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Very interesting Irene. I have read that that was also true with being "fat". At one time, that meant that you were wealthy because you could afford to be "fat". funny how things change!

Good point!

I have heard that about weight also. Now the cheeper foods are high calory processed foods and it requires some wealth to be able to eat lower calory, healthier foods as well as the money needed to have access to gyms and the leisure time to exercise.

For those that are interested, author interview but there will be spoilers:

Vikram Seth A Suitable Boy
Listen to Vikram Seth
First broadcast November 2005

Some background information:

The book covers the 1930s to 1950s is locally a social satire and globally a social history. The novel’s scope ranges from the politics of Nehru to the manoeuvring Mrs. Mehra, the matriarch of one of the four central families who has decided to enlist friends and relatives to help her find her unmarried daughter Lata "a suitable boy.� It provides an epic reminder of the torments or birth pangs from a nation in its infancy to the angst of a young girl in love.

At the social satire level the story revolves around four deeply intertwined families, three Hindu and one Muslim. The Kapoors represent the Hindi-speaking elite, gaining their ascendancy as part of a new political elite, while the middle-class, Anglicized Mehras firmly believe in the superiority of convent schools, English literature and proper manners. The Chatterjis, eccentric and rather scandalous members of the Bengali intelligentsia, indulge in rhyming couplets and coddle a manic dog named Cuddles, as the Muslim, landowning Khans face legislation that threatens to dissolve their culture and Urdu language along with all feudal land-holdings.

At a social history level it describes life in post-colonial India, a subcontinent trying to find its bearings, and to reconcile differing religions and languages in one national identity, as it stands on the brink of its first general election the epic touches upon the Partition. The issues dealt with include national Indian politics in the period leading up to the first post-Independence national election of 1952, Hindu-Muslim animosity, the status of lower caste peoples, land reform and the eclipse of the feudal princes and landlords, empowerment of Muslim women, academic affairs, etc

The first part, or chapter, of the novel introduces the various families involved in the overall story. They have come together on the occasion of the marriage of Pran Kapoor and Savita Mehra. Savita's younger sister Lata, considered of marriageable age now, sets up the main conflict in the novel by questioning the idea of arranged marriage as opposed to a marriage based on romantic love. Lata's mother, the widow Rupa Mehra, is intent on finding a "suitable boy" for Lata who is repulsed by the idea. Another conflict in the novel is the antagonism between Hindus and Muslims in post-Partition India/Pakistan.

Any comments so far?

Thank you for the background info, Meg.

I am enjoying the novel so far. At first, some of the terms and language were making me feel like I needed to stop and look them all up, but for now I have decided to just "go with the flow" of the novel, and interestingly, it is all making sense, even when I don't really understand the language the author is using. He is writing in such a way that I almost feel I am "learning" his language just by how the story is told. Which I like.

I enjoyed getting a look at the families, and events in their lives. I will be interested to see how everything plays out, and what ends up happening with Lata and her mother's search for a suitable boy for her.

I'm really enjoying it so far as well...just about to start 3.1. Some of the words I do look up, and some I just keep reading and seem to get from context. I already feel he's a good story teller; I was pulled in right away!
Notice all the embedded poetry? I read he spends most of his time writing poetry and it comes more naturally to him.

I am also enjoying the story. I am at the same place as Collin. I was fascinated with Saeeta Bai (forgive my spelling of these names) and the use of poetry sung and spoken to evoke strong emotion and to tease. The idea of a culture in which people have so much poetry in their memory is amazing. I would like to know more about traditional Indian music. The little I have heard is so different from music I am familiar with that I found it jarring. I find the story easy to follow despite the use of unfamiliar terms. Seth gives sufficient contextual clues that I have not felt disoriented at any point.

There were several things that stood out to me in this first section. One being the eye contact between men and women. It seems women are not allowed to look at a man directly in his eyes before marriage? Is that it? Does anyone know further details about this? Is it cultural, religious? Lata's family is Hindu, correct?

