Clear Light of Day

Clear Light of Day is a novel published in 1980 by Indian Novelist and three time Booker Prize finalist, Anita Desai. Set in Old Delhi, this book describes the tensions in a post-partition Indian family during and after childhood, starting with the characters as adults and moving back into their lives through the course of the book. While the primary theme is the importance of family, other predominant themes include the importance of forgiveness, the power of childhood, and forgiving those you are close to.^[1]

Plot summary

The book is split into four sections covering the Das family from the children’s perspective in this order: adulthood, adolescence, childhood, and the time perspective returns to adulthood.

The book centers on the Das family, who have grown apart with adulthood. It starts with Tara, the wife of Bakul, India’s ambassador to America, greeting her sister Bimla (Bim), who is a history teacher living in Old Delhi as well as their autistic brother Baba’s caretaker. Their conversation eventually comes to Raja, their brother who lives in Hyderabad. Bim doesn’t want to go to the wedding of Raja’s daughter, showing Tara an old letter from when Raja became her landlord, unintentionally insulting her after the death of his father in law.^[2]

In part two the setting switches to partition era India, when the characters are adolescents in what is now Bim’s house. Raja is severely ill with tuberculosis and is left to Bim’s ministrations. Aunt Mira (Mira masi), their supposed caretaker after the death of the children’s often absent parents, becomes alcoholic and dies of alcoholism. Earlier Raja’s fascination with Urdu attracts the attention of the family’s Muslim landlord, Hyder Ali, whom Raja Idolizes. When he heals, Raja follows Hyder Ali to Hyderabad. Tara escapes from the situation through marriage to Bakul. Bim is then left to provide for Baba alone, in the midst of the partition and the death of Gandhi.^[3]

In part three Bim, Raja and Tara are depicted in pre-partition India awaiting the birth of their brother Baba. Aunt Mira, widowed by her husband and mistreated by her in-laws, is brought in to help with Baba, who is autistic, and to raise the children.

Raja is fascinated with poetry. He shares a close bond with Bim, the head girl at school, although they often exclude Tara. Tara wants to be a mother although this fact brings ridicule from Raja and Bim, who want to be a hero and a heroine, respectively.^[4]

The final section returns to modern India and showcases Tara confronting Bim over the Raja’s daughter’s wedding and Bim’s broken relationship with Raja. This climaxes when Bim explodes at Baba. After her anger fades she comes to the conclusion that the love of family is irreplaceable and can cover all wrongs. After Tara leaves she decides to go to her neighbors the Misras for a concert and she then decides that she will go to the wedding.^[5]

Background

Desai considers Clear Light of Day her most autobiographical work. She also, unlike many Indian writers, places a premium on setting.^[6]

Historical Setting

Partition

The book is set at various times around the partition in Old Delhi. The tension between Muslims and Hindus are clearly shown by the father’s refusal to allow Raja to go to a Muslim University and study Urdu literature because he has cause to fear for his safety. The book also mentions the partition riots as well as the refugee camps. It also depicts the flight of the Alis, the Das’s Muslim landlords and neighbors.

These tensions often escalated into riots, but not in Old Delhi. The Hindu’s claim to India led to the neglect, abuse and often violence towards Muslims in India or Hindus in Pakistan. The nation of India was torn apart in a violent manner, leaving refugees on both side of the border and mutual anger and hostility. The suspicious nature of the partition is also evidenced in the plainclothes police who felt Raja could be a Pakistani spy.^[7][8][9]

Delhi

In the book, Old Delhi is frequently referred to as old, stagnate or decaying. Old Delhi is overcrowded and generally overlooked in favor of New Delhi. New Delhi is considered vibrant, modern and alive. In the book New Delhi is where the characters, specifically Bakul, go to avoid the soporific effects of Old Delhi or even to be connected with the outside world. Bim is in New Delhi when she hears of Gandhi death, and Raja finds diversion and entertainment as a teenager in New Delhi.^[10]

