Ice-Candy Man

(By Bapsi Sidhwa)

Plot of the novel

Cracking India unfolds between 1943 and 1948 within the city of Lahore and its rural
outskirts. At the start of the novel, Lahore is a city in British India. In 1947 it became part of
Pakistan, an independent country that had been carved out of India. When British India gained
freedom, the departing British partitioned it into two countries: India and Pakistan. This event is
normally referred to as “Partition,” which led to a great deal of blood and violence. The novel
takes the reader through the actual story of Partition through its protagonist, Lenny Sethi, who
begins narrating the novel when she is four years of age. She portrays both her family and
everyday life as well as the political events that led to Partition and all the violence that resulted
from it.
Lenny is an intelligent young girl suffering from polio. Her family is upper-middle-class
and live in a pretty affluent area of Lahore. The city is primarily Muslim but there are also large
numbers of Hindus and Sikhs. Lenny’s family, however, are Parsi (spelled “Parsee” throughout
the novel). This is a tiny religious minority in India composed of Zoroastrians who fled
religious persecution in Persia between 8 and 9 CE. Lenny’s nuclear family consists of her
mother and father, brother Adi, aunt, cousin, godmother, and godmother’s sister. There are also a
number of colourful characters among the domestic workers which include the cook, Imam Din,
the gardener, a family of Untouchables who sweeps, an odd-job man, and a nanny.
Lenny is very close to her ayah, a local term for “nanny.” Because of Ayah, Lenny has a
large repertoire of adults in Lahore’s poor and working classes. Most of these are suitors of Ayah,
who is famous to attract men in Lahore because of her beauty. These suitors include a cook, a
masseur, a zoo attendant, a knife-sharpener and money-lender, and popsicle seller known as Ice-
candy-man. This group includes Muslims, Sikhs, and Hindus. Through them, Lenny is initiated
into other religions and cultures that defined India before Partition. Ayah’s love life exposes
Lenny to sexuality. She comes to understand the sexual power women hold but also the different
ways in which men dominate and hurt women. Most of the novel describes Lenny’s adventures
walking around the city with Ayah or gathering in the park with Ayah’s many suitors and friends.
She even describes her problems with polio and the many surgeries and doctor’s visits she must
endure. She loves her parents, but she is always craving more love and attention from them. She
enjoys visiting the home of her godmother, who constantly argues with her younger sibling
whom she calls Slavesister.
History is always shaping Lenny’s personal and domestic life. At home with Ayah’s
fiances and at the Parsi temple politics are all that is discussed most of the time. When the novel
is about to take off the news bombards the globe informing the world that World War II is over.
India was a British colony; Indians pledged their allegiance to the Allies against Germany, Italy,
and Japan. People would ask themselves after the war what destiny lay in store for India. Indian
leaders like Mahatma Gandhi and Muhammad Ali Jinnah were crying for the British to leave
India alone to self-governance. Gandhi comes to Lahore and for the first time Lenny gets an
opportunity to meet him. Like the adults, she starts wondering what will occur in India when and
if the British do leave. There is mention of a separate Muslim-majority country, Pakistan, being
created. Lenny can see how religious differences seem to grow in importance. When the novel
opens, Hindus, Muslims, and Sikhs generally live in harmony. But as India nears its departure
from Britain in 1948, the groups start fighting.
Lenny begins to grasp the relations between religious groups during her visit with her
family’s Muslim cook, Imam Din, in the countryside. They go to Pir Pindo, a village forty miles
from Lahore, where he visits his family. There she sees Sikhs and Muslims who have lived next
to one another for centuries. They are all anxious due to reports of violence but assure one
another that they will not betray them. But when she comes back, she discovers that the Sikhs
have begun to threaten the Muslim villagers, and some of those able to do so are fleeing.
Change is also happening in the city. Lenny is beginning to view her friends as clusters
of people rather than individuals. Ayah is a Hindu, like the gardeners the family employs, Hari.
Imam Din and the odd-job man Yousaf are Muslims. So is Ice-candy-man’s favourite suitor
Masseur, and the Sikh zookeeper Sher Singh. Each group has their individual way of dressing,
eating, and worshiping. As the relationship of these communities becomes worst Lenny becomes
more and more conscious of their difference. When a political and religious leader, Sikhs come
to visit the city and threatens the Muslims, violence erupts. People light fires, kill each other.
