Generational Gap

‘ “Why do you blame the country for everything? It has been good enough for four
hundred millions,” Jagan said, remembering the heritage of the Ramayanaya and the
Bhagavad Gita and all the trials and sufferings he had undergone to win independence.
He muttered, “You were not born in those days.” ‘

The generation gap appears through Jagan’s generation, his father’s

generation and his son’s generation. He is in the middle. The main gap
that appears between the different generations is the change in
traditions and their way of life.
>> Jagan is completely different from his father. Jagan’s Father is an
authoritative patriarchal figure who thrives as the head of the household
and assumes that position with resolve.
>> Jagan is more passive in his role as a father – he does not assume
the authority that the Patriarchal Indian society offers him. Rather, he
hides under Mali’s shadow, and is afraid to confront him.
>>>>
>>Jagan performs the role of a patriotic Indian and this influences his
lifestyle. He absorbed these notions during Colonial times when India
was fighting for freedom from Britain. However, even after receiving
independence, he refuses to be more practical. Therefore, his eccentric
ways are completely disastrous and infuriating to Mali. Mali is not aware
of why his father vehemently refuses to embrace the good things from
western culture, because he was never a part of the struggle for freedom
– he has no direct experience of the oppression the Indians went
through under British rule. On the other hand, Jagan fails to loosen the
grip on his eccentric ways. This formula combines to create an unhealthy
friction between the father and son.
>> Many from Mali’s generation will fail to understand the importance of
the rejection of western ways which Jagan displays – this is similar to
your generation. How many of you were aware of Black July 1983 before
you read the poem for literature? (Click here  for a model answer for The
Big Match, 1983)This gap in experience and/or knowledge may make
you misunderstand the traumatic traces that are left behind in the adults
around you. Maybe your parent is paranoid about sending you in the
train or bus (maybe because they still remember how one of their good
friends were caught in one of the bombings). But your generation will be
unable to understand how the past and their memories of the past
heavily affect their behaviour. So, when they do some of the things they
do, your generation may find it strange.

Cultural Gap

‘Oh, these are not the days of your ancestors. Today we have to compete with
advanced countries not only in economics and industry, but also in culture.’
-Mali-

The cultural gap is evident between Jagan and Mali. The first exposure
to western culture is the education that Jagan and Mali both receive.
While Jagan received western education in an era where the nation was
in the middle of the struggle for independence, Mali receives western
education a decade or so later. Therefore, even though Jagan retains a
rather impractical and over-zealous patriotic longing (or loyalty), Mali has
had no direct experience of that struggle. He does s not even receive
this education from his father (even though he claims to be a Ghandian
who shuns western practices, he fails to teach Mali about Indian values
or traditions). Therefore, Mali easily rejects Indian traditions and the
Indian lifestyle without any regrets or second thoughts.

There are several examples of the cultural gap that can be written in
your answers.
1. Religion
>> Jagan is portrayed as a devout/pious/deeply religious character who
begins the day with prayers, incense and flowers offered to goddess
Lakshmi (goddess of wealth).
>> He reads the Baghavat Gita daily (which is replaced by ‘Mali’s’ letters
from America at one point). >> He casually recites or uses quotes from
the holy texts in conversation and tries to live according to his Religion –
he loosely follows the four Ashramas (stages) of Hinduism.

However, unlike Jagan, Mali displays a completely different attitude

toward religion.
>> Mali does not seem to pray, offer flowers or incense to any god.
>> Mali shows no respect to his father’s religious inclinations either. He
is utterly disrespectful.
>> In the letters he writes that ‘I’ve taken to eating beef’ and I don’t think
I’m any the worse for it. Steak is something quite tasty and juicy. Now I
want to suggest why not you people start eating beef?’ – Jagan is
shocked by the news as the killing of a cow is the deadliest sin according
to the shastras.

>>>>Eating beef and the lack of reverence toward religion are things

that Mali learnt from America. He brings the culture of America into
Jagan’s life which worsens the lack of understanding between the two of
them.