Religious

The religious undercurrents in the book manifest themselves in two ways: the partition (see above), and Raja’s relationship with the Ali’s. As a young adult he found acceptance (albeit not inclusion) in Hyder Ali’s nightly gatherings. His fascination with the Muslim culture, however, first manifests itself when he takes Urdu instead of Hindi, a language he considers banal, at school. Eventually he integrates himself into the Muslim culture and marries Hyder Ali’s daughter, Benazir. However this relationship is strained during the partition and the Ali’s subsequent flight to Hyderabad.^[11]

Symbolism and Motifs

Education

During the book education is mentioned a lot. Not just school, but also in the nightly gatherings at the Ali’s. Raja and Bim both go to college, although Raja’s education is much more prominent. Even Hyderabad, where he went following the Ali’s, is a considered a place of learning in India; it is the home of universities such as Osmania University, one of the oldest in India.^[12] Raja symbolizes culture refinement and knowledge, as does poetry.

Music

The primary manifestations of music in the book are Baba’s gramophone, Dr. Biswas’s musical inclinations, and Mulk’s singing at the end of the book. The idea of music relating to life experiences is present. Baba constantly playing his gramophone at the same volume with the same records shows the stagnation of his development. Dr. Biswas refinement in musical taste shows the personal refinement he learned in Europe. Mulk and the Guru show that while life alters our experiences, we are still the same people; as they used the same style but with different experiences shaping their performance.

This is confirmed by Mulk complaining about his sisters sending away his musicians, like the partition of India. But the musicians return at the end of the book to accompany Mulk at the end of the book.

Tara also mentions her daughters' music but says it develops with their growth.^[13][14]

Of particular Interest is what music Desai has Baba play; all the records are from the same time period and he never gets any new ones. But the most potent of these songs seems to be "Don't Fence Me In", performed by Bing Crosby. Every primary character in the book with the exception of Bim finds some way to escape. A song about being free, however, is what angers the one character who, on the surface, had no desire to do so.^[15]

Separation

The novel tells not just the story of the separation of a family, but also of a nation. The partition of India is a tangible reality that is concurrent to Raja leaving, Tara marrying and the separation of the family. These separations are parallel. The summer of 1947 is described as tumultuous; it is the summer when Raja leaves for Hyderabad and Tara marries Bakul and they leave for Ceylon (Sri Lanka). It is also the summer when Aunt Mira dies thus isolating Bim. In addition each of the three people who escaped (Tara, Raja and Aunt Mira) used a way of escape common in the partition; Tara fled the country for somewhere else, Raja fled to a Muslim center, and aunt Mira left the earth entirely.^[16]

Language

Each of the languages in Clear Light of Day represents different things. Urdu is the language of culture, refinement, and knowledge. Hindi is considered every day, mundane and banal.^[11] Additionally the repeated examples of poetry emphasize the beauty of the one language compared to the other as more often than not they are in Urdu. Raja expounds how an Urdu poet could do that in a single couplet. Urdu symbolizes Raja and the Ali’s culture and sophistication.^[17][18]

Other Motifs and Symbolism

• Birds
• Flowers (Roses)
• Duality (Light and Dark)
• Stagnation
• Women in India
• The passage of Time

Themes

Family

Bim’s breakdown at the end of the book results in remarkable clarity of thought. In this insight, she concludes that the bond of family is greater than any other, that she felt their pains, and that she couldn’t live without them.^[19]

Forgiveness

Bim’s inability to forgive Raja demonstrates that the deepest hurts come from the closest bonds.^[20] However she does find it in herself at the end of the book to forgive Raja for the insult and realize the importance of family.^[21]

Poetry in Clear Light of Day

In this book, Desai quotes Poems 12 different times, in addition to using a line by Iqbal as a part of a song at the end of the book.^[22] Poets quoted include T.S. Elliot (The Waste Land, and Burnt Norton),^[23][24] Alfred Lord Tennyson (Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal, Now the White),^[25] Lord Byron (Isles of Greece)^[26] Sir Muhammad Iqbal ("Thou didst create…into an antidote", and "Your world is the world…over my world you have dominion")^[27] Algernon Charles Swinburne (The Garden of Proserpine)^[28] and D.H. Lawrence (Ship of Death).^[29] The poetry each serves to convey not only a particular aspect involved in the poem, but also the importance of education.

