UNIT 24 'SWIMMING LESSONS' ROHINTON

MISTRY 'THE DOOR IS SHUT BEHIND

ME' : UMA PARAMESWARAN

I Structure

Objectives
Introduction: 'Swimming Lessons'
Rohinton Mistry: Life and works
'Swimming Lessons': A Detailed Analysis
24.3.1 Critical Assessment
24.3.2 Theme
24.3.3 Characterization
24.3.4 Narrative Technique
Introduction: 'The Door I Shut Behind Me'
Uma Parameswaran: Life and Works
'The Door I Shut Behind Me': A Detailed Analysis
24.6.1 Critical Assessment
24.6.2 Theme
24.6.3 Characterization
24.6.4 Narrative Technique
Summing Up
Questions

/ 24.0 OBJECTIVES

The objective of this unit is to introduce you to the writings of Indians living in
Canada. The two storit%will make you aware of the problems that Indian immigrants
face in Canada. The stories will also make you familiar with the fears, hopes, desires
ambitions as well as the tension that immigrants face in the country of their residence.
The nostalgia of the past, their r\oots within their mother country, the dilemma of
acceptance and assimilation, the problem of safe guarding their identity, and the
mixture of pain, trauma and pleasure of their new-existence is brought out
poignantly. Mercifully, the stories chosen do not focus much on lament, a favourite
theme with immigrant writers. Both Mistry and Parameswam dwell more on the
positive side- they point out that the struggle is there, but the problems are not
insurmountable, and with a positive frame of mind, one can overcome them and look
forward to a happy fbture in the country they have decided to come to- the country of
Itheir choice.

24.1 INTRODUCTION: 'SWIMMING LESSONS'

ife is a web of intricate choices, more so if you happen to be an immigrant. The

igrant sensibility has traditionally revolved around nostalgia and lament. Caught
tween conflicting cultures, the immigrant writers often dwell upon the themes of
Jocation, survival and loss of identity. The feeling of nostalgia is heightened if the
er happens to be a coloured immigrant in a predominately white society.
nton Mistry has lived in the multicultural society of Canada since 1975, has
en about his past as well as his present, without becoming unduly sentimental.
immigrants do have their problems, but which society doesn't have problems? In
case of immigrants the chasm between the two cultures leads to alienation. Mistry
his story 'Swimming Lessons' portrays the superficiality of living together
Canadian without actually knowing each other, and thus projects the typical tension between
wanting to belong and wanting to retain one's identity. It becomes a fluid identity.

24.2 ROHINTON MISTRY : LIFE

- AND WORKS

Rohinton Mistry was bom in Bombay in 1952. In 1975 he moved to Toronto and has
lived there ever since. While at the university of Toronto, he won two Hart House
literary prizes (for 'One Sunday' and 'Auspicious Occasion') and in 1985 was
awrded the 'Canadian Fiction' contributor's prize. His collection of short stories
'Tales from Firozsha Baag', was short listed for Govemor General's Award in 1988.
His most celebrated work is Such A Lortg Journey, which is set in Bombay and got
rave reviews everywhere. It was short listed for the Booker Prize; won the Governor
General's Award; won the Commonwealth writer's prize for "Best Book of the year",
and Snlith Books/Books in Canada First Novel Award. The novel has since been
made into a film.

Rohinton Mistry's 'Tales fiom Firozesha Baag' is a series of connected short stories,
all dealing with Parsi life in a cluttered & bourgeois apartment building in Bombay-
the Firozesha Baag. Out of a riot of colourful yet eccentric characters, emerges a hero
of sorts, Kersi Boyce, who exists on the fringe of the stories, until he decides to
migrate to Canada, near the end of the collection. "Swimming Lessons" is the final
story in the collection, in which he tries to come to terms with a different culture, a
different life. These stories have a large dose of autobiographical element in them.

24.3 SWIMMING LESSONS :A DETAILED ANALYSIS

24.3.1 Critical Assessment

In "Swimming Lessons" the narrator (Kersi Boyce) describes his life in Canada as
well as connects with his past and parents living in Bombay. The story begins with
the narrator's encounter with an old invalid man living in his building, who reminds
the narrator of his own grandfather, another invalid. Both the old people were
immobile, and both found it difficult to pass their time. The Portuguese woman
across the hall is the inquisitive type, who disseminates information about people
living in the building to anyone who will care to listen. She had informed the narrator
that the old man's daughter was taking care of him.