I was saddened to read what Meenakshi had done with one of the two medals of her late father-in-law (whom she had never met). However, it didn't surprise me based on what little we know of her so far. I was surprised the medals were given to her in the first place. Even though they were a wedding gift and Mrs. Rupa Mehra felt like she had nothing else to give, I was still surprised she let those out of her sight. I was not impressed with Arun in the least! If Seth's goal was to draw these two as irritating brats, he's done a great job so far. I wonder if either will do and growing and changing?

I also dislike Arun and Meenakshi. Seth is doing an excellent job of drawing these characters. Every person we meet is so unique. And, just by watching how they interact, we know who they are. Arun is definitely his maternal grandfather. I am surprised that we are not meeting Arun's father's side of the family. With the way this culture is so dependant on relational connections, I can't imagine that they would drop out of the family just because the father is dead. BTW, is the author making any sort of comment by giving the old doctor Dr. Seth the author's own last name?

I finished part 3. So, is this "Fiddler on the Roof" Indian style? I guess every culture has its own and very similar story of the struggle to accept foreign ways and those of other ethnic or religious backgrounds, to modernize, to settle the tension between the dreams of the younger generation and the traditions of the older generation.

Funny you should say that Irene. I was thinking the story was shaping up more in the lines of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet.

I am also drawn into the characters. I particularly like Lata and her attempt at breaking traditions.

I am really liking Lata also, Meg.

Isn't that funny how we each reached for literary templates from our own tradition. I keep hearing songs from Fiddler as I read this, particularly as I have watched Lata and her mother deal with he arranged marriage question. But, I can see Romeo and Juliette now that you say that.

I am very drawn to Lata myself. I think it is going to be very interesting to see how her relationships play out...especially the one between her and her mystery man. He has become slightly less mysterious and a whole lot more dangerous to her family dynamic!

I'm not up to where the rest of you are in the reading yet, but I really like Lata and actually I'm liking her mom more and more after the incident with the medals. I guess I understand her more and more, and her "place" in society, with her husband gone. Considering her circumstances, I feel really bad for her.

I wanted to strangle Meenakshi after the medals. How could she be so stupid and vain? I didn't get that at all. If she's unhappy before the jewelry, she'll be unhappy afterward. Happiness doesn't come home in a bag with a receipt.

Not sure if anyone cares or not, but it has been driving me nuts that I haven't been able to find much on Barsaat Mahal. Maybe it is the history teach in me but I kept coming back to it and I just got to a part in the book that starts to go over the history of the structure. I couldn't find anything on the ruler who was supposed to have built it, so I did a little more research and according to Wikipedia's information (I know, not always the best source but I still use it!) the town in the book, Brahmpur, is fictional. That being said I am guessing the Barsaat Mahal is too. There seems to be some parallels with the Taj Mahal in terms of history and appearance (though the dates are about a century off) so that may have been at least part of the author's inspiration.

I agree Stacy, when I was reading that part I thought of the history of the Taj Mahal as well. If I ever meet any people from India I am definitely going to pick their brains!

On a side note, I will be traveling to Texas tomorrow and won't be able to read as I cannot carry such a big book with me! I feel badly about that but will catch up to our reading in no time when I return.

That is one major drawback to this book...the sheer size and weight makes it really difficult to travel with. I love how my kindle can just go with me anywhere. I wanted to read this book at the hairdresser but that just wasn't meant to be!

I am drawn to Savita and Pran. I like the blend of traditional values and accommodation to a changing culture that they embody.

I really dislike Dr. Seth and have sympathy for the mother after watching her deal with her father.

I wish we had a native of India in this group to speak to this novel from the perspective of a cultural insider.

I do, too.

I also feel sorry for Dr. Seth's young second wife. She looks like a gold digger, but if these are arranged marriages, then she is stuck with an old, mean man against her will.

