Literature and

Globalization
Budha of Subarbia
Hanif Kureshi
Lecture 3
AMJAD ALI
Lecturer
Department of English
University of Sialkot
INTRODUCTION
• Kureishi was born in South London to a Pakistani father, and an
English mother (Audrey Buss).
• His father, Rafiushan, was from a wealthy Madras family, most of
whose members moved to Pakistan after the Partition of Britsh India in
1947.
• After his parents married, the family settled in Bromley where
Kureishi was born.
• He attended Bromley Technical High School and studied for A levels at
Bromley College of Technology.
• While at this college he was elected as Student Union President
(1972)
• He went on to spend a year studying philosophy at Lancaster
University before dropping out.
• Later he attended King’s College London and took a degree in
philosophy .
• Kureishi decided that he wanted to be a writer from a young age, and
began writing novels that were considered for publication while he was
still a teenager.
CAREER
• Kureishi started his career in the '70s as a pornography writer, under
the pseudonyms Antonia French and Karim.
• He wrote My Beautiful Laundrette in 1985, a screenplay about a gay
Pakistani-British boy growing up in 1980s London for a film directed by
Stephen Frears. It won the New York Film Critics Best Screenplay Award
and an Academy Award nomination for Best Screenplay.
• His book The Buddha of Suburbia (1990) won the Whitbread Award
for the best first novel and was made into a BBC television series with a
soundtrack by David Bowie.
• 1991 saw the release of the feature film titled London Kills Me, written and
directed by Kureishi.
• His novel Intimacy (1998) revolved around the story of a man leaving his wife
and two young sons after feeling physically and emotionally rejected by his
wife.
• This created some controversy as Kureishi had recently left his own partner
and two young sons; it was assumed to be at least semiautobiographical.
• In 2000/2001 the novel was adapted to a movie Intimacy by Patrice Chéreau,
which won two Bears at the Berlin Film Festival: a Golden Bear for Best Film
and a Silver Bear for Best Actress (Kerry Fox).
• The book was translated into Persian by NikiKarimi in 2005.
• His 2006 screenplay Venus saw Oscar, BAFTA, Screen Actors Guild,
Broadcast Film Critics Association and Golden Globe nominations for
Peter O'Toole in the best actor category.
• His latest novel, Something to Tell You, was published in 2008. His
1989 novel The Black Album, adapted for the theatre, was performed
at the National Theatre in July and August 2009.
• In 2009, Kureishi donated the short story Long Ago Yesterday to
Oxfam's 'Ox-Tales' project, four collections of UK stories written by 38
authors. His story was published in the 'Earth' collection.[7]
PERSONAL LIFE
• In 2013, Kureishi lost his life savings—intended to cover "the ups and
downs of being a writer"—in a suspected fraud.
• The London-based writer, best known for writing My Beautiful
Laundrette and The Buddha of Suburbia, said he had lost his money
after being persuaded to invest in a property deal.
• Kureishi is married, with twin boys and a younger son. The poet Maki
Kureishi is his aunt.[
List Of Works
- NOVELS • 1990 The Buddha of Suburbia. • 1995 The Black Album. •
1998 Intimacy. • 2001 Gabriel's Gift. • 2003 The Body. • 2008
Something to Tell You.
STORY COLLECTION • 1997 Love in a Blue Time London: Faber and
Faber. • 1999 Midnight All Day. London:
PLAYS and the SCREENPLAYS • 1988 Sammy and Rosie Get Laid. • 1991
London Kills Me. • 1996 My Beautiful Laundrette and other writings. •
1997 My Son The Fanatic. • 1999 HanifKureishi Plays One. • 1999 Sleep
With Me. • 2002 Collected Screenplays Volume I. • 2003 The Mother. •
2007 Venus.
THE INTIMACY 1998
• Intimacy was published in 1998 by HanifKureishi. The novel deals with a middle-
aged man and his thoughts about leaving his wife and two young sons. Plot
• the story tells why the protagonist wants to leave his family. The timespan of the
novel is roughly 24 hours. The novel was loosely adapted to a movie Intimacy in
2001.
• He has lived with his partner for 6 years and has known her for 10, he is unhappy
in his relationship and has had several affairs. The trigger for him deciding to leave
his wife is more or less that his young lover one day says to him. "If you want me,
I'm here". After that he gradually admits to himself that he's not happy with his
wife.
• There is no actual development of the main character, and in the end he leaves
the family.
Style
• He was a realistic writer-inner dialogue mixed with flashbacks,
explaining and contemplating the thoughts of the protagonist. Major
themes
• Some of the themes of the book is the following.
• Old family constructs in a modern society.
• Sexual desires versus intellectual desires. Film adaptation
• Intimacy was adapted into is a 2001 film of the same name directed
by Patrice Chreau, starring Mark Rylance and Kerry Fox.
THE BLACK ALBUM ,1995
• The main character of the novel, Shahid, lives in Britain rather than the
United States, but many of the issues remain the same. Shahid is a college
student with affluent parents who immigrated to the UK and he finds himself
torn between two worlds. He is caught between the world of Muslim religious
ideals and fervency and the western sex drugs and rock 'n' roll culture of his
favorite professor, Deedee Osgood. He experiences the persecution of those
of common heritage, as well as the mindless abandon inspired by Deedee, all
while finding moments of profound peace and enlightenment in each set of
acquaintances. Shahid's torture in attempting to choose one or the other, his
mind at war with two drastically contrasting identities, is palpable. The
disparity of these two extremes confuses and amazes him, and he is only able
to make a choice when the two worlds crash violently into one another.
• This novel shows how he deals with issues of familial responsibility,
desire, identity, and faith, among others. The novel runs the gamut of
the human experience, from the beautiful and easy to the ugly and
difficult. This novel is a great example of the difficulties that many first
or second generation immigrants may face, but it is not for those who
are easily offended.
CRITICAL WORKS