The narration goes back and forth in time and space, as the narrator dwells on the sick
man in Toronto and his Grandpa in Bombay. He remembers how his mother used to
take good care of grandpa too, till things became very complicated and he had to be
taken to a hospital. He remembers even the minutest details of his Grandpa's illness,
and the straggle that his mother had to undergo single handed-changing dressings,
handling bedpans etc. The narrator also helped, but didn't go to the hospital as often
as he should have. And Grandpa ultimately died in the hospital.

The narration of the story in Toronto is intersected by his parent's reactions in

Bombay to his letters, and these reactions are given throughout in italics, making it a
sub-text tagged along with the main narrative. Kersi is alone in Toronto, writing a
book of stories about his life in India, and taking swimming lessons, finding the
chlorinated water of the local pool as foreign an element as the suburban life around
him. Mistry cleverly includes within this story a commentary on and a critique of his
own writing. Kersi has sent his book home to be read by proud but uncomprehending
parents; their discussion about its contents, focus and certain omissions provides an
interleaved sub-text on the story as well as the whole collection (Tales from
Firozesha Baag). Mistry thus unites two traditions in the short story: the conservative,
semi-autobiographical mode that specializes in connected stories of childhood; and
 'Swimming Lessons'
Rohinton Mistry
'The Door is Shut
Behind Me': Uma
Parameswaran

iasm vanished -the letter described the weather more than anything else. The
commented, "everything about his life is locked in silence and secrecy".

narrative shiAs back to present, to Toronto. Two women were sunbathing on the
ch of a patchy lawn. Both look luscious and gleaming, and the narrator fantasizes

ach was grey and murky with garbage, too filthy to swim in.

e examines his swimming trunks, which are a little tight and starts fantasizing about
a gorgeous woman in the class of non-swimmers could become interested and

ator has a very strong imagination and to a large extent, lives on dreams.

scene shifts back to Bombay. Mother decides to reply because father did not
to write as all his previous questions remain unanswered. But after mother

as a mixed class but the gorgeous woman of his fantasy was missing. He has to
e for a thirty five year old woman wearing a pink one piece suit with brown hair
bit of a stomach. The instructor Ron gives them pep talk and demonstrates
ating on the back. When he asks for a volunteer, the pink one-piece suit wades

end, where he almost drowned. The narrator becomes so frightened that

n his way back, he encounters the old man again in the lobby, who tells him how he
decides not to go again. .The total loss is one fantasy plus thirty dollars - fifteen for
swimming trunks and fifteen for swimming lessons.

Back in Bombay, the postman brought a parcel instead of a letter. Both the parents
are surprised and pleased to find a book of stories written by their son. Now they
understand what their son had been doing all the time, and the father had thought he
was just clerking away in an insurance company. Father opened the book and started
reading it, but the mother thought it was unfair as she would have to wait, and they
agreed that he would read the first story, them give it to her so she could also read it,
and they would take turns in that manner.

The weather is changrng in Toronto, it is fall now and leaves have started to fall.
Bertha, the building superintendent, is raking in the leaves. There is a commotion
outside, and the narrator locks down the window to see the old man being taken for a
drive by his son who has brought a big car for this purpose.

Mother and father read the first five stories, and the mother was very sad, she said he
must be so unhappy there, all his stories were about Bombay, she thought he must
have been missing his home. But father did not agree; he said it did not mean he was
unhappy, "all writers worked in the same way, they used their memories and
experiences and made stories out of them, changing some things, adding some,
imagining some, all writers were very good at remembering details of their lives."
But mother is not convinced, "how can you be sure that he is remembering because
he's a writer, or he started to write because he is unhappy and thinks of his past, and
wants to save it all by making stories of it."

It has became quite cold in Toronto. The old radiators do not h c t i o n properly and
the writer complaints to Bertha. She mischievously replies that if the radiators don't
work, he can always came to her, she will keep him warm, and she opens her arms
wide, laughing.

The old man is staring outside, at the flakes of falling snow. "What thoughts is he
thinking as he watches them?". It finally happened. The heat went out-completely.
Everything becomes stone cold. The narrator goes down where several people have
already gathered and Bertha announced that she has telephoned the office, they are
sending a man. As he walked down the long hallway, he found something different,
something missing. The Portuguese woman opened the door and informed him that
the old man had another stroke yesterday, and was taken to the hospital. Then, the
narrator immediately realized, that it was the medicinal smell that was missing fiom
the hallway.

