Rich Like Us
Rich Like Us book cover
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| Author | Nayantara Sahgal |
|---|---|
| Cover artist | Candy Jernigan |
| Country | United Kingdom, London (1985 1st ed.) |
| Language | English |
| Genre | novel, historical/political fiction |
| Publisher | Heinemann; London, UK |
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Publication date
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1985 |
| Pages | 301 p. |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 12437248 |
| 823 19 | |
| LC Class | PR9499.3.S154 R5 1985 |
Rich Like Us is a historical and political fiction novel by Nayantara Sahgal. Set in New Delhi during the chaotic time between 1932 and the mid-1970s, it follows the lives of two female protagonists, Rose and Sonali, and their fight to live in a time of political upheaval and social re-organization.
The novel brought its author the 1986 Sahitya Akademi Award for English, by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.
Rich Like Us takes its title from a brief meeting at the beginning of the novel that Dev and his wife Nishi have with a businessman named Mr. Neuman, who reflects that all he has been told teaches him that if the poor of India would “do like we do, they’d be rich like us,” yet seeing the poverty in the streets in person, he finds this hard to believe. The book’s title brings up this question of why the fat of society refuses to "trickle down" to the masses. This issue affects both protagonists, as Rose continues to question the tactics of her stepson Dev and Sonali sees first-hand the extravagances of the ruling party. Wealth is certainly not portrayed as the way to happiness in the novel, as the elite main characters seem trapped in a web of corruption, power and money from which they both stem. However, the plight of the handless beggar that hangs around Rose’s home certainly does not glamorize the lives of the Indian poor. Rich Like Us is a phrase introduced as a question, and continuing as such throughout the novel.
This historical fiction entwines the fate of two upper-class females, Rose, a British immigrant and wife to powerful native business man Ram with Sonali, a highly educated young civil servant. The former struggles to find a sense of home in this foreign society, filled with ancient customs, including the sati, and exotic social standards. She is entangled in a three-pronged marriage, as she is the second wife of Ram’s. Rose suffers to understand the Indian culture, and its ramifications on the female spirit. As Ram’s health deteriorates, she realizes her rights as wife are in question. Dev, Ram’s son from his other wife, Mona, schemes to take all Ram’s assets by disposing of Rose. In fear, Rose turns to Sonali, her friend and niece. Sonali is an anomaly to the average Indian, aristocratic woman. She deals with the living and working in New Delhi during the political upheaval of the Emergency and is divided between two worlds, one representing her ideals and longing for progression and the other that embodies her upper-crust, conservative culture. From these two characters branch off numerous other tales, which provide a deep and thorough overview of life for all people during this critical historical period. At root of these stories lies the duplicitous role of women in the dynamic, chaotic, new India of the mid 20th century.
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