• Moore-Gilbert, Bart. HanifKureishi (Contemporary World Writers). Manchester: Manchester

University Press, 2001. • Ranasinha, Ruvani. HanifKureishi (Writers and Their Work). Devon:
Northcote House Publishers Ltd, 2002. • Thomas, Susie .HanifKureishi (Readers' Guides to
Essential Criticism). Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. • Buchanan, Bradley. HanifKureishi (New British
Fiction). Palgrave Macmillan, 2007.
HONOUR & ACHIEVEMENTS • 1987 Nominated OscarBest Writing, Screenplay Written Directly for
the Screen My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) • 1994Nominated BAFTA TV AwardBest Drama Serial
The Buddha of Suburbia (1993) • 1986 Nominated BAFTA Film AwardBest Screenplay - Original My
Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
• 2013 Nominated British Independent Film AwardBest Screenplay Le Week-End (2013) 2006
Nominated •1998Nominated British Independent Film AwardBest Original Screenplay by aBritish
Writer of a Produced Independent Film My Son the Fanatic (1997) •2003Nominated European
Film AwardBest Screenwriter The Mother (2003) Prize
• 2007Won HumanitasPrizeFeature Film Category Venus (2006) • 2004 Nominated ALFS
Award British Screenwriter of the Year The Mother (2003) • 1987 Won NSFC AwardBest
Screenplay My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
• 1986Won NYFCC AwardBest Screenplay My Beautiful Laundrette (1985)
• What does a good essay do for the reader? An essay isn’t a work of nonfiction, it isn’t
journalism as such. It’s written to inspire, provoke and ultimately to give pleasure to the
reader. Essays differ from fiction, in that you don’t distribute yourself amongst your
characters. There is one single full-on point of view.
• Did you find it difficult to become a writer? - It’s very difficult at the beginning, because
you don’t really know who you are, and you don’t know if you are going to become the
writer that you want to be. Until you are established, you think: am I a writer? Or am I
someone who is pretending to be a writer? It was bloody hard work getting ,therebut it’s
fantastic to have done it.
The Buddha of Suburbia
By
Hanif Kureshi
Chapter 1: mysticism, alcohol, sexual promise, clever people and drugs