The stories in the book were all about poor or middle class Parsi families and the
stories were picked from the sufferings of their own lives; but there should have been
something positive about Parsis, there was so much to be proud of: the Tatas,
Dadabhai Naoroji, Sir Dinshaw Petit were some of the great names. "What would
people reading these stories think, those who did not know about Parsis - that the
whole community was full of cranky, bigoted people; and in reality it was the richest,
most advanced and philanthropic community in India, and he did not need to tell his
own son that Parsis had a reputation for being generous and family oriented." But
mother was happy that he remembered everything. Father hoped that there will be
some story based on his Canadian experience, that way they will come to know about
their son's lifethere, if not through his letters. Mother is puzzled as to why he doesn't
write some stories about Toronto, especially since father had maintained that writers
use their own experience to make stories. Father sfsexplains that he was probably not
using his Toronto experience because it was too early. It takes about ten years time
after an experience before a writer is able to use it in his writing because, "according
to the theory he is writing of these things because they are far enough in the past for
him to deal with objectively, he is able to achieve what critics call.artistic distance,
without emotions interfering." In this manner Mistry undertakes the exercise of self
critiquing his own work.
 After reading the whole book, the parents felt that they had came to know their son 'Swimming Lessons'
better. They wished there were many more stories. The last story they liked best Rohinton Mistry
because it had the most in it about Canada (incidentally the book is 'Tales from 'The Door Is Shut
Ferozsha Baag' and the last story is 'Swimming Lessons') "and father said if he Behlnd Me': Uma
continues to write about such things he will become popular because I am sure they Parameswaran
are interested there in readrng about life though the eyes of an immigrant, it provides
a different viewpoint; the,only danger is if he changes and becomes so much like
them that he will write like one of them and lose the inlportant difference."

R The winter drags on. The medicinal smell is back in the hall, the narrator looks
forward to meeting the old man.

The narrator has spoken so often to the old man, but doesn't know his name. He
decides to look it up in the apartment directory, and then surprise him by calling him
by his name. He prepares to have his bath. For the first time, he fills the tub and soaks
in it. Earlier he had only been taking a shower. He immerses in the water upto the
neck. He feels good. This is the way the Canadians bathe. Suddenly, on an impulse,
fighting his fear, he dunks his head in, holding his breath. He does it again, and then
again and realizes that the fear of water had vanished. This gives him a lot of
confidence and he decides to re-register for swimming lessons. He feels closer to the

The winter is almost over, the snow banks are melting. The narrator goes to the board
where are listed the names of all the residents. But before apartment 20 1, in which the
old man lived, there is no name, just a blank. That's odd, but the narrator decides that
next time, he would introduce himself, and then ask his name. As he walks the
corridor, the Portuguese woman stops him and says, "you know the old man died last
sight." The narrator is stunned. "Did you know his name", he asks, but she leaves
without answering. An example of the kind of superficial life the narrator was
leading. He was living with them but was not one of them.

The best thing the mother liked in the last story was about Grandpa, how she had told
her son to get the blessing of the elders. "Are you sure, said father, that you really
told him so, because you said yourself the other day that he changes and adds and
alters things." But she wants to believe that she said these things to him. The father
told her not to confuse fiction with facts. "You must not confuse what really
happened with what the story says happened. You must nQt lose your grasp on
reality, that way madness lies." Then the mother stopped listening as she had told
father so often, she was not very fond of theories, and she took out her writing pad
and started a letter to her son. Father said write to him that they were very proud of
him. The fluctuating sentiments expressed by the father symbolize the hopes and
fears that the near and dear ones undergo for those who have left them and gone

24.3.2 Theme
The story deals with the problems of adjustment and acceptability for migrants.
Immigrants living in their adopted country face a typical dilemma about their sense of
belonging. The chasm between the two cultures leads to a sense of alienation. In
'Swimming Lessons', as you must have already noticed, Mistry portrays the
superficial existence of the immigrants, who live in Canada without actually
knowing the Canadians. The tension between wanting to belong and wanting to retain
one's identity is very well delineated in this story. The narrator's present is
continuously affected by the narrator's past, between his memory of his parents and
the present life of loneliness. This life in Canada becomes more meaningful when
compared or contrasted with his life in Bombay. The old and invalid man living in his
building reminds the narrator of his own grandfather. He also remembers how his
mother used to take very good care of his grandpa, comparing it with the care being
meted out to the invalid. The narrator knows the old man quite well, has talked to him
many times, but one day suddenly realizes that he doesn't even know his name. And
the old man dies before the narrator gets an opportunity to ask him his name.

