THE BOSS CAME TO DINNER

~Bhisham Sahni

Bhisham Sahni 's story 'The Boss came to Dinner' is the story of Mr. Shamnath and his family
leading a busy life in the Indian metropolis. It is a stunning depiction of how life in urban
cities are becoming so compelling and swift that, to keep pace with it, a person often
overrides the strongest of human bonds.

Mr. Shamnath had invited his boss home for dinner and arranged all the specifics of the plans
with his wife. The idea behind all this was to please his boss to an extent promotion would
we forthcoming.

The theme of the story talks about how relationships are deteriorating in modern-day society
and are taking a backseat in urban spaces. In many families, old and aged often feel helpless
and neglected by their children. Mr. Shamnath considers his mother as a problem and
therefore asks her not to come in front of the guests so that he is saved from any
embarrassment. He is oblivious to the fact that his mother is old and in dire need of affection
and love from him. Shamnath bullies and badgers his mother into accepting all his demands.
The only driving need he has is to please his boss and brag about a promotion. The story
helps us to understand the nature of the filial bonds in postmodern India and also examine the
treatment given to elderly members in a family.

Shamnath is materialistic and success-oriented, and his over-indulgent mother unconsciously

fosters such behaviour. He also has a superficial attitude and tries to pretend about his
lifestyle in front of his boss. His behaviour also indicates how society has set up certain
standards and expects people to behave in a certain manner.

The fast nature of life and the rat race for success in the modern world creates a gap in the
attitude of children towards their parents and other elderly members. These generation gaps
lead to the deterioration of some of the essential relationships for human beings, the parent-
child relationship.

The progressing nature of modern society has pushed all of us towards being materialistic. In
a land that has revered the old and elderly for years, we are now in a situation where the old
are left neglected by their children. It is not uncommon to see how family members take
away the limited resources of the elderly and leave them behind or treat them as a burden.

Bhisham Sahni’s story is a brilliant and subtle portrayal of how greed and desire for self-
advancement in individuals can lead them to destroy the relationships with their loved ones.
In the story, Shamnath’s mother was blinded by affection for her son and often overlooked
the tendencies of greed, catering enthusiastically to his every whim. In the process, she
unwillingly invited her doom. The story very subtly pictures of how parents get edged out of
their priorities of an individual as life becomes more and more complex in the huge
metropolitan cities.

SUBMITTED BY

NAME - KHUSHI NAHAR

REGISTRATION NO. - 2020349

CLASS - 1BBAC