• Karim Amir, seventeen years old, has his roots in India and England (his mum is
English and his father Indian). He is easily bored and "looking for trouble, any kind of
movement, action and sexual interest" he can find. He is ready for everything. His
little brother is called Allie.
• At the end of the day, his father (Haroon) hands his supper to his mum (Margaret)and
starts to practise his yoga exercises. In contrast to the fit Haroon, Karim’s mother is a
plump and unphysical women with a pale, round face. She is ashamed of her husband
s crazy ideas and begs Karim to draw the curtain so that she is sure of nobody can
watch his yoga training. That night they have a meeting with Mrs. Eva Kay where
Haroon may speak on one or two aspects of oriental philosophy. However, Margaret
does not want to come with him because, in her opinion, Eva just wants to see
Haroon and will ignore her. To her mind she is much "too English" and Eva is
fascinated by Indian people.
• Because of that Karim joins Haroon, after taking ages to get ready for the meeting. He choses turquois
flared trousers, a blue and white flower-patterned see-through shirt, blue suede boots with Cuban heels,
and a scarlet Indian waistcoat. Karim likes to be dressed crazily.
• Karim has to help Haroon, who lived in England for more then twenty years since 1950 and who almost
spends most of his time in South London suburbs, but still lacks any orientation of where he lives, and
cannot find the way to the meeting on his own. Karim is ashamed of that.
• At the meeting, Karim realizes that his father and Eva are having an affair, because his father earlier told
him of his unhappy marriage with his mum. Eva’s son Charlie, of whom Karim is fascinated, visits the
same school as Karim. Moreover, Eva, who is good-tempered, is the only person Karim can really talk to.
• At the meeting everybody sits cross-legged on the floor and there is some chanting music around. Karim
talks to Charlie, who tells him about his father who has nervous breakdowns and who hit Eva several
times before they got divorced.
• The people at the meeting, basically artists, discuss about music and books and after watching them for a
while, Karim reckons that they are all braggarts. Above all there comes along the aggravation with his
father, who seems to have the best time of his live.
• Charlie invites Karim to his room in the attic, but before they go, they watch the group doing some relaxing
Yoga exercises, led by Karim s father.
• When they arrive in Charlie’s room, Karim admires his spiritual attitude and feels inferior. Charlie impersonates
his wishes and Karim wants to be like him. They listen to Pink Floyd and smoke a joint, so that Karim is
impressed by the world Charlie lives in, a world of mysticism, alcohol, sexual promise, clever people and
drugs.
• When he recognizes that his dad and Eva aren’t in the group of hypnotized Buddhas’ anymore, he looks for
them and sees them having sex. After watching them, he returns to Charly and a sexual tension between them
develops. They lay togehter in his bed and fumble around. Just before they kiss, Haroon and Eva enter the
room and interrupt them. Back home, Karim s dad gets very angry about him and they argue. Also his mum
gets upset when she sees her husband that drunken, so they sleep separated that night.
• After that incident, Karim’s dad doesn’t speak for several weeks and Karim recognizes how sick of life his
mother is, but neither he nor his dad help her. Instead Karim reads her sketch pad and sees that she knows
about Haroon’s affair.
• At the end of chapter one, Karim and his father get along again and Haroon tells him about his new business
plans.
Chapter 2: Haroon s childhood and his
development
• Haroon and Anwar were neighbours and best friends when they lived in Bombay (Mumbai).
Moreover, they did a lot of things together.
Haroon thinks that Karim should become an actor but in fact he wants him to become a doctor with
an ordinary life. Earlier Haroon was sent to England to be educated and after that to return to India
again. But he did not know he would never see his mother again. But it put out Haroon had problems
in practical life, especially concerning household chores. Living in London was not very comfortable
for Haroon and he met a lot of poor people, he thought they would not exist in England. Above all
Haroon and Anwar had to stay somewhere and they found an opportunity in the house of Dr. Lal, who
is an Indian dentist and a friend of Haroon’s father.

As to Anwar, he likes prostitutes, but he is married with princess Jeeta. Moreover he studied in the
north of London. Haroon did not take his studies very seriously, because he wasn’t able to
concentrate. Later on Haroon got to know Margaret in a bar and they loved each other at first sight. At
this time of his life he just drank beer and ended up as a low-paid clerk. Later on Anwar won a lot of
money and established a shop with the help of Jeeta.
Haroon begins to talk about Chinese philosophy which makes the
others crazy and it seems he lives in another world where money does
no matter. Haroon thinks that he can’t be successful in a community of
white people, but Anwar wants him to begin a normal life again.
Haroon meets Eva who is also impressed of Buddhist thoughts and
shares his interests. Moreover they always dream of a better life,
especially when passing nice housing areas. In the end a girl called
Helen appears. She seems to be interested in Karim who rather dreams
of Charly who has not called him since their last meeting.
Chapter 3: Uncle Ted and Auntie Jean

