The Sari Shop

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 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.

"THE SARI SHOP" BY RUPA BAJWA" PENGUIN BOOKS. “The Sari Shop” is a simple story of hopelessness of the underclass. It is about social isolation in an urban setting where there is hardly any societal support or a network of social services to help those in poverty and destitution. It is a story of deprivation and rejection. It is also on the power and corruption of the rich that literally holds the bureaucracy in the clasp of their fingers. It highlights contemptibly the nature of the police who take advantage of women in need of help. The problem of poverty and its attendant social problems are so ingrained in caste, class and status that it is near impossible for an individual or family to break out of its poverty trap. One may ask if they are preordained to be in that state of misery or it is just their karma or sheer lack of free will, aspiration and opportunity to break away from their poverty trap. The story centres on Ram Chand, a sales assistant in a popular sari shop in Amritsar, Punjab, India. He lives alone and leads a lonely life. He is sick of the humdrum of his job and lonely life, especially attending to female customers who flash their wealth and status. He tries to upgrade himself by learning English without success. He goes the wrong way by trying to memorize words from the dictionary. He visits the home of one of his co-workers. He finds his co-worker's wife in shambles taking shelter in the corner of the shackle of a house. She was slovenly, completely piss drunk. She has her own story to tell. She was married off to Ramchand's co-worker without her consent. Soon after, her family passed away living her alone in the hands of her drunkard husband who took a sadistic pleasure in assaulting her at the slightest excuse. One day, in mere frustration, she takes a sip of her husband's alcoholic drink to find out what was that that made her husband a slave to it. That was the last straw. She too was dragged into becoming an alcoholic. One fine day, she was bundled up to the police station for being a public nuisance. She was raped by two policemen. Ramchand was in despair. He did not know what he could do to help her. It was beyond his stature and means. The rich were powerful and the police corrupt. He tried to enlist the help of a well-heeled female customer to seek redress for the abused wife. The customer dismissed him. She took it nonchalantly as a tale from a woman from the lower strata of society. In his frustration at the world around him, he loses his temper and becomes destructive in the shop. He loses his job. Ramchand fumbles back to his friend's house only to learn that the woman has been killed on the orders of one of the rich residents in the neighbourhood just because she taunted him in front of his house. Ramchand realizes that he can't change the soci...

A wonderful book created on a simple story and bringing out characters wonderfully. It hints social standing in major cities

This is a great book. THe characters are wonderfully touching. THe ending is great. It is so not hollywood. If you want to feel like you are living in India for a day or so read this super book.