- -
Canadian Swimming in this story becomes a metaphor for acceptability. If he wants to
Short Stoty assimilate with the Canadians, he must know swimming, otherwise he would remain
on the fringe. This becomes very clear when he goes for his fust swimming lesson,
finding the chlorinated water of the local pool as foreign an element as the suburban
life around him. In almost an autobiographical mood, Mistry points out the
difficulties he faced in Canada; he was unable to swim with the tide and how learning
swimming reflect the difficulties he faced as an immigrant. Once he learns to swim,
that would symbolize his overcoming the problems of being an immigrant, he would
become one with the Canadians, though, not necessarily their equal. There are sexual
overtones to many of the narrator's dreams, which are handled very realistically as
well as ironically- it is but natural for a young man living alone to have voyeuristic
dreams.

24.3.3 Characterization

The story revolves around four characters- the protagonist who is the narrator and the
old invalid man in Toronto, and the narrator's parents in Bombay. Without giving
details but with a few deft strokes, the author presents before us the narrator, and the
three others who, in fact, add to our understanding of the narrator. The parents'
reactions and comments not only help us understand their attitudes and preferences,
but also enrich our understanding of the narrator. The diffidence and lack of
assurance shown by the narrator makes him a typical immigrant trying to find his
way in the maze of a new society, a new culture, or for that matter a whole new
world. The difference of opinion between his parents' approach towards him also
clarify certain traits in them. The father sure of his opinion doesn't look forward to
the letters that the narrator writes because these don't reveal anything about the kind
of life the narrator is leading in Toronto. Yet he is curious anxious and ready with his
advice. The mother is more sentimental, more concerned and quite effisive in her
love for her son. It is she who writes back to the son, who appreciates his stories and
is happy that he remembers his days in Bombay. Though skeptical at first about his
son's ability, the father, towards the end of the story feels prowd of his son's
achievement - he has become a writer. An interesting observation is that after reading
the whole book, the parents felt that they had come to know their son better. In this
way, their comments complement our understanding of the narrator, who is
struggling to find his feet in a new culture, a new society as well as a new country.
*
Mistry has very successfblly given us a portrait of not only a struggling immigrant,
but also of a struggling writer, as the story to a large extent, is autobiographical.

24.3.4 Narrative Technique

The story is written in the intimate fust person narrative form, yet is unique and quite
interesting. The narrator describes his life in Toronto as well as connects with his past
and parents living in Bombay. As already mentioned, the narration of the story goes
back and forth in time and space, as the life of his parents in Bombay, their reactions
and expectations intersect the narration of his life in Toronto. It revolves around his
present life and memories of his past. When he looks at the sick man in his building,
he remembers his sick grandpa in Bombay and how his mother used to take good care
of him till things became very complicated and he had to be removed to the hospital.
When the narrator goes for registration for swimming lessons, he remembers how he
failed to learn swimming because the deep blue sea of Chaupatty beach was grey and
murky with garbage, too filthy to swim in.

The narration of the story in Toronto is intersected by his parents reactions to his
letters in Bombay. These reactions are given throughout in italics, making it a sub-
text tagged along with the main narrative. Kersi has sent his book home to be read by
his parents; their discussion about its contents, focus and certain omissions provides
own interleaved sub-text on the story as well as the whole collection. These
intersections are very cleverly handled and the most interesting aspect of the
discussion between mother and father is the minimal use of punctuation, the
sentences run along very fluidly, presenting a kind of unbroken continuity. The
Direct is mixed with the Indirect. The sentences are inordinately long, providing a
feeling of breathless excitement. One sentence covers a full paragraph, such is the 'Swimming Lessonsy
flow of the language and emotion. Thus, Mistry cleverly includes within this story a Rohlnton Mlstry
commentary on and a critique of his own writing. He unites two traditions in the short 'The Door is Shut
story: the conservative, semi-autobiographical mode that specializes in connected Behind Me': Uma
stories of childhood; and the newer self-reflexive mode in which the function of the Parameswaran
story is to comment on itself. The story thus gains in stature and becomes an
excellent example of a complex yet effective narrative technique which achieves a