• The 3rd chapter is centred around Uncle Ted and Aunt Jean also known as Gin and Tonic.
Auntie Jean is Karim s mother s older sister. Uncle Ted and Karim have always had a nice
relationship. The couple arranges big parties where money, power and social status are
in the foreground. Therefore Karim’s family doesn’t really fit in. Unfortunately, Uncle Ted
and Auntie Jean notice that Haroon has an affair with Eva. Aunt Jean is shocked and
explains that she was really unhappy about Karim s father being black when he married
Margaret, her sister.

The same day Karim goes to Helen to meet her. All of a sudden her father opens the door
to show his utter disrespect and discrimination against coloured people. At that point,
one realizes that Karim will face big problems if he dares to touch Helen.
After the harsh ejection Karim realizes the dog s attraction to him. He even goes so far to
think that the dog is in love with him, because he is treated like a sex-object by the dog..
Chapter 4: Haroon frees Ted
• Karim thinks about the relationship between Eva and his Dad, when Ted comes to their house and talks
to Karim s Mum about the situation. Then he goes to see Haroon in his room, who convinces him to fix
his record-player. Ted tries to make him stop being a buddhist and holding speeches in front of people,
but Karim s Dad doesn t really listen to him. Instead, he starts freeing Ted from his
• and his boring life. He influences him until Ted bursts into tears and is persuaded to change his way of
life

Karim cycles to Anwar s and Jeeta s Paradise Store. Jeeta adjures him to go out for a walk with Jamila,
on which he tells her everything about the events at home. She doesn t really help him to handle his
problems. Then Jamila tells him about her problems, how she and her family have to tolerate all the
racial discrimination, that her father was always worried about her future and, because of that, he tries
to control her and decided to arrange a marriage for her. Jamila would already have run away and lived
somewhere else, if Anwar didn t abuse Jeeta for all this. Karimthinks, that Anwar isn t able to make
Jamila do things she doesn t want, but then she shows Anwar to him. He is on a hunger strike trying to
extort Jamila and looks pretty awful. She is really desperate and even Karim has no idea how to help her.
Chapter 5: Anwar s hunger strike
• He thinks about all these things while he cycles to a teashop in another part of the town. But then he
observes his father calling Eva from a public phone. When his father recognizes him, he goes to Karim
and they have a conversation about Eva and his feelings for her in contrast to the feelings for Karim’s
mother. Haroon doesn’t want his wife to suffer and he isn’t sure if he should leave her. After that he
hugs and kisses Karim, then they both go their own way. That day Karim feels very close to his dad,
but afterwards at home nothing has changed.

The following days Jamila’s situation becomes worse, so she wants to meet Karim after school. But
that day he meets Helen at school, who kisses him and wants to spend the afternoon with him . He
agrees because he has forgotten about the meeting with Jamila. Near school, they also meet Charlie,
who usually ignores Karim, because of his success with his band Mustn t Grumble. But Charlie knows
Helen and talks to her, so Karim uses the situation to ask him about his mother. After that coversation,
Karim decides to encourage his father and Eva to get together, because that way he will be connected
to Charlie for years.
• When Helen and Karim leave school, they meet Jamila and they spend the day in a threesome. Helen
gets to know about Anwar s hungerstrike and that Jamila has to obey or he would die. For Jamila there
is no way out, so the three decide to ask Karim s father for help. His dad meditates about the problem
while Jamila, Karim and Helen go for a walk and finally they go into a pub. There they talk about
Charlie’s sudden fame (Helen’s impressed, Jamila doesn t like him at all) and Jamila gets drunk.

Later that night they go back to Karim s father who doesn t answer with "yes" or "no" to Jamila, but
he talks about the loss of old values, spirit and culture. About secularism, materlism and other
problems of a modern society. He says that Jamila has to think about the persons she lives with and
that happiness is only possible if one follows his own feelings, intuition and real desires. For him only
unhappiness is gained by acting in accordance with duty, obligation, guilt or the desire to please
others.

