The Caste System in India - Book Report/Review Example

Thus, Kiran Desai has been fabulous in narrating the stories of the relationship between Jemubhai and Nimi and that between Gyan and Sai. Both these relationships have some common factors to explicate and the personalities of Jemubhai and Gyan share some essential similarities. There are certain significant historical and social contexts which are central in shaping these intimate personal relationships, and a profound analysis of the novel helps in a closer understanding of the realities in the Indian context.

"This is a funny/sad novel," writes Michael Ryan, "in which Desai paints a complex portrait of contemporary India in a language and style that draw on both traditional literary forms and elements of Indian oral culture, the spoken language especially of different classes or groups of people." (Ryan, 208) This study concentrates on a comparative analysis of the relationship between Jemubhai and Nimi and that between Gyan and Sai to conclude on how these two relationships parallel one another. The Inheritance of Loss deals, mainly with the relationship between Jemubhai Popatlal and his orphaned granddaughter Sai and the various types of relationships in the novel reveals some characteristic aspects of post colonial world.

"The Inheritance of Loss is a majestic novel, 'illuminating the pain of exile, the ambiguities of post colonialism and the blinding drive for 'better life' when one person's wealth means another's poverty.'. It spans continents, generations, cultures, religions and faces. Writing with wit and perception, Kiran Desai creates an elegant and thoughtful study of families, the losses each member must confront alone, and the lies each tells to make the memories of the past more palatable." (Mallik and Prasad, 272) The relationship between the grandfather and the granddaughter is important, along with the story of the cook, in presenting the major themes of the novel.

However, the judge reflects over his past life and his relation with Nimi becomes obvious, which is similar to the relationship between Sai and Gyan, the young Nepalese tutor who helps her out with Arithmetic. The characters Jemubhai and Gyan shared some essential connection, and Sai was able to recognize several of the characteristics in Gyan's character which attracted her in the grandfather. These similarities in their characters also suggest why the two relationships had many common features.

The existence of these stories which run parallel as well as the old cook's story who expects to hear from his only son Biju also provides some meaning to the entire theme of the novel. Sai's life is greatly influenced by her relationship with Gyan and she has a sense of hidden excitement when the latter makes an entry to the novel. Sai had been struggling with algebra formulas and geometry theorems between addition and subtraction and factorization and the assistance of the tutor is a great relief to her.

More significantly, Sai is besotted with an eccentric desire for the handsome tutor and Gyan is equally in admiration to the girl whose looks seem to influences him greatly. "As their romance progresses, Sai finds herself thinking strange thoughts which she insists on posing to the cook about the personal lives of her grandfather, aunt Noni and Lola." (Behal) Thus, the novel reveals the similarities between the two relationships, and ultimately the historical and social contexts of the land become a chief