24.4 INTRODUCTION : 'THE DOOR I SHUT BEHIND ME'

Have you heard about the myth of 'Trishanku'? He was a lung who wanted to go to
heaven with his body. He performed 'tapsya' and got a boon to fulfil his wish. But
nobody can go to heaven with his body - it is only the soul that goes beyond the
physical realm. So when he was on his way up, he was stopped midway by the God
above. He was not allowed to go up and he couldn't go down - so he kept hanging in
the sky - he was neither in heavens nor on earth. So Trishanku is one who is neither
here nor there, he doesn't belong anywhere. This is the symbol that Uma
Parameswaran uses to describe the immigrants, they neither belong fully to the
country of their adoption nor can they forget their roots- links with their mother
country. This is the dilemma that Uma Parameswaran projects in this story. Like the
mythological king Trishanku the immigrants stand suspended between two worlds
unable to enter either, and making a heaven of their own.

24.5 UMA PARAMESWARAN :LIFE AND WORKS

Uma Parameswaran was ,born in Madras and raised in Nagpur and Jabalpur. She had
her schooling and university education in India. In 1963, she went to USA on
Fulbright scholarship and got her Ph.D from Michigan State University. In 1966, she
moved to Winnipeg in Canada where she continues to teach and write.

She blends modem experience with traditional myths and stories. One of her most
famous work is Trishanku (1988). Another important work is Selected Fiction, Poetry
and Drama (1990). She is the founder of PAL1 (Performing Arts and Literature of
India) which organizes formal dance instruction.

She is also a notable critic. Her main critical publications are : A Sfudy of
Representative Indo-English Novelists and The Perforated Sheet :Essays on Salman

24.6 'THE DOOR I SHUT BEHIND ME' : A DETAILED

ANALYSIS
A Critical Assessment

On first impression, the title appears to refer to the Indian tradition of a bride leaving
her paternal home forever after marriage, never to look back. "Crossing the
Threshold" a story by another immigrant writer Surjeet Kalsey, deals with this theme
of crossing over for good. However as you read the story, you will realize that it is
not a bnde leaving her home, but an Indian leaving his country to become a possible
immigrant in Canada. The simile is very apt, as both the situations involve crossing
over to a new life; this crossing over involves fear and uncertainly coupled with hope
Canadian The story opens with Chander, the protagonist, flying to Canada on a two year
Short Stow research associateship with the University of M, at an annual salary of $ 8500. The
exact amount of salary has ben specifically mentioned to focus on the fact that those
going abroad are usually lured by money and the attendant comforts. Kishen
Agrawal, the crude and loud fellow passenger who does not have an immigrant-visa
feels envious of Chander and regretfully comments : "Unfortunately, being a student,
I don't have that passport to life long luxury. Have you calculated how much one can
save in three years?'' And he calculates that the total savings come to a six figure
amount in Indian currency. He appears to be a perfect portrait of an ugly Indian.
Cleverly, Parameswaran has analysed the mindset of an average Indian who goes
abroad, his obsession with money and savings as well as his dreanls of luxury and
comfort.

As the plane clears the clouds, Chander focuses on the book in his hand "The
Ramayana" his mother had given him at the airport along with Annie Besant's
translation of Bhagavad Gita; "Keep it on your table," she had exhorted. She is a
typical Indian mother- undemonstrative, non-interfering but loving and caring. She
wants to make sure that her son should not forget his culture and traditions.

Agrawal, insensitive to his own loduness and Chander's discomfort, waxed more
friendly and voluble. He spoke mostly about his own achievements, but interspersed
his autobiography with adverse comments on western culture. In between, he did
find time to make lewd comments on the air-hostess. As soon as the food trays arrive,
Agrawal grew silent and appeared uncomfortable. He has been unable to use the flush
on the plane, as he cannot handle the knobs and faucets, so he is upset and angry.

Chander explained the hnctioning of the toilet in the plane but when Agrawal
returned to his seat, his criticism continued, "Our toilet habits are much cleaner.
These westerners ...". The same trend of criticism was carfied through the meal. The
Westerners were far behind in their culinary arts, they had no taste buds, no
appreciation of finer shades of flavour, etc. Through Agrawal, Parameswaran
portrays a typical class of Indians who criticizes the West and its culture, yet wants to
stay abroad, earn money and lead a life of comfort and luxfiry.

