PRESENTED BY :-

DEEPANKIT ARORA(1920410)
SAHER BHATIA(1920445)
SHREYA JAJWARE(1920468)
INTRODUCTION
&
THEME
• Metropolitan life is fast becoming the current reality in India. Life in an Indian
metropolis is hectic; and does not allow familial and cultural aspects to be wholesome
and congenial. Relational bonds weaken, and an attitude of unconcern fills the minds of
the residents in these huge urban spaces. The desire for success blinds an individual to
his/her responsibilities. Bhisham Sahani’s short story The Boss came to Dinner clearly
reflects the changed familial conditions in postmodern India.

THEME:-
• looking inwards
• Ingratitude
• generation gap
• Selfishness, not thinking about anyone in this rat race
SUMMARY
• Shamnath told the boss that his mother was living in the village. She was from a rural
background. The officer said he liked rural folks. He guessed Shamnath’s mother must know
folk dances and folk-songs.
• The subject of discussion changed to village industry products of Punjab. Shamnath told the
boss that he would present many products of village industry in the office. Then he said that he
would present the boss a phulkari.
• The mother showed the Sahib an old phulkari. It was torn and threadbare. Shamnath told the
boss that he would ask her to knit a phulkari for him. The Sahib nodded and proceeded
towards the dining table with other guests.
• The mothers retire to her room. She sat against the wall and wept. The mother was afraid
with a thought that she had committed a mistake. Shamnath embraced her praising that she
had done wonders in the party.
• The old mother asked the son to leave her at Hardware. Shamnath got angry and asked her if
she wanted to discredit him by going to Hardware. The mother said that she should not be
misunderstood. She wanted to pass the rest of her life in meditation leaving the son and the
daughter-in-law in peace.
• Mr. Shamnath was an employee in ail office. Once he invited his boss to dinner. Therefore, on
the day of dinner, he and his wife started arranging things and decorating their house. When
they were busy keeping things in order they thought over their old mother.

• Shamnath considered his mother to be an odd thing. He did not want his mother to be seen in
the presence of the guests.

• His wife suggested sending their mother to the neighborhood where she would pass the night.
Shamnath did not like the wife’s proposal. He asked his mother to stay in the verandah when
he would receive the guests in the drawing room. He asked his mother, when the guests would
come to the drawing room she should, go to her own room through the bathroom.

• The boss arrived at Shamnath’s house along with his wife. They were accompanied by some
Indian colleagues of Shamnath and their wives. The dinner was very successful. At first they
took drinks and started gossiping.

• They came out of the drawing room. Shamnath was leading them. When they reached verandah
Shamnath saw his mother sleeping and swaying on the chair. She also snored. She woke up and
got confused seeing so many people around her.
CHARACTER
SKETCH
• Shyamnath: In the short story 'The Boss Came to Dinner' by Bhisham Sahni, Shyamnath
has a very negligent attitude towards his mother and has no regard for her. He treats her as an
unnecessary odd object in the house. He wants to hide her in the verandah in order to avoid
her presence during the visit of his boss and other guests. He seems to be ashamed of his
ignorant and uneducated mother and refuses to identify her in front of the guests when they
spot her sleeping on the chair in the verandah.

• Mother : The author’s mother was a religious lady who loved her son selflessly, she sold all
her jewellery for his education. She was illiterate and ignorant but always prayed for the best
for his son. She listened to whatever her son said. There were times when she felt bad and
embarrassed but never complained. She was a lady who hid her emotions and was ready to do
anything for the betterment of her son.

• Boss :The boss showed a lot of interest in the Indian culture. He appreciated the Indian food,
the old wedding song sung by the lady and showed interest in the local industries of Punjab. He
felt bad for the mother as she was sitting in the veranda in a very pitiable state. The boss
seemed to enjoy at the dinner.
SOCIAL
ISSUES
• The guests who came to Shamnath’s place for dinner included men and women. The dinner passed
off without any problems. However, many social issues happened after that.

• After dinner, when the guests came to the verandah, they saw Shamnath’s mother sitting on a chair
and swaying sideways. She was snoring loudly.

• When the male guest greeted the mother with a Namaste and wanted to shake her hand, she
stretched her left hand as she did not want to drop the beads that she had in her right hand.

• When Shamnath asked his mother to entertain the guests with a Punjabi folksong, she sang a part of
a wedding song.

• When Shamnath told his mother to show his boss a few village handicrafts, she got a torn phulkari
from the room.