You know, Irene, I find him a funny character. I think he is so blustery because he can get away with it and does. Yet, there is an element of emotion lying under the surface I think. I hope we continue to meet him and perhaps see him evolve a bit into a more "understanding" man. How very true of the times though, it was a man's world and what he said was the law. I have to also think that this was the country that not too long ago, also believed and practiced sutee. The women were totally under the thumb of their fathers, brothers, husbands and perhaps Dr Seth is a product of that way of thinking.

Marialyce, I would have found him funny except for the reaction of his daughter. He terrorizes her and the grandkids. I am finding it interesting to see the wide range of personalities. Between the influence of the British, the various religious/cultral bacgrounds within the native populations, etc., there are so many different family dynamics, so many different actions and reactions. I love the way that Seth is showing us the multicultural breadth of India while focusing on only 4 interconnected families. This book is beginning to remind me of the Foresyte Saga.

I'm not sure where all of you are at with this weeks reading and I don't want to give anything away. I just want to say I am loving the way the author is bringing these characters together and establishing links from one family to the next. Every time I start to get a little bored he does something along these lines that makes me interested again.

I find I am much like Malati leave me to my books.:) Dont add chilies to boiled potatoes was a saying I had not heard before. Since I am sick this week I am picking it up more. I am enjoying that the story moves along well and is interesting for the reader and not difficult to follow. I think Mrs Mehra reminds me of Mrs Bennet in Pride and Prejudice although maybe not to the dramatic extreme.

I love how readable the book is and how it keeps tying everyone in. I'm also drawn to Savita & Pran. I hope the book keeps my attention, like it has so far, as it progresses!

I am sorry I am behind as I was away and explained why I couldn't take the book with me! But, I am amazed at how Lata is rebelling and yet when her mother tells her she has to go away with her she is meakly accepting and going. Mmmmmmmmm I wonder if that would ever work with my kids????

I am behind too. I am so surprised by he influence the parents try to exert over their children especially their daughters. I did find the part about the making of the shoes and all the merchants a bit dull, but anything dealing with the family does chug along at a good rate as Rebecca said.

I am way behind, I'm not even quite up to the end of the week one assignment, but I am planning to get back to this. I am enjoying it when I have the chance to pick it up. I don't want to get too far away from it, because I was just getting familiar with the names and some of the more common cultural references when I put it down to work on an Aug-Sept. Challenge.

I would love to be able to exercise more influence with my daughter as they do in this book! I'm not sure if I'd ever want the responsibility of choosing a husband for her, though. That would feel like a very heavy responsibility. I guess if you're raised in that environment, you spend lots of time thinking about it and preparing, but I can't even imagine the pressure that would bring up from the parents' standpoint.

I think that there were sufficient cultural forces present in India of the 1940s that unmarried girls still were fairly obedient. I watch the influence my German grandmother had on my now 78 year old mother. Her rebellion was always indirect, especially when she still lived at home. Lata might sneak around, but she does not do much to challenge her mother to her face. Mrs. Rupa Mehra is even more passive before her bombastic father and she is a grandmother herself. For all the respect of parents and adults, I am amazed at the indulgence of children. My German family (mother's side) emphasized blind obedience of parents, but children were well disciplined from a young age.

I think many of us were from that generation where the children always listened to their parents, they never spoke back (at least to their parents' faces, and were ruled with somewhat of a very stern hand.

I find that even our author is showing an ingrained respect for the mothers within his story. He always used the Mrs. title and never refers to them by their first name. This was something we as kids were always cautioned to do. We never were allowed to call our friends' parents by their first name. It was always Mr and Mrs. (unless we prefaced it by aunt or uncle depending on how close are families were). I often have visions of the movie Slumdog Millionaire as I read of the living conditions of the poor as described by Mr Seth.

O, I am having a brain fart... What is the name of Veena's friend? I am feeling so sorry for her, trapped in the house as she is. She was obviously married into a far more traditional family than she was raised in and the adjustment to the loss of independence is going to drive her crazy. I don't think I could make that adjustment.

So far I think the author is treating women with a lot of respect, what do you think?

I agree. Plus, I think we are getting a realistic portrait of a particular slice of Indian society at this time in history.