Thus the story develops through contrast - everything about Agrawal revulsed
Chander- his dress, his North Indian accent, his egoism, and his shallow
generalizations. Unable to shake him off, Chander had to check in a hotel along with
Agrawal. Agarwal wanted to go to a night- club but Chander refused this simple
pleasure'. Agrawal wanted Chander to celebrate his immigrant visa. "The magic
carpet to health, wealth and happiness- THE GREEN CARD!" Chander corrected
him. "It isn't green, it isn't a card and this isn't the United States," but Agrawal
ignored him. Chander felt very resentful and unhappy why had he allowed this leech
to close in on him? "Was it patience that made him listen to the boor? Was it
tolerance that kept him from rebuking? Or was it weakness?" Agrawal's uncouth
behaviour sets Chander to ruminate on India as a nation, "Was it tolerance that had
allowed India to suffer wave after wave of political and cultural invasions? Tolerance
that had prompted Hinduism to be submissive while missionaries and governments
had drawn away people and wealth? Or was it Weakness?Non-violence or
cowardice? Two nomenclatures for the same quality, and that quality as a national
trait for a people who flaunted it by using the more flattering name... a nation made
of spineless thinkers and unthinking egotists... and the Agrawals always led the
Chanders by the nose. .. because the Chanders permitted them to..."

In this manner, we get to know as much about Agrawal as about Chander, infact, we
get to know more about Agrawal. In his fit of anger Chander bursts out in a virulent
attack on Agrawal, criticizing him for his prejudices, shallowness and ego, and
doesn't even spare the society that breeds such people.

"What a society! Gossipy women who at thirty were already elephantine ...lazy
debauched men relaxing the afternoons away against dirty bolsters in their fly-
invested shops, chewing betel eaves and spitting tobacco juice on the side walks ...
 'Swimming Lessons'
adulterated sweetmeats and shomeight grocery to poor customers"'" Such a Rohinton Mistry
is unexpected from a person like Chander, but his Shocked distaste 'The Door is Shut
c w g , agreeing with most of Chmder's accusations' Behind Me': Uma
fascination when Agrawal
and going into a fit of and lament for his people and his home land: Parameswaran
Agawal,s unashamed Chander realize his emotions loss in new
sunoundings, makes him aware of the acute difference in their attitudes; even makes
him envy Agrawal for this onslaught of nostalgia for persons and a place - something
Chmder was not capable of feeling. His cold rationality was duly matched by
Agrawal's sentiments and irrational longings.

Chander realized that Agrawal wanted to be with his Own people, to speak his own
language. He suggests that Agrawal should look for some names common in his part
of the country in the telephone directory. It is a great idea and soon they get an
invitation to s get together of Indians in the Mundhra's home. Agrawal is excited, he
fills his pocket with betel leaves as a gift for the Indians who wouldn't have tasted
them for long. Although Chander also had brought two pounds of scented and spiced
areca nuts, yet he did not want to share it with anyone. Suddenly he knew what he
envied in Agrawal . "Spontaneity. That was it. Spontaneous nostalgia, fellow feling,
generosity," Parameswaran continuos to build these -two characters on the basis of
contrast, and we find that Agrawal too, after all, has some positive qualities. The
scales balance almost evenly.

At the Mundras Agrawal greeted everyone with a warm enthusiasm, but Chander
could not do so. Futher realization sets in- Chander accuses himself of snobbishness.
"I am the insensitive one, he reflected, a clod that cannot respond or be touched by
any strong emotion".

Chander started talking to the gathering, thawed a bit but couldn't match Agrawal
who had become part of the company. People in the gathering belonged to all parts
of India, but the language they spoke was English, and they prided in it. Their
children didn't want the parents to speak in their mother tongue before their friends.
Slowly the implication of their immigrant status dawned on him. They couldn't care
less whether their children had any knowledge or feeling abmt their country, religion
and language. And in India, these very people built walls of "My People, my
language". This contrast is very aptly described by Parameswaran. Indians in Canada
were only remotely associated with India - their concern was also superficial. When
he talked about India, the drought, the Indo-Chinese war, long queues everywhere,
black marketing, corruption and inefficiency, "He was conscious that he was
magnifying their indifference and exaggerating his descriptions, but he felt impelled
voke them into active sympathy and identification." But he failed to provoke

The mood at the get-together swings to music. A K.L Saigal album fills the air with
nostalgia. What astounded Chander was that they spoke of the distant past. They
seemed to have an image in mind, a golden age of romanticised memories - which
did not lie in the immediate past. What were they? Indian or Canadians? They had
not changed their food habits, their costume, they were a close-kit ethnic group. Yet
they were far from the Indian current. They wanted to go back, but their hope was for
a time far in the abstract future. "Like the mythological king Trihishanku, they stood
ded between two worlds, unable to enter either and making a heaven of their