Awards and Reception

In 1980 Clear Light of Day was shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize, although it did not win.^[30]

See also

Novels portal

• Anita Desai
• Burnt Norton
• Fasting, Feasting
• In Custody
• The Village by the Sea

References

1. ^ Desai, Anita. Clear Light of Day. 1st Mariner books ed ed. New York: Mariner Books, 2000. Print.
2. ^ Desai pg. 1-43
3. ^ Desai pg. 44-101
4. ^ Desai pg. 102-141
5. ^ Desai pg. 142-183
6. ^ [1], Bliss, Corinne D. "Against the Current: a Conversation with Anita Desai." JSTOR. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010.
7. ^ Census of India, 1941 and 1951.
8. ^ Ansari, Sarah. 2005. Life after Partition: Migration, Community and Strife in Sindh: 1947—1962. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. 256 pages. [ISBN 019597834X.]
9. ^ Desai pg. 45-46, 50-53, 59, 71-72, 75, 85, 101
10. ^ Desai pg. 4-5, 17-19
11. ^ ^{a b} Desai pg. 47
12. ^ NAAC. "INTERNAL QUALITY ASSURANCE CELL. Welcome to Osmania University Hyderabad N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2010.
13. ^ Desai pg. 13, 38
14. ^ Desai pg. 177
15. ^ Desai pg. 12, 14, 163
16. ^ Rao, P. Mallikarjuna. Postcolonial Theory and Literature. New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers and Distributors, 2003. Print.
17. ^ Desai pg. 46
18. ^ Desai pg. 2, 41, 45, 46, 47, 50, 55, 82, 83, 98, 100, 182
19. ^ Desai pg. 165
20. ^ Desai pg. 25, 27
21. ^ Desai pg. 181-182
22. ^ Desai pg. 2, 41, 45, 46, 47, 50, 55, 83, 98, 100, 182
23. ^ Elliot, T. S.. "Eliot, T. S. 1922. The Waste Land." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.bartleby.com/201/1.html>.
24. ^ Elliot, T.S.. "Burnt Norton ." Index . N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.tristan.icom43.net/quartets/norton.html>.
25. ^ Lord Tennyson, Alfred. "Now Sleeps the Crimson Petal by Alfred Lord Tennyson."PoemHunter.Com - Thousands of poems and poets.. Poetry Search Engine. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.poemhunter.com/poem/now-sleeps-the-crimson-petal/>.
26. ^ Lord Byron. "601. Isles of Greece. George Gordon Byron, Lord Byron. The Oxford Book of English Verse." Bartleby.com: Great Books Online -- Quotes, Poems, Novels, Classics and hundreds more. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.bartleby.com/101/601.html>.
27. ^ Iqbal, Muhammad. "Iqbal, Sir Muhammad quote - Thou didst create the night, but I made the lamp. Thou didst create cl...." Welcome to Quotations Book - The Home of Famous Quotes. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://quotationsbook.com/quote/8976/>.
28. ^ Swinburne, Algernon Charles. "Garden of Proserpine by Algernon Charles Swinburne." Free Website Hosting – Angelfire free website templates to make your own free website. N.p., n.d. Web. 26 Sept. 2010. <http://www.angelfire.com/nj/persephone/gardenswinburne.html>.
29. ^ Lawrence, D.H.. "The Ship of Death." Digital Writing and Research Lab. N.p., n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.cwrl.utexas.edu/~bump/E316K/11/11/THESHIP.HTML>.
30. ^ "Anita Desai." Contemporary Writers in the UK - Contemporary Writers. British Council, n.d. Web. 27 Sept. 2010. <http://www.contemporarywriters.com/authors/?p=auth124#prizes>.

External links

• Clear Light of Day - Google Book