Rupa Bajwa

A first novel, long-listed for the Orange Prize in 2004, this book is a sharp observation of the divide between the rich and the poor in an Indian city. Well-to-do women buy their saris from the exceptional collection on offer at the Sevak Sari House. It is "where to go", particularly for wedding apparel. Through the eyes of Ramchand, one of the shop assistants, we meet several of these women as they handle the exquisitely embroidered silks, satins, and chiffons brought out for their show more inspection. While the materials are lovely, the women are distinctly less so, particularly in their attitudes and prejudices. Over time, Ramchand is sent out of the shop on two errands that reveal to him and to the reader the extremes of life in his city---first he is designated to carry samples to the home of a VIP whose daughter is planning her wedding. The opulence of this home is in sharp contrast to his own subsistence style of one-room living, but Ramchand is not at the lowest end of the spectrum by far. His second errand, to the home of a co-worker who hasn't reported to the shop in several days, takes him to a part of the city where half-naked children play in the street, where the drains are always blocked and the stench is overwhelming, where women are routinely beaten by their husbands and husbands are routinely drunk. Exposure to the grand style of the Kapoor home sparks a desire in Ramchand to improve himself and his surroundings---to brighten up his room with whitewash, to refresh his rusty English language skills, and to take more pains with his personal appearance. Encountering the grim reality of life in the revolting slum plunges him into a period of despair that nearly costs him everything. The framework of the story is a little obvious, but it works well, because the characters are brilliantly drawn; we sympathize with Ramchand, whose reach we KNOW is going to exceed his grasp; we smirk at the materialistic women who scorn academics and the academics who scorn the business world; we feel the monotony of the shop assistants' humdrum existence and shudder at the dehumanizing poverty of the mean streets. show less

Ramchand, a sari-walla in Amritsar, sleepwalks through his life without much verve. He goes to work and then back home. He goes to the movies on the weekends with friends and co-workers occasionally. But he doesn’t feel anything. That changes on the day that he is asked by his boss to take sari’s to another part of the city, taking him out of his routine and dull life. The simple experience ignites Ramchand’s imagination, making so much more possible for him. He buys books and begins show more teaching himself to read and write English. He begins, finally, to see the things around him, taking them in and connecting with them. Eventually, he breaks altogether trying to help a co-worker’s wife who has been assaulted.

Rupa Bajwa’s debut novel from 2004, [The Sari Shop], is one in a great line of Indian narratives to examine the social strata that exist in the country. Her hero, Ramchand, a lowly shop assistant, begins to break out of his position after a visit to a wealthy family to show saris. But Bajwa’s narrative makes clear that she thinks that such movement across the social gaps is not a realistic possibility, as Ramchand’s growth is ultimately quelled, and he must return to his dull, simple life.

There was a point, late in the book, when Ramchand is fighting against the standing social construct, and losing, that Bajwa’s narrative takes on a haunting similarity to Camus’ [The Stranger]. Ramchand essentially loses himself, loses time, walking here and there without understanding what he is doing or what is happening around him. He is unable to connect with anything at all in his life – forcing him to return to the banality that he knows. Little explanation is offered for Ramchand’s disassociation, especially since the factors that lead up to it are not equal to his explosion and downward spiral. But at the end, Bajwa’s story closes where it began, with Ramchand firmly secured in a routine that will never see him change or grow – a suggestion that Ramchand was never going to be able to grow past his position anyway.

Bottom Line: An Indian narrative in the tradition of others that examines the social strata of the country.

4 bones!!!!! show less

Ramchand is a young man working as a shop assistant in a sari shop in Amritsar, India. Prior to the loss of his parents, Ramchand haboured bigger dreams for himself. However, seven years of rolling and unrolling silk and cotton saris for the " status woman" of Amristar, he is relatively content with his mundane existence.

As time goes on, Ramchand is sent on two errands that stand in stark contrast to one another , and shake him out of his narrow life view. One errand is to a wealthy show more household in which the educated and beautiful bride- to- be and her family are choosing opulent saris for the occasion. Ramchand's hope for a better life is re-ignited, and he begins to better himself. The second errand is to check on fellow shop assistant. Here he is exposed to the filthy squalor of the slums , where men are commonly drunk and routinely beat their wives.

This is a devastating look at class division in India. It is a powerful narrative, told in a quiet, unassuming manner.

Long -listed for the 2004 Orange Prize, this is among the most memorable and heartbreaking books that I have read in 2016.

Highly recommended

4.5 stars show less

A beautifully written book that delves into the hopeless monotony that characterizes the lives of many especially the poor. The story is set in Amritsar, India and centers around a popular sari store that carries some of the best saris in India. Ramchand is a shop assistant who works in this store and for a while seems to just drift through his everyday existence, not questioning much. But he cannot help feeling a certain despondency and listlessness that he cannot at first explain. He show more begins to educate himself by trying to learn how to read in English. In the midst of this, he gets sent to the house of an absent co-worker and there he meets the co-worker's wife. The woman in question has become a drunk as a way to suppress the many trials of her life:beatings from her husband, family abandonment, loss of her child etc. The woman is hardened shell of a human being who is incensed at the world at large. Ramchand's encounter with this woman feeds into his feelings of dissatisfaction with the world around him. Though the beginning starts off light, by the end you are left in a sad and quite frankly hopeless world. Ramchand continues living his life, nothing has changed, he is just another poor man who must work very hard in other to eek out a meagre living while watching the rich live their lives ignorant and unconcerned about "the other world". Ramchand learns the hard way that even those who may claim to be intellectuals still worship at the altar of money, power and privilege. A great read over all. There are a few weaknesses here and there with the writing but all in all a solid first book and I would highly recommend. show less