Chander took out his visa and thought, is this the "passport to lifelong luxury [or] the
devils bait to lifelong exile." These are the two extremes between which the
immigrants dwell - luxury and exile. He felt a heaviness, felt like crying, he was

I'
confbsed. Discussion veers on to weather. Harish Bahl tells Chander, "The first
winter is quite enjoyable, every day a challenge; it is fie second or thud
winter that gets One down''. When Chander informs him that he intendr to go back lo
India, Bahl ''That's what we all say for the first year or two,* ~~d then its
late' One more brain drain ~a.Suality.Chander defends himself by saying that it
Was the age of
and not of abstract ideologes of and nation-
Canadian building. Bahl agrees absolutely and then gives a speech which is almost breathless
Short Story in pace, (it is a sentence running into 16 lines) where he talks of all that India reminds
him of and with rising irony talks of the breaking of bonds, of forgetting the roots and
looking ahead ostrichwise. "When we leave our country we shut many doors behind
us though we are not aware of it at the time", remarks Bahl.

However Chander replies, "There are many doors ahead of us". The story thus ends
on a note of hope for the fiture Ironically, it is Bahl the immigrant who puts the
whole issue of immigrant's links with their past in a perspective, and it is Chander,
who had claimed he had come only to go back, now looks ahead instead of behind
and hopes for building a rosy &re in Canada. It is very difficult to say whose
perspective is correct, but parabeswarm is known to advocate the assimilahon of
immigrants in the country of theid adoption.
1

24.6.2 Theme
The story deals with the immigrants dilemma. The ambivalence of their situation 1s
poignantly brought out by Pararneswaran. They are at times, between the devil and
the deep sea, Whichever way .they decide, some element of regret remains embedded
in their situation. After building a contrast between the attitudes of Chander and
Agrawal, where both are critiqued and found wanting in one way or the other,
Pararneswaran develops the theme by placing these two chaqcters in the midst of a
gathering of Indian immigrants in Canada. It is at this get-together that Chander is
able to glimpse the life-style and mindset of the immigrants, it is there that Chander
realizes the Trishanku like status of Indian immigrants. For all their bravado and
indifference, they lead an unfilfilled life. However, Parameswaran endorses a
positive approach; if people decide to adopt another country to live in, they must do it
whole heartedly. They must not look back, but look ahead, with hope and pleasure.
There can't be any half measures, it is these that lead to problems of belonging. The
immigrants must be able to balance the demands of the present with the ilostalgia of
past.

24.6.3 Characterization

The story basically is built around two contrasting characters, Chander and Agrawal,
who represent two 'different attitudes and ideologies. Agrawal is insensitive and loud,
uncouth and irrational whereas Chander is respectable and rational. Agrawal
epitomizes a class of Indians who criticizes the west and its culture, yet wants to stay
abroad to earn money. Everything about Agrawal revulsed Chander -his loud dress,
his north-Indian accent, his egoism, his shallow generalizations. Chander resents his
own inadequacy as he has been unable to shrug off the leech like Agrawal. Terming
tolerance as a weakness Chander bursts out in anger against his own passivity and
blames the Country and its culture for being weak and submissive in the name of
tolerance.

Thus we get to know as much about Chander, as about Agrawal. In his fit of anger,
Chander comes down heavily on Agrawal, criticizing him for his prejudices
shallowness and ego. Such a virulent attack is least expected from Chander, but his
shocked distaste truns to fascination when Agrawal starts crying, agreeing with all the
criticism heaped on him, and wanting to be with his family and his people. This child
-like irrationality makes Chander become aware of his own inadequacy- he lacks such
sentiments, he is incapable of showing such emotions. He retuctanty agrees that he
lacks Agawals spontaneity, fellow feeling and generosity. Parameswaran, thus builds
these two characters on the basis of contrast, and we find that Agrawal too, after all,
has some positive qualities. The scales balance almost evenly. The two in fact
complement each other. One can sense that by clubbing the qualities of both, one can
see a more complete being. At this stage Agrawal is almost ignored, and it is Chander
who develops further from a diffident beginning with the common refrain that he
intends to go back to India after some time, by the end of the story he decides to look
ahead with hope and pleasure. The chances are that he wodd stay and became
another case of brain-drain. When he interacts with Bahl the issue of i m g r a t i o n
gets clarified for him and he takes a conscious decision of looking ahead and not 'Swinmhg lA%sons'
behind. An unsure, reticent and confbsed Chander becomes confident and clear in his Rohinton Mlstry
perception of the situation and looks forward to his life in Canada with hope and 'The Door is Shut
Behind Me': Urn
confidence. Pamleswaran uses irony very adroitly to bring forth the attitxides of the Parameswaran
two main characters which cover the whole range of emotions and rationality in
dealing with the delicate problem of immigrants dilemma and their ambivalence.

