Summary
Biju works at a steakhouse serving Indian businessman beef but quits after discussing his faith with Saeed Saeed. After unsuccessfully searching for a restaurant that does not violate Hindu beliefs by serving beef, Biju reluctantly applies to Gandhi Cafe, an all-Hindu establishment. The cafe's owner, Harish-Harry, caters to Indian-Americans and envies his Westernized contemporaries, yet punishes interracial couples and criticizes his daughter for being too Americanized. The Gandhi Cafe overworks its staff and requires them to live in a rat-infested basement. When Biju injures his leg during work, Harish-Harry bullies him, refusing to cover his medical expenses and threatening to fire him. Biju then recalls how he got to America. After an anonymous man tricked Biju by offering him a fake job aboard a cruise ship, Biju received a tourist visa to the United States using falsified documents and a believable story. He considered himself "the luckiest boy in the world."
In the market, Gyan sees his college friends marching in protest for the GNLF, or Gorkhaland National Liberation Front. A cynic, Gyan questions the students' sincerity and wonders how they see themselves, assuming they will forget their idealism as soon as they receive privileges Nepalis are denied. The students deliver a speech that shames and angers Gyan, spurring him into action. The protesters then create a poster using their own blood.
Sai is evasive when discussing her family history, and Gyan explains that his ancestors served in the British military but died in combat. Ironically, none of Gyan's family visited England. After joining the GNLF, Gyan grows ashamed of his juvenile relationship with Sai and suggests the movement "take the harshest route possible." Gyan then takes out his anger on Sai, blaming "people like her" for his lack of prospects. He hurls unforgivable insults at her and criticizes her for celebrating Christmas. Later, Gyan apologizes but feels ashamed for "giving in" to his romantic desires. To redeem himself, Gyan informs the other insurgents that Judge Patel has guns.
When he is twenty-five, Judge Patel returns from England, uncomfortable and feeling like a foreigner in his own home. Nimi, his now nineteen-year-old wife, goes through Jemu's belongings and steals the powderpuff he uses to lighten his skin. When Jemu discovers she has stolen from him, he rapes her. Throughout their marriage, Jemu ignores and tortures Nimi for being "too Indian," forcing her to endure the same humiliations he suffered in England. Judge Patel then recalls his final meeting with Bose, where Bose recalls humorous stories and glory days in England, teasing Jemu for his lack of sophistication and accent. Jemu is tense during the meeting because Bose tried and failed to sue for a pension equal to a white man's but lost because Judge Patel cynically refused to help.
Sai, Uncle Potty, Father Booty, Lola, and Noni travel to Darjeeling to pick up library books and liquor before political unrest blockades them in their village. The group discusses the failings of Christianity with the librarian, agreeing that Christian morality treats criminals and sinners too kindly and victims never get justice. The group then visits Glenary's restaurant, where families reunite with boarding school children. When they leave Darjeeling, Sai spots Gyan marching in a GNLF protest but does not approach him. Confused and angry, she becomes sick on the car ride home. Father Booty photographs a butterfly, attracting the attention of border patrol guards, who confiscate his camera and their library books. Six months after the library trip, the Gorkha National Liberation front occupies the Gymkhana Club. The GNLF discovers Father Booty's residency visa has expired and forces him to leave India after forty-five years in Kalimpong.
Analysis
While Biju works at the steakhouse, the text repeats the inverse phrases "holy cow" and "unholy cow." In Hinduism, cows are considered sacred, and "holy cow" is a colloquial expression signifying shock. By repeating these phrases, the text emphasizes Biju's struggle to survive while maintaining his principles and his confusing search for cultural identity in New York.
During the Christmas celebrations, Lola describes her life in the Himalayas during the 1950s and 1960s. Though Lola idolizes elements of British culture, she recalls the blurred borders between Bhutan, Nepal, and India with lush, nostalgic imagery. The pre-colonial atmosphere she evokes is both romantic and dangerous, like the descriptions in colonial travelogues she reads. Ironically, Lola and Father Booty bemoan how Westernization diluted the traditional cultures they criticize.
The cook participates in the village sacrifices to appease his wife's spirit, angering Judge Patel, who believes that working in a Westernized household should encourage the cook to embrace modernity and elevate his station in life. However, Judge Patel grows angry when Biju leaves for America, as he expects Biju to work for him after the cook retires. The judge's indignation is ironic because he ostensibly believes in secularism and equality but adheres to strict class divides that support his lifestyle.
Gyan takes pride in his relatives' experiences abroad; his multicultural history is a form of social capital. Conversely, Sai is ashamed of her parent's Westernization and refuses to tell Gyan about them because she blames her upbringing for her separation from Indian culture. Ironically, Gyan later projects his feelings onto Sai, criticizing her Westernized habits and assuming she looks down on other Indians and Nepalis.
During the GNLF protest in Kalimpong, a protestor explains that Nepali Indians received nothing after the British left India and are the only group that cannot break free from the serving class. Though Nepali Indians are the vast majority of tea plantation workers, no plantations are Nepali-owned. Additionally, children cannot learn Nepali in school. These complaints mirror Judge Patel and his contemporaries' struggles during the British Raj, evidencing the themes of cyclical oppression and post-colonialism.
Gyan justifies his betrayal by citing Sai's Westernization, claiming that Sai's shame over her lack of Indianness is false martyrdom. The text lists Sai's "incorrect" participation in cultural activities, such as speaking "pidgin Hindi" and feeling emotionally drained after watching Bollywood movies. The text never shows Gyan "correctly" engaging with Indian culture, hinting that his cultural purism is reactionary and hypocritical. Additionally, Gyan fails to realize that Sai's caretakers, the nuns in her convent school and Judge Patel, denied her opportunities to experience Indian culture. Sai is a victim of colonialism, just like Gyan.
The text presents Gyan's mistreatment of Sai and the judge's abuse of Nimi back to back, highlighting the two men's similarities. Gyan and Judge Patel are hurt and angry about unjust political and social systems that humiliate them and deny them opportunities. Judge Patel and Gyan turn their grief into hatred and anger directed at their romantic partners. These parallel relationships exemplify the theme of cyclical oppression and violence.
The Gorkha National Liberation Front protest in Darjeeling is described immediately after Noni, Sai, and the librarian's discussion of religion. This placement highlights the hypocrisy and futility of their philosophical and moral debates. Though Noni, Lola, and the librarian feel sympathy for victims who don't receive justice in Christianity, they criticize the protestors trying to get justice, saying they are "no-gooders with nothing to do."
The text describes Jemu's relationship to sexuality in crude, vile terms. Jemu finds sex "uncivilized" and washes and sanitizes himself after. This visceral imagery demonstrates Judge Patel's detachment from his own body and desires, a dissociation exacerbated by his attempts to find his identity in colonial England and India.
Jemu meets Bose in the dilapidated Gymkhana, once an elite colonial club. The club's appearance reflects the content of the friends' conversation. In the club's macabre setting, Bose desperately recalls the "best days of [his] life" in England, memories that Judge Patel tries to bury. The Gymkhana's taxidermy bear decoration rots with insect-infested teeth, and a portrait of Gandhi replaces the Queen of England. This imagery symbolizes Judge Patel's stated belief that "the present changes the past."
