Upamanyu Chatterjee The Last Burden Analysis

Upamanyu Chatterjee, is one of the powerful and emerging voices amongst India’s postcolonial literary stalwarts. His novels are written in a humorous style and are intended to go beyond the basic concept of comedy. He defied conventional traditions and created a niche for himself. Through his works, one can see his protests against the austere world of the Indian Administrative System. Most of his novels focus on the life of a young westernized diplomate who is posted in a non-descript town. The characteristics of his novels have a wry sense of humour, amazing language and an eye to portray the life of middle-class India. The satirical aspect of his novels sometimes shocks readers. However, there are critics who are of the view that he has

Chatterjee graphs “structure of emotions” in his latest novel “The Last Burden”. The book is “challenging and complex: it deserves to be read in detail in order to be savoured properly”. He explores the dark side of kinship and family ties because his thesis is that one is naked only with one’s family. The writer probes into the mysterious working of the human mind and delineates the complex problems of the complex age in contemporary Indian society. Being a sensitive writer, his concerns are disintegration of the family, discontinuity of the tradition, conflict between the generations and several other issues which result in loneliness and isolation of an individual. The novel records the hero’s changing moods and the ebb and flow of his emotions. Tejpal in his profile points out “the book is powerful affirmation of the ties that bind parents and

The common denominator among Chatterjee, Lawrence and Porter is “the most palpably important relationship” recorded between son and mother. Another parallel which intensifies “the important relationship” is autobiographical element in these novels. “The Watcher” records Porter’s account of his mother’s death and funeral, which can be compared with Paul Morel’s tearing grief which is the climax of “Sons and Lovers”. Coincidentally Chatterjee’s mother died during writing of “The Last Burden” and the writer finds objective correlative in Jamun’s grief. In at least two respects each one of them differs in their representation of autobiographical