24.6.4 Narrative Technique

The story is narrated through a third person narrator, and the narration is simple and
straightfonvard. Paramesaran wants to focus on the dilemma that immigrants face
living in a different culture and society. Parameswaran decides to put forth her point
of view basically with the help of two characters - Chander and Agrawal - who are
developed in a contrasting manner. Both of them present their perspectives and
enable the readers to judge for themselves what are the ground realities that the
immigrants face. Parameswaran uses irony with telling effect - after projecting
Agrawal in a totally negative frame, she turns the tabies on Chander who is made to
see and feel his own inadequacy in certain important facets- namely spontaneity,
fellow feeling and generosity. After focusing on these two characters, the narrative
shifts to a get-together of Indian immigrants where Chander and Agrawal are also
invited.

It is in this gathering that Parameswaran projects the basic premise of her story - the ;
problems and travails of the immigrant Indians on one side, as well as their lack of
concern for India on the other. It is here that Chander gets to understand the
Trishanku status of Indian immigrants, it is here that Chander evolves towards
projecting a positive response even though Bahl presents an ironically nostalgic and
quite breathless evocation of all that India stands for, all that they cannot forget even
if they want to. Chander, who had earlier asserted that he would go back to India,
looks at the future with hope. He is not looking back at the doors which have been
shut but looks at the many doors that lie ahead. In a very unobtrusive manner,
Parameswaran presents her point of view with the help of characters and situation.
'Ihe narrative is smooth and pacy, without becoming overtly complex.

24.7 SUMMING UP

As you are aware, both the stories "Swimming Lessons" and "The Door I Shut
Behind Me" deal with Indian immigrants in Canada. Whereas in "Swimming
Lessons" the protagonist tries to come to grips with the conflicting cultures of India
and Canada, and becomes aware of the problems of an immigrant through others
experiences. "Swimming Lessons" points towards a strange and superficial existence-
living together without knowing each other, but in "The Door I Shut Behind Me", the
protagonist is unable to coexist with his own countrymen- he feels alienated from
Indians already settled in Canada as he finds them shallow and irrational. Interstingly,
there is no Canadian character to contend with in the story. Both the stories project a
"Trishanku" like existence for the immigrants, they are neither here nor there; they
swing between acceptance and rejection. However, both stories project a positive
point of view. By the end of " Swimming Lesson" the protagonist has got over his
fear of swimming, symbolizing his victory over fear not only of water, but also of
living in an alien society. In " The Door I Shut Behind Me", Chander also looks at his
story in Canada with hope and pleasure, he decides to look ahead instead of behind:
11e would not dwell on the doors that he has shut behind him, but at the doors that are
opening- full of oppurtunity for a bright future. In a way both the protagonists come
to terms with their new existence.
I Canadian
I Short Story 24.8 QUESTIONS

1. Discuss the narrative technique of !'Swimming Lessons"

2. Why is learning swimming so important for the protagonist?
3. Contrast the characters and attitudes of Chander and Agrawal. Whom do you like
more and why3
4. Critically analyse Chander's views on Indians as expressed in his angry outburst.
5. Do you agree that immigrants lead a " Trishanku" like existence? Discuss with
reference to both stories.
/1
SUGGESTED READINGS

E.M Forster: Aspects of the Novel, U.K., Penguin,l966.

Robert Weaver, (ed.) Canadian Short Stories OUP.

Michael Ondaatje, (ed.) From Ink Lake- Canadian Short Stories, Vintage,
Canada,1995.

Thomas E. Tausky, Novelist ofEmpire, 1980.

Manorama Trikka (ed.) Canadian Short Stories, Delhi, Pencraft 1999.

Marian Fowler, Redney, 1983.

Graeme Gibson, Gibson,Eleven Canadian Novelists, 1973.

W.J.Keith (ed)A Voice in the Land :Essays by and about Rudy Wiebe, 1981.