At that moment Karim knows that his father is going to leave his mother, but when Helen and Karim
take Jamila home, she also makes a decision
Chapter 6: Changez, Jamila s husband-to-
be, arrives at the airport
• Chapter 6 deals with the arrival of Jamila s husband-to-be Changez, his integration into
Anwar s family, and with Haroon s decision to be with Eva.
Karim, Jamila and Jeeta drive to the airport to pick up Jamila s husband-to-be called
Changez "Not-Flaubert". When they drive with the Rover of Helen`s dad "Hairy Back", it
is a kind of revenge for Karim because Helen s father doesn t like him and would be very
angry if he knew that some Indian guys were sitting in his car. Changez and Jamila are
about to stay at the "Ritz" for a couple of nights. When the car turns into the street,
Anwar is standing in the window of his "paradise shop" waiting for them anxiously.
Later, Anwar celebrates his victory over the women with Karim only because there is no
one else to celebrate with. Anwar wants to take his wife Jeeta to an Indian restaurant
because she is so loving towards her family. According to Anwar, Jamila will become
pregnant and have many Indian children, which makes Anwar glad.
• Jamila wants to tell Karim about her decision to marry the man her father has chosen
for her but Karim forgets the meeting. He is so ecstatic about his triumph over the dog-
owners daughter whom he has had sex with in the park.
At dinner, Karim notices that Jamila wears the traditional Indian clothes for married
women. After a few words with Changez, Karim begins to like him and is willing to show
him the city.
Karim meets his dad and Eva in Eva`s car and drives away with them because he wants
to see Charlie, and he leaves Helen alone. That is the last time he sees her.
On the way to Eva s home, Karim notices that she and his dad are a couple because his
dad doesn t take his eyes off her face and their hands are constantly touching each
other. When they arrive at Eva s home, she shoves Karim upstairs to Charlie s room. He
sees that she and his dad go into the front room hand in hand and close the door
behind them to have sex. Later, Karim s dad tells him that he wants to be with Eva.
Chapter 7: Karim s parents getting separated and him
hanging around a lot of time with Changez and Jamila
• Karim’s parents get separated and he leaves the house with Eva and his dad to live with them at Eva’s
place.

After a while Karim stops going to school and visits a college which Eva arranged for him. Unfortunately,
he soon stops going there too and strolls around London, living at several places like Jamila s and
Changez , who now have a little flat in South London.
Changez has to sleep on a camp-bed in the livingroom because Jamiladoesn’t want to sleep in bed with
him. She has quit school, too, but unlike Karim she educates herself and reads a lot.
Changez works in Anwar s shop for a while until Anwar gets mad at him because he doesn’t do his job
properly. Changez gets injured because of Anwar, stops working and starts to stroll around in London
with Karim. After a while both, Karim and "Chagey", become mates.

