of life (he can’t stop complaining about Indian food). His behaviour has changed, too. In my opinion, this is because he thinks through everything he did, his disguise as an ascetic, him proclamating his philosophy and bothering the narrator. Maybe Chid is ashamed because he behaved this stupid, so now he wants to make good the damaged relationship to the narrator by not getting noticed by her.

I like the ’new’ Chid better because this is his true appearance and he doesn’t want to be anybody else. After his pilgrimage he discovered his real personality and wishes so he can start in a new life. What I also like is, that he doesn’t think that selfish anymore, so he doesn’t want to bother the narrator. Before that, he only thought about himself and his welfare.    

In my opinion, the situation on the pages 74 to 76 shows the relationship between the British colonial power and the former Indian ruler very well. These are represented by the Nawab and Douglas, who are confronted in this scene. As always, the Nawab is very kind (p.74 l.29-31) to keep his image of a generous, friendly prince. He mentions the defused situation in Khatm and says that everything is alright again. Douglas interprets this as a statement of superiority and immediatly shows the Nawab his incompentence of being a ruler and even that he is not one any longer by mentioning his casualty list which shows how many people got killed or wounded in that riot. The sentences “He and the Nawab were both standing. They were the same height and the same build. Olivia and Harry, seated on sofas, looked up at them.” (p. 75 ll. 3-5) show that the two of them are rivals and this rivality is in the focus of the plot. Further, it shows that Olivia and Harry are used to show each other their power and superiority. That is also obvious when the Nawab commands Harry to come with him and treats him like a child (p. 75 l. 16/p. 76 ll.16-21). Doing so, he can demonstrate his influence on British people and he even gets Olivia’s heart by pretending a kind of compassion and unselfish love towards Harry (p. 76 l.26). Also, the Nawab wins the imaginary battle about Harry’s decision to come with the Nawab or to stay with the Rivers (p.76 ll.11-16). On top of that, he demonstates his title of ruler by making the Rivers’ house as one of his and creating an atmosphere of possessing everything in his surrounding (p.75 ll.28/29). Never-the-less, he never forgets to be all kind and correct towards Douglas and Olivia. As a conclusion, the Nawab is more successful in his doings, so that he can win back the respect which he lost in the colonial state, but , what is very important he could not impress Douglas but show him that he is a strong rival and he could be a poke in the eye of the British government in India.

The extract from the novel “Heat and dust” by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala is about the different reactions to the riots at the Husband’s Wedding Day from the characters of the story in 1923.

The Husband’s Wedding Day is a holiday, which is celebrated in India and actually connected with some rituals. These rituals are open for many interpretations concerning the reason why they are done. But in the 1920’s, the holiday is used for many riots, which cause big troubles for the British governeurs, especially Major Minnies. He used to play the situation down by saying that everything is under British control, but in fact not really is. The Nawab, who is the Indian ruler in Major Minnies district (which is just a title and since India is a British colony no powerful position any more) is not interested in helping him because of religios reasons, so the British cannot prevent the riots and disturbance. Olivia, who is the main character is isolated from the chaos in Khatm and just gets information from the British people, who know about it from years before. At first, she talks to Mrs. Minnies and Mrs. Crawford. They tell her that she does not have to worry about the riots although they are even worse then the years before. Further, they discuss about the Nawab’s role. Olivia is convinced he would support the British to calm down the riots because she got to know his emancepated and western thinking, but the other two know that he is Mohammedian and not intersted in calming down. This uncertains Olivia, but basically makes her feeling more like a friend of the Nawab’s then ever, thinking she is the only one who really knows him. Later, Harry comes to visit her. He does not really want to tell her about the situation near the Palace and even avoids her questions about what is going on. He only tells her about some undetailed things like there are disgusting people coming and going in the Palace. At least, he says that the Nawab is strange, excited and unable to stand still in the moment, in an exhausted manner.

Women’s role in the 1920s:

http://www.exampleessays.com/viewpaper/8254.html

I think that the Nawab knows about Douglas’ dislike towards him ,but anyway, he doesn’t care and is as kind as always to him. In my opinion, this isn’t because the Nawab wants to ingratiate himself, but because he sees himself in the superior position. He often visits Olivia and even knows that she doesn’t tell Douglas, so he lies for her, when Douglas came home one day and the Nawab is still with Olivia. So, I think the Nawab doesn’t like Douglas as well, but pretends that, making kind of fun on him. And he sees the lie as a connection between himself and Olivia, that Douglas and her don’t have.

Explain the contradiction that can be found in Inder Lal’s mother worshipping at the suttee shrines.

The suttee is an old Indian ritual, on which the vivid wife of a dead man gets burnt with him at the stake. At the shrine, Inder Lal’s mother worships these women even though she didn’t have to die with her husband, because this ritual was outlawed a long time before. She’s happy about that, because she also has a filled up life as a widow. But maybe she wants to show her respect to the women, who did’t have the chance she had.