Nepalese Novel Analysis

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“He knew he was a foreigner but he had lost the notion that he was anything but an Indian foreigner...”( 220). Though Desai describes a majority of Nepalese living in Kalimpong area, she does not speak about any mutual influences between Indians and Nepalese. There are no influences mentioned except for the fact that Nepalese were disadvantaged by the Indians. Western influence was found among many people and the Eastern culture did not influence as the western. Most of the characters display a constant obsession with western thought and a deep investment in western institutions. Even the minor characters like Noni, Lola, Mrs Sen, and the cook live with their consciousness trapped by the thoughts of western countries like America and England. They still live colonized socially, mentally and culturally. The characters in the novel blindly appreciate everything that is related to the western countries. However, Desai takes a skeptical view of the West’s consumer driven multiculturalism, noting the “Sanitized Elegance” of Lola’s daughter’s British accented voice, which is triumphant over any horrors. At such moments, Desai seems to be far from the writers such as Zadie Smith and Hari Kunzru, whose fictions present generally an optimistic view of intermingling and the transformation that comes of new and unexpected combinations of human…show more content…
However, small signs, like the fact that he eats with his hands and she with a spoon, suggest that there is a wide difference: “Noticing this difference, they had become embarrassed and put the observation aside” (140). It is when Sai goes to find him after a serious fight; Sai realizes how different they really are and how little she knows about his background. After a two-hour walk Sai reaches the poor part of Kalimpong which is “quite foreign to her” (254). At first sight the little homes in Gyan’s neighborhood look pretty to her. But Sai knew

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