One day Karim is asked by Changez if he thinks that Jamila will ever sleep with him, but he says that he
doesn t think so and after Changez has had another argument with Anwar he visits a prostitute named
Shinko with whom he sleeps from time to time because Jamiladoesn’t want to sleep with him.
Karim visits his mother who now lives with his Uncle Ted and his Aunt Jean.
He feels very sad for her because she looks very unhappy and weak and she
tells him that she feels like nobody loves her, even after Karim assures his aunt
that Ted loves her and will be there for her.
After visiting his mother he goes to Jamila s and Changez s place and Changez
tells Karim to keep Jamiladistraced, while he visits Shinko.
When Changez goes away Karim and Jamila have sex and Karim tells her
about Changez and the prostitute Shinko but Jamila doesn’t seem to bother
much.
When Karim wakes up again Changez is back and watches him and Jamila
from his camp-bed. So Karim leaves the flat in a hurry, leaving Changez and
Jamila to their problems and feeling like he has betrayed everyone.
Chapter 8: Out of school
• Karim tells his father that he failed all of his exams, because he skipped school. His father gets
angry, but Karim doesn t care. The next day Karim sees Uncle Ted at Eva s house in his
dungaree. Eva wants to do reconstruction on the house and wants Haroon and Karim to help
her with it. Then Karim is introduced to Shadwell, a theatre director and friend of Eva s. She
helped him with one of his productions and they went out to dinners and parties together.
She also takes Haroon to these parties, to meet people she thinks to be important.
Though Haroon is living with Eva now, he still cares a lot for Margaret and feels guilty, because
she suffers from their separation. Eva notices that and isn t too happy about it, of course.
Haroon, Eva and Karim go to all of Charly s gigs, but they feel the band lacks an individual
sound. Although he isn t very successful with his music, Charlie still behaves like God walking
on earth. He seems to be able to make anyone fall in love with him.
On the other hand, Karim starts seeing his relationship to Charlie with different eyes. He can t
understand that his charm attracted him for so long.
Finally, after one of Charlie s gigs, Karim tells him off, and leaves a baffled Charlie behind.
Chapter 9: Central London and its
surprising effects ...
• Karim moves with his new Family (including Eva, Charlie and his father) to West Kensington, which is
situated in central London near Hyde Park.
• The flat that Eva buys to start a new chapter in her life, with all the furniture and damages, is dowdy
and looks as if nobody lived in there for centuries.
• Except Eva, nobody likes their new home. There aren’t any beds aside from an old sofa, so Karim and
Charlie have to sleep in the front room.
• Eva is glad about the situation and knows exactly what it is supposed to look like in the future and
neither Haroon and Charlie nor Karim denigrate her flat when she is present.
• Impressed by the big city, Karim feels free but doesn t know what to do with this freedom. He just
has to settle in the (big) city life. Karim appreciates the fact, that living in such a huge city also means
anonymity.
• Karim s main aim during his night-time activities is the "Nashville", a famous bar. After a night being
there together with Charlie, Karim goes home alone, because Eva’s son seizes his chance to get to
know the members of a punk band by jumping in their car after the show.
• Eva brims over with enthusiasm for parties and so she organizes one in their flat. She invites half of
London.
• When Jamila, Changez and the Japanese woman arrive Karim is happy and talks to them, until Eva
comes. Changez tells him, that Jamila is now friends with Shinko (the Japanese) and warns Karim not
to forget his old friends.
•
• One of the many guests is Shadwell, a healthy, successful and well-known man, a long-time friend of
Eva s.
• To help Karim with his career in London, she wants him to speak with Shadwell about theatre and
acting, because Shadwell owns a theatre for one season and that s why he looks for actors who want
to be set in his play.
• Shadwell invites Karim to prove his talent for acting.
• Karim works hard and it’s worth the effort. Shadwell is enthusiastic and offers Karim the main part in
the play The Jungle Book as Mowgli.
Chapter 10: Summer of changes.....

• In this chapter Karim’s mum leaves Ted and Jean and moves back into their old house.
Now she feels much better and she’s active again, though she has become a bit fat.
She still doesn’t speak very much and she does things she has never done before.
One day, when the rehearsals start, Karim says goodbye to his mum and leaves South
London to stay with his Dad and Eva once more. He looks forward to the work and
being with the other actors, in the pub and the cafe.
At first he feels bad, because of his costume as Mowgli he feels wrong and Mr.
Shadwell doesn’t even try to understand him. Karim and the other actor named Terry
become friends. They talk every day and Karim likes him more than anyone he has
met for a long time. During rehearsal Karim gains confidence. At the flat there are
drinks, parties and little dinners every week.
Eva starts her career and gets more and more successful.
• One night Karim sees Charlie, he doesn’t recognize him at first, because he has only seen
photographs of his new personality, his new punk style is very different from his old one.
After this meeting he goes with Eva to one of Charlie s gigs to see what it was that has
turned him into a new person. Karim is very impressed by Charlie s big con trick.
The dress rehearsal of "The Jungle Book" is very good, no one forgets their lines and
technically all is fine except for one slip. One evening Karim s mum, Ted and Jean come to
see the preview, his mum now works as a receptionist at a doctor’s practise.
One night the theatre director Pyke books a ticket for The Jungle Book and because of
that everybody is very nervous. Pyke is the most important visitor, he has his own
company and he s very popular and successful. Terry thinks that Pyke is looking about him
to give him a job but Pyke wants to talk to Karim. The other actors are amazed and
resentful that Pyke wants to talk to him.
Pyke offers him a job, everybody reacts very jealous, especially Mr Shadwell is very angry
with Karim and even Terry is jealous as well, even though he s a good friend of Karim s.