2. Traditions/ Rituals
>> Jagan is adamant (stubborn) about rejecting western inventions and
behaviours. This is a result of being a part of the freedom struggle.
However, he is obviously unable to adapt to the changing society and
hurts people close to him – his wife and son. He boasts about the
powers of margosa and refuses to give aspirin to Ambika when she is in
pain.
>> Jagan stringently practices a frugal lifestyle advocated by Ghandi. He
wears a doti, spins his own clothes, uses dead animals and makes his
own leather and does not use a toothbrush – he was not interested in
the consumerist lifestyle of excessively purchasing goods.
>> Even though he calls himself a Ghandian, he fails to let go of the
Caste system – even though he tells Grace that ‘It is going’ when asked
by her if the Caste system is gone, he discusses with the cousin about
what to do regarding Grace’s castelessness.

>> Unlike Jagan, who rejected western ways, Mali embraces them.
Instead, he rejects the traditional Indian ways. Mali throws away his
study books while in India because he wants to move to America to learn
writing.
>> Instead of a dhoti, he wears suits and the narrator describes Mali as
‘the gentleman’ from Jagan’s perspective when he arrives in India after
living in America for three years.
>> While Jagan advocated a frugal life, Mali is the opposite – he
promotes the western culture of consumerism (especially in the 1960’s,
before consumerism became a universal element of civilizations). His
story-writing machine shows how he transforms the creative and almost
revered art of writing into a cheap, affordable and mass-produced
product which can be purchased by anyone for a few bucks. The
creativity, the skill and the vision needed to become a writer are all
devalued and trivialized with the creation of such a product.
>>Mali travels around in scooter and in his car (according to Jagan, Mali
did not enjoy walking from his early years) – he seems to have used
alcoholic beverages irresponsibly (alcohol found in his car).

>> Rather than worrying about the caste of the girl he is marrying, he
lives together with a foreign woman who is not his wife. For Jagan this is
a huge concern and he plans to convert Grace through a contact of the
cousin. Since many of you have watched Hollywood movies the concept
of living together is not novel (new) to you. But imagine actually doing
that in Sri Lanka! Your parents would disown you – can you imagine
your mother wailing (like the sari-make-up-and-tear-wearing women in
mahagedara) and your father not even accepting you as his own child!
Then imagine this happening more than 50 years ago, in INDIA! Mali
embraces western concepts, lifestyles and defies everything his father
stood for – and he rejects and mocks the Indian culture.

>>>>The above details show how Mali continuously rejected traditional

Indian culture and embraced conflicting western lifestyles and concepts.
This desire to behave in a defiant manner may be his rebellion against
his father

3. Marriage
Jagan’s marriage was done according to Indian culture, following Hindu
rituals. I will list some of these.
>> The proposal – Jagan’s father was very much involved in this. When
they visited Ambika’s family, the brother plays a major role in advising
Jagan. This shows how the entire family was heavily invested in the
Proposal and preliminary meetings (even before talking about the
wedding).
>> Prenuptial visits – Before their wedding, the fathers met many times
to discuss matters. There were exchanges of gifts as well.
>> 3000 people invited by Jagan’s father, who painstakingly ensured
that all the relatives were remembered.
>> Auspicious times were observed and this is a crucial part of the
wedding.
>> Sacred rites, chants and rituals observed.
All of the above illustrates how the marriage was not merely two
individuals uniting – it was the unification of a whole lineage – two entire
families uniting through the wedding. According to Indian tradition, the
wedding is a crucial social function because the sense of community in
India is much stronger than it is in America.
Mali, on the other hand flouts all the above details that Jagan observed
and lives with Grace.
>> He is unmarried but lives with Grace – and he lies to his father.
>> There is no involvement of the father, or his blessing. Jagan’s
authority as a parent is non-existent.
>>>> Mali does not see the importance and respect that Jagan places
upon marriage. Rather than trying to understand the differences in the
cultures they want to embrace, Mali decides to use this conflict against
his father, and displays his defiance and blatant disregard for everything
Jagan believes and follows.

