Homework for April, 21st (p. 49-61)

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

The suttee – this is an Indian rite of widow-sacrifice, which means the burning of a living widow on the funeral pyre of her husband. 

When Inder Lal’s mother takes the narrator to the suttee shrines, she worships the women who gave their life for their husbands. Inder Lal’s mother, a widow herself, behaves very respectful at the shrines. She didn’t have to die like these women, because the suttee was outlawed in 1929. 

Indeed, she has the greatest reverence for the sncient custom and regrets that it has been discontinued a long time ago, she’s happy to live, because she got the opportunity to live a good life: she experiences things like more liberties and friendship with other widows.

 

Compare Beth Crawford’s and Olivia’s reactions to suttee. Whose attitude do you find most appealing, and why?

„A grain merchant had died and his widow had been forced by her relatives to burn herself with him on his funeral pyre“.  (p. 56, ll. 20-22)

At a dinner party at the Crawford’s house everybody discusses about that fact; especially Olivia and Mrs. Crawford show very differently reactions and point of views to it.

Olivia is strongly persuaded of the idea, that there are still Indian women who burn themselves voluntary, because this could have a cultural oder religious background. In her opinion the British are not entitled to interfere with their culture; it’s their own decision how to live and how to act. Also Olivia likes the idea of dying with her husband, she describes it as a „noble idea“ (p. 59, l. 27). She would accept to commit suicide, because life for her would have no sense anymore. This fact emphasises Olivia’s love to Douglas very clearly.

In contrast to Olivia’s point of view Beth Crawford is not taken with this idea of following her husband to death. Although she loves her husband, she could never think of suicide, that would be „too noble“ for her. (p. 60, l. 28). She fears and immediately wants to get away from this discussion.

If you ask me, it’s really hard to define my own position to such a topic. I think on the one hand it’s definitely very upsetting and painful to lose a family member or another person you love. However, on the other hand, that’s not enough to bring your own life to an end as well. Even if you feel lonely and hopeless, life goes on… Imagine how life would be for all the others who lost the person, if they lose you too. I think losing a person you love also means the disposition to handle the situation. This will help you to cope difficult circumstances and also to learn something new about yourself.

My life in India – Comment

In the text „My life in India“ a son of an English civil servant tells his life story.

He tells us that he lived a wonderful and careless life when India was still a British colony. However, since the Independence of India in 1947 things turned bad for the English people. His family lost all its possessions and had to flee the country. Years later, the young man returned to India to find enlightenment and spirituality, because he was tired of the Western way of life. Life for him proved to be very difficult by reason that he was not even able to communicate with the natives.

The story of the young man is an example for many British people after India’s Independence in 1947. In the past, when they had nothing to worry about, they did’t attach importance to adapt to the natives. So this is one main reason which made it difficult for them to understand India’s population afterwards. Because they had just lived there as rulers, they were not able to live a real life like all the others there. For them India was still like England, because they were always attempting to throw their culture and way of living over India, which reveals why it was hard for the Indians to accept the Europeans after their Independene. This can also be seen in the novel (the narrator is called ‘hijra’, although she tries to assimilate).

Moreover, many of the Europeans returned to India to find enlightenment and spirituality, like the young man. But he lost all his money in search of his wishes. This also reminds me of the biography I’ve written about Felix Liebig. Felix went there to find that spirituality as well, but everything he found was his financial breakup and the life of a homeless.

Both of the young men expected something great when they came to India – the young man of the story looked forward to see the wonderful country of his childhood again, Felix wanted to start a new life- and both failed in this kind of world.

The life of the Europeans in India after 1947

 before Independence:

- E. converted Indians to Christianity

- E. arrived in India because of commercial advantages

- had different ways to CONTROL India

- infightings among European powers, sometimes they collaborated with Indian rulers, but just to defeat the other E. power

after Independence:

- E. have to flee from India

In opposite to the past, the Europeans live with the Indians and want to be part of their culture. This can also be seen in the novel: the narrator wears Indian clothes, eats their food and tries to speak Hindi. Nevertheless the Indians often call her „hijra“, which is a very insulting item. (see on page 14 of the novel)

„There is also an Anglo-Indian community in India, who are also descendants from European (English) fathers and Indian mothers, but these relations between English men and Indian women started because of romantic reasons. The Anglo-Indians are mostly Christians and have adopted English as their first language. …“ >> read more

Homework for Thursday, April 3rd

Biography of the unkempt European

Hello, my name is Felix Liebig and I’m 24 years old. I was born in Luckenwalde, which is a town in the East of Germany, but I am living in Bombay (India) right now.

  As I already mentioned, I spent the first years of my life in Germany.

Everything was perfect till both of my parents died in a car accident when I was 12 years old. That was a traumatic moment for me and by reason that I had noone since that time, I had to live with my aunt Ruth for the next years.

The new city (my aunt was living in Berlin) gave me the chance to start a new life, which was very hard,  especially finding new friends. To my misfortune, I got the false friends and also involved with their bad lifestyle. It ended up in much trouble because of thievery and other forbidden things we did. 

By and by I began to hate that life and wanted to start another ‘new life’ and to try to make it better.With 19 years I saw the getaway as my last resort. I didn’t know where to go, but somewhere where nobody would know me.

So I took all my money of the heritage from my parents and entered the next train. Arriving at the airport I quickly decided to take the plane to Bombay in India. I’ve had heard a lot of positive things about that country before… e.g. about the culture, the kindhearted and friendly people and the spirituality… I thought this spirituality could possibly help me to find myself again. In addition, I really liked the idea of living an untroubled life among such nice people.

It took me a few days to find an apartment there. However, the fast I got it, so much faster I ran out of money and wasn’t able to pay for it anymore…

Since then I had to live on the streets of Bombay and became an excluded person like all other homeless people are…no matter in which country they’re living.

 Now, since my departure from Germany, five years have passed by and I must confess that my dream of a new, better and untroubled life in India didn’t come true.