If this were in a book, would it be called meta-meta-meta-fiction?

I posted this on a discussion thread also, but it's interesting to note that Aloka has found success as a writer as we see in the beginning of the book, but not always as her own identity. Aloka writes an advice column in her newspaper to Indian immigrants seeking advice in maintaining traditions and surviving in general in the cosmopolitan streets of New York:

"But who was the real Seva? The question was a hot topic of discussion at social and religious gatherings of the community...Not even Pranab, Aloka's ex-husband, had suspected it was her. This was the first secret she had kept from him. As her marriage had disintegrated, she had felt a greater need to rely on her own career and identity." (3-4)

I know I've made one too many (attempts at) psychological interpretations in class and in this blog, but I can't help myself (even though my knowledge in the field is sparse)-- I believe there was one person who suggested that everyone has three different identities, and that one of them was the more "personal" self-- the self that only you saw and kept to yourself that no one else could see--Perhaps Seva is this secret sense of self? If so, then how is Seva able to break the boundaries of privacy and reach out to the many Indians that look up to her and write letter to her? What is the connection?

I almost feel as if the connection could be traced back (if this isn't going way too far) to the Hindu belief of atman-- one soul that is a part of an oversoul. And the fact that she keeps her identity away from even her own Ex-husband kind of makes "Seva" (which means service) to be a sense of security, but at the same time it allows her to connect with strangers-- perhaps being Seva allows her to identify with the isolation of such strangers?

Seva could also be connected with the fact that Aloka's name means "light--" Aloka is able to become a guiding light to those coping with loneliness and struggles in the new city, as Indian immigrants learn to assimilate themselves into American culture.

And not to mention, looking through Proquest I noticed that the author Bharti Kirchner is very passionate about writing-- many of the articles that came up while I was doing research appeared to be about writing and getting the message across. Bharti has inserted the connection between her and writing for other people (namely, novels that readers can enjoy) into a segment of Aloka's character.

En media res

After reading the back of the book for a summary (that came without any huge spoilers, mind you), I expected that the plot, involving two sisters that became estranged after one has an affair with the other's fiancée, would have at least some form of a flashback to the past, or at least begin at the very beginning of the whole sororal predicament.

And sure enough, the book begins with the elder sister Aloka Gupta 7 years after majority of the events have already occurred-- it begins with the bleak prospect of divorce for Aloka, as she finds herself a now isolated transplant in New York:

"The cold jumble of glass, concrete, chrome, and steel before her now stood in cruel contrast to the allure of that idyllic time. As she turned away, the final divorce papers, legal sized and officiously stamped with the seal of the state of New York and the day's date, stared accusingly from the top of her writing desk." (page 1)

However, the order that the events are presented in the book do not necessarily adhere to the chronological timeline of the events:

The first half of events, involving Aloka and Pranab's relationship, Sujata's affair with Pranab, then Sujata's exile and Aloka and Pranab's escape to New York (Occurring circa 1993): pages 14-94

The second half of events--Aloka and Pranab's divorce and Aloka, Pranab, and Sujata's lives in 2000 ;the trip to Darjeeling and the events during the return (Notably Sujata and Mreenal's relationship and Nina's lives with the daughters): pages 1-13, 95-302

In fact, this set up reminds me of Odysseus' narration, which also begins en media res to describe the result before the resolution-- Odysseus is about to return to Ithaca after his perilous journey home from the Trojan War, as chaos erupts within the wicked courters and women back in his home. It's an interesting format to sandwich the past between the present, almost as if it's one big flashback that has set up all the good and bad things that happen and will happen. This is also nicely paired with the flashbacks that the characters all have during the story, majority of which are essentially happier times-- a rosy retrospective outlook on the past. 

En media res could have also been used in order to show the mental state of Aloka at the beginning of the novel (not necessarily the ordeal) and the disheveled state of her mind after the divorce. I also found it interesting that the story begins and ends with Aloka, even though the story really centers on Sujata, Nina, AND Aloka. Reading through the quote from the 1st page again, I notice that Aloka begins the story looking back into the past, and how she ends the book looking towards the future. 

Impressions: So there's this quote from "Up..."

(This is a response to something I noticed after finishing the book the first time around [finally!])

"That might sound boring, but I think the boring stuff is the stuff I remember the most." --Randall

"Boring," however, does not seem to be the apt word for what I am referring to. After reading the book for the first time, I had to express my initial disappointment in all the loose ends left untied with the more minor characters of the novel, especially after so much build up in them being a larger part of the major characters' lives. I found myself missing Suzy's Victoria BC friends Eve and Ashraf (not so much a friend, but in such short time he seems to make considerable impact and give sage advice regarding Suzy's predicament)-- after what seemed to be a good amount of buildup, and especially considering that Eva is supposed to be Suzy/Sujata's closest friend in BC. The last you even hear of Eva comes on page 272:

"Does Darjeeling have half as much to offer as Victoria? You fit in so well in here. Also, won't you have to spend most of you time managing the tea estate? Will it be worth it?"

Then you never hear of her. Ever. Again.

Compare that to when Eva is first introduced to the reader-- Kirchner launches into a lengthy in-depth look at the close bond that Suzy maintains with Eva and how they depend on each other to survive the trevails of being a foreigner. Eva is also a Chinese immigrant working as a seamstress, while Suzy specializes in the tea business:

"In the years that followed, they became allies, Suzy believed, in the Asian way,close and trusting, yet maintaining a personal reserve ... Both had been raised not to inflict their problems on others. Still, life in North America had drained their habitual reserve. They chatted more freely...at the first hint of distress, one would show up for the other."(137)

To be fair however, the bond could possibly be forged by a common thread of isolation of having to survive in a foreign place, meaning that once Sujata returns back where she belongs in Darjeeling, she has less of a need to to find security for a void that has already been filled. Not saying that she would completely desert the company of Eva, but by returning to Darjeeling to stay she has most likely move on into the next stage of her life and decided to let go of her life in exile in Canada.

Similarly, an even more minor character, Ashraf, only makes about two actual appearances in the book, but seems to get along well with Sujata and understand her troubles with romance and arranged marriage. Ashraf, a Moroccan, Sujata, and Indian, and Eva, a Chinese woman, all come from very different backgrounds, but are able to find common ground (in tea and food, which I'm going to save for later posts). Their unlikelihood of ending up together in the first place demostrates the power of the melting pot when it comes to the struggles of minorities-- almost as if they have banded together to make their own presence known-- or is that going too far?