4. Family
The father-son relationship in India and America are very different.
>> Jagan’s father was a typical patriarchal figure who exercised the
authority he had as the head of the household. He was involved in his
children’s lives and took the responsibility upon his shoulders.
>> Jagan did not dare rebel against his father because he was a firm
and authoritative man.
>> However, when parenting Mali, Jagan fails to create the necessary
boundaries and interactions that he needed to create as the parent.
Jagan says that he has never upset his son and that he was afraid to
confront him. Therefore, Jagan enables Mali to becomes self-absorbed,
stubborn and disrespectful.
>> And living in America, where the parental authority over the adult
child is not strict, Mali becomes even more arrogant with his father – he
looks at him with condescension.

>>>> Therefore, the father-son relationship is also another point where

cultures collide, and Mali confronts and disregards Jagan.

Ambika and Grace difference (women in two cultures) – as women and

as Wife and Fiance

5. Role of Women
>> Ambika is the more traditional woman and as Jagan’s wife she is
expected to fulfill the typical tasks expected by an Indian woman in a
rigid patriarchal society – child-bearing, child-rearing, cooking, washing
clothes and taking care of the household.
>> Jagan tells Mali that a wife should never leave a woman to which Mali
responds saying ‘Who are you to stop her from going where she
pleases? She is a free person, not like the daughters-in-law in our
miserable country.’
>> Grace is completely different – She tells Jagan ‘I used to work. I had
two thousand dollars when I came here. All that’s gone… Mo has no
more use for me.’ She is independent and does not rely on a man for her
survival. However, even though she seemed well off, after coming to
india she loses everything she has and has to start from the bottom once
again – this may reflect how Indian society at that time was still in the
embryonic stages of women’s emancipation.
>>>> The conclusion is that Jagan fails to understand the disparity of the
Indian and American cultures and how Ambika and Grace behave and
act differently due to this reason.
His frame of interpreting what’s good and evil does not work for the
American culture – therefore, Jagan fails to offer any grace to Grace and
ends up judging her for external things.

Communication Gap

‘Fate seemed to decree that there should be no communication between them.’

(Chapter 9)
‘He was in one of his rare moods of communication.’ (Chapter 5)
‘From that day, the barrier had come into being. The boy had ceased to speak to him
normally.’ (Chapter 3).

Jagan fails to communicate effectively with himself and with others.

Communication is a crucial element in any relationship – if there is no

communication, there will be no relationship. Take Jagan’s life. What are
the healthy relationships that he has in his life? You said the cousin?
Isn’t he there to just benefit from whatever Jagan can give him? The free
sweets… and at the end he gets full access to Jagan’s sweet shop. So
even his relationship with the cousin is not a genuine one built on real
concern for the other person (to a certain degree, many of the
relationships in our lives contain some semblance of a transaction
anyway – because we expect certain things from the ones we love.
When we learn to love them without expectations – if possible at all –
that would be the truest form of love, I guess). So, Jagan, at the end of
the story, does not have any true friendship or relationship left. This is
due to his failure to communicate.

Jagan and Mali

According to the story, Mali becomes increasingly taciturn after the
emotional breakdown of Jagan nearing the death of Ambika. As the
parent, Jagan should have spoken to Mali and articulated his grief and
helped Mali express his grief as well. Putting ones emotions into words
and expressing it is an important part of dealing with loss. However,
rather than communicating with his son and trying to console him, Jagan
feels sorry for Mali and weeps while holding his hand – Mali shrugs
himself away from him.

As the story progresses we realize that Jagan is afraid to upset his son –
because of this he refrains from communicating with him. He avoids
confronting him about the important stuff (leaving college, deciding to go
to America, stealing Jagan’s money, Grace, eating beef). This lack of
communication is a reflection of his cowardliness – he does not want to
lose Mali, and he does not want to correct him either. He purportedly has
strong beliefs and practices, but when it comes to Mali he tolerates the
behaviour because of the fear of upsetting him.

Father-Son Relationship

Women

Materialism and Spirituality

Appearance and Reality