I think Seth is doing a great job with the women of his book. He is cluing us into their world while showing an admiration for the females who inhabited this time and place. I think many Indian men did not feel that way at all about the women. Perhaps some still do not hold them in very high esteem.

Even though I could not continue it, The Arabian Nights: Tales from a Thousand and One Nights gave a very real portrait of the contempt the men felt for women.

Do you think Dr. Seth is contemptuous?

No, I would not label him as contemptuous. I would call him arrogant and self-absorbed.

Meg wrote: "So far I think the author is treating women with a lot of respect, what do you think?"

I agree. They are not referred to by their first names and the children defer to their mothers. I did not think this would be true in this culture ~ shows you how little I really understand!

I don't think Dr Seth is contempuous. I do think he is a product of the times in which he was raised and lived. He likes to think he is in control of his family especially the women, and will do what he thinks he needs to do to maintain that control. He probably is the same way with his patients and his staff. What he says goes and he wants no objections, no questions asked. He likes his position on the pedestal of Indian men.

Do we have any other character that would be of the same generation as Dr. Seth? I was going to say that Pria's father is not like that, nor Veena's father, but realized that both men are a generation younger.

mmmmmmmm good questions, I will have to look into that unless someone else knows? although Lata's father (deceased) keeps being referred to as "old school"

I don't think we have met anyone yet alive who is Dr Seth's age yet.

I also have been thinking of the profound influence being a colony of England was for the Indian people. I do get the feeling that the "older" generation tries to hold onto that way of life, cultured, the time of the raj, etc. The younger people are trying to throw off that perspective. This novel's time is not so very far away from the time of Victorian England and of course then women were seen only as marriageable or as spinsters. Not much in the way of opportunities, so this newer generation of woman although still repressed is starting to come into their own.

But "old school" does not necessarily imply the highly critical, emotionally brutal, insensetive behavior of Dr. Seth. It could refer to a more religious view of reality such as Pran's and Veena's mother seems to possess as opposed to the more secular view of reality held by their father.

Well I keep thinking that Lata's mother keeps referring back to "if your father were alive this wouldn't happen" or I wouldn't be dealing with this attitude which felt more like he was old school? did you get that feeling?

Also I found some reading guide questions, this one ties into our reading so far:

Two political-historical events figure prominently in A Suitable Boy: the Zamindari Abolition Act, whereby all feudal land-holdings were dissolved, and the general elections held in 1952, the largest democratic election ever held in the world at the time. How do these two events symbolize the transformation of India into a modern nation?

You know, Meg, I have never really thought of India as being a modern nation, but I guess my impressions are flavored by the slums we have seen and the abject poverty. This country still have issues with drinkable water so I think that it is ludicrous that yesterday India's Prime Minister boasted that they will be the first to be on Mars. (or at least to orbit it!)


That being said since we seem to be sending the bulk of our call centers etc to this country, there would have to be some sense of moderninity.

I think they are talking about the upper class not the masses. I think that in itself is very interesting. Their schools seem to be superior in many ways and they do send quite a few to other countries for studies.

Well, Meg, I never took Mrs. Rupa Mehra's nestalgia as an indication of the level of fear he evoked in his children. I saw it as a sign of her heart break and the desire to believe that her plight, her poverty and the children's rebellion would all be different if only... Somehow, that seems to be easier to believe for some people than to face the reality that their kids are not perfect or their wealth is unreliable, or their social standing is not innate to the order of the universe.

As for India, I do think of it as a modern nation. India is just such a complicated nation because it is so vast. A friend from India told me that there are over 40 distinct Hindi languages/dialects spoken throughout the country. Each is so unique that they can not be understood by others. I think the break up of the fuedal land holdings forced the nation into a modern capitalist economy and the elections was the symbolic triumph of democracy, no matter how flawed their electoral system is. Of course, with a nation so huge and one that needed to modernize so quickly, that process has been very uneven. But, isn't India one of the emerging world economic powers along with Brazil and China?