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the text is the determination of
Mrs. Rupa Mehra to arrange the
marriage of her younger daughter
Lata, a 19-year-old university
student, to a “suitable boy.”The personal and political
The novel begins with a wedding:
that of Lata’s elder sister Savita to
Pran Kapoor, a young university
professor from a prominent family.
Although he suffers from asthma,
he qualifies as a “suitable boy.”
Lata, an independent-minded
young woman whose thoughts
and actions in many ways mirror
the changes occurring in India
at the time, has mixed feelings
about the marriage of her beloved
sister, questioning how a woman
can marry a man she does not know.
As the novel progresses, Lata
herself falls in love with three
young men: Kabir, a Muslim
student; Amit, an internationally
celebrated poet; and Haresh, a
determined businessman in the
shoe trade. It is not until the last
moment that the reader learns
which of the three Lata chooses;
significantly, it is a decision that
she makes for herself, taking
account of her mother’s wishes,
social realities, and her own
feelings about love and passion.And yet A Suitable Boy is much
more than just a romantic plot,
incorporating numerous subplots,
both personal and political, and
a large and finely drawn cast of
characters. These range from the
widowed Mrs. Rupa Mehra, with
her tireless meddling in the lives
of her four children, to the young
Muslim idealist Rasheed; from the
strong-minded Malati, Lata’s best
friend, to the young mathematical
genius Bhaskar; and from the
politician Mahesh Kapoor to the
musician Ishaq. Real historical
figures, such as India’s first prime
minister, Jawaharlal Nehru, are
also added to the literary mix.
A Suitable Boy provides a
detailed account of the social
and political events taking placeA SUITABLE BOY
Lata has a tough choice to make:
should she choose the Muslim student,
the internationally acclaimed poet,
or the businessman as her partner?
Her plight echoes that of postpartition
India: should it opt to overcome
religious factionalism, to strive for
a sophisticated internationalism,
or to settle for economic stability?
KabirAmitHareshin postpartition India during the
formative years of the Nehru period
(1947–64). Woven into the text
are key issues such as the value
of work, the process of change,
the injustice of poverty, and the
direction being taken by India. It
describes the period just before the
postindependence election of 1952,
in which the Kapoor family is
closely involved. Religious
intolerance, in particular Hindu–
Muslim tensions, is revealed in the
reactions to Lata’s love for Kabir
and to Pran’s younger brother
Maan’s relationship with a Muslim
singer-courtesan, Saeeda Bai; and,
more violently, in a near-riot
between Hindus and Muslims over
plans to erect a Hindu temple near
a mosque. The author also depicts‘You too will marry
a boy I choose,’ said
Mrs. Rupa Mehra firmly
to her younger daughter.
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