Shadow Lines and the Concept of Nation

0Shadow Lines and The Concept Of Nation

A major issue of emphasis in Amitav Ghosh’s novel The Shadow Lines is the notion of conceiving a nation it’s !oundaries and it’s identit"# identit"# The author !elieves that these  !oundaries are constructed ethereal and ar!itrar"# These Shadow Lines are just an illusion a manifestation of the force of nationalism a force that Ghosh dreads !eing capa!le of inducing wanton !loodshed# Challenging the ver" idea of national !orders of an" !oundaries whatsoever ac$uires the  pivotal place in the Shadow Lines# The author uses a narrative st"le where the !oundaries of time and space get !lurred the narrative consistentl" moving from one countr" to another from one time frame to another# %n the novel distances cease to have a corporeal meaning for the narrator who is shown to !e disillusioned a!out the fa&ade of !oundaries# The idea of considering nation as a m"th or a fa!rication li'e (enedict (ened ict Anderson and considering nationalism as har!inger of violence li'e Tagore does is em!raced !" the narrator# The paper will deal with the ideas of nationalism associated with the different characters in the novel# Tridi! the narrator’s uncle is represented as a person with a glo!al consciousness# (lessed with a 'een sense of imagination and perception he gives the narrator worlds to travel even when he remains in Calcutta# Calcutta# )e e*erts vast influence influence upon the people around him especiall" the narrator# Tridi! identifies himself with Tristan Tristan a man without a countr" who falls in love with a woman across the seas# This identification seems to impl" that tha t Tridi! is without a countr"# (ut wh" is that so+ The narrator !elieved that Tridi! was happiest in places of neutralit"# )e 'nows a!out a vast spectrum of things from ,astern ,uropean -a.. to to the Senna /"nast"# )e was e$uall" at ease with the Gole ar' people as he was with the rices in London falls in love with a foreigner# /oes this cosmopolitanism impl" the fruitlessness of !oundaries+ Or does Ghosh fail to loo' at the !roader picture where millions of people not cosmopolites li'e Tridi! who find solace within these lines+ %la’s character is diametricall" opposite to Tridi!’s# Tridi!’s# She too has traveled around the world !ut unli'e Tridi! who uses his imagination with precision she constructs a haven for herself from realit"# She might !e considered a !eaut" !" her relatives she wishes to  !e good loo'ing in Anglo1Sa*on terms# )er insecurit" a!out her features features gains a ph"sical representation via 2agda her doll having !londe hair fair comple*ion and !lue e"es# 3or her freedom means the a!ilit" to do whatever she wants# So she earnestl" !elieves that she is free in ,ngland and an d not in %ndia# (it she is definitel" d efinitel" not free !ecause she can4t

 !e free of the %ndians of her features# She cannot hide it !" cutting her hair short or wearing western attire# Though Ghosh !elieves in the uselessness of the !oundaries he cannot wholl" dismiss the differences !etween the countries# ,ven the notion of !eaut" is d"namic with relation to a specific region#

The grandmother’s nationalism is treated as a relic from the past# ,tched into the grandmother’s ps"che from the time of !eing under (ritish rule is a na tionalism that rationalises 'illing for freedom# She strongl" !elieves !eing fidel to national !oundaries# She !elieves in the ph"sical presence of a nation in the ph"sical nature of !oundaries  just li'e the wall that divided her old house in /ha'a# According to her a nation creates itself upon the !ric's of !lood and war rising from a histor" of !loodshed to it’s present e*istence# The partition has pla"ed a cruel tric' on her rendering her without an" coordinates of the place of her origin# (" depicting the effect of events in Srinagar as !eing of an e$ual intensit" in /ha'a and Calcutta a world where 5hulna e*isted nearer to )anoi than Srinagar Ghosh depicts the iron" of shadow lines created !" the partition# eople in the !ordering nations are surprised at loo'ing at their mirror image in their neigh!ouring countr"# Li'e To!a Te' Singh Tridi!’s death $uestions the logic !ehind the partition #