In 1948, the British officially leave India and split the country up into India and Pakistan.
Overnight, Lahore becomes part of the new nation of Pakistan. Lenny is mostly concerned that
this is happening on her birthday and that no one is paying attention to her. Yet the political
situation begins to be serious. Hindus and Sikhs begin leaving Pakistan for India. Similarly, some
of the Muslims in India start out for Pakistan. On both sides, many of these groups are forced out
at gunpoint. Others are slain attempting to flee. Within three months, seven million Muslims and
five million Hindus and Sikhs are part of this exchange. As the groups fight it out, Lenny
watches fires break out all over Lahore. One day, a train carrying Muslim refugees from India
pulls into the station. Ice-candy-man finds that they have all been slaughtered and mutilated. In
revenge, he joins the mobs attacking Hindus and Sikhs, or looting their abandoned properties.
Lenny sees erstwhile friends-the suitors of Ayah, included-reckon with each other. Terrified out
of his wits, the gardener Hari becomes a Muslim. Ayah’s favorite suitor, the gentle Masseur, is
found hacked in half in a sack in the street. Meanwhile, the action switches perspective for the
first time as a section narrates what happens to Imam Din’s great-grandson Ranna in the village
of “Pir Pindo”. Groups of Sikhs came and massacred everyone in his village. Women are raped.
Ranna is badly wounded and barely makes it alive into Pakistan.
The climax of the story comes when a mob arrives at the house of Sethi. From their
nomenclature, they assume it must be a Hindu temple. Imam Din comes out in defense of the
house and tells the agitated men that this is a Parsi household; the Parsis, for all intents and
purposes, were an exception to the vicious activity between religious groups. Yet, the group
wants to know where the Hindu nanny is. Ayah hides knowing that she will be kidnapped and
raped. Her suitor Ice-candy-man approaches Lenny to ask where she is hiding. Lenny who has a
bad habit of always telling the truth whatever the consequences thinks she can trust Ice-candy-
man but he hands her over to the crowd. They take Ayah away on a cart.
Lenny now enters a period of deep regret and sadness. She tries to find out what had
happened to Ayah but, for now, she gets nowhere. Now that Ayah is gone, Hamida is the new
nanny- she is a Muslim woman. During the first bout of violence unleashed by Partition, Hamida
was kidnapped. Because she had been raped, her husband and family would not accept her back.
So she was put into a Recovered Women’s Camp right next to the Sethi house until she was hired.
Lenny starts to feel an amorous attraction for Cousin, whom she perceives as sweet, and
whom she thinks she will marry someday. Cousin is a bit older than Lenny, though, and attempts
to touch her in a sexual manner. Lenny refuses and they agree that they will wait until she is
ready. These encounters with Cousin continue to instruct her about sexuality. She becomes
sensitized to the boys and men everywhere in the city.
One day, Cousin sees Ayah in a taxi with two lean men who look like poets. Due to
Godmother’s influence, which is bountiful and appears to know everyone in the city, they
discovered that Ayah resides in the red-light district of the city. It was ice-candy-man who first
made her become a prostitute before marrying her and getting her converted to Islam.
Godmother now wants to help Ayah, who has acquired yet another name, Mumtaz. First
Godmother summons Ice-candy-man over. He wears the poet’s coat now and behaves like one,
reciting poetry and so on, talking gentle. And he says he loves Ayah and made her his wife to
keep her safe. Godmother calls him pimp and lowlife. Eventually, Godmother and Lenny are
allowed to see Ayah in the brothel district of the city. Ayah begs to be permitted to be let free
claiming she will go to India even if her family there would not accept her. Finally Godmother
convinces the police to let Ayah go and she was taken to the Recovered Women’s Camp outside
the sethi mansion. Ice-candy-man, turned into the wronged lover, waits outside the camp for her.
One day Ayah is finally transferred to India and Ice-candy-man escapes across the border after
her.

Characters

Lenny Sethi
Lenny is four years old when the novel begins. She is a smart little girl who is suffering
from polio, which gives her a limp. She lives with her family in Lahore. She loves her parents
but worries about their relationship. She wants attention from her father but does not always
receive it. Lenny’s family are Parsi (spelled Parsee in the novel) and they practice the Zoroastrian
religion. Lenny is very close with Ayah, her nanny. Ayah takes her all around the city and she
meets all sorts of interesting characters belonging to various religions. Lenny is painfully honest
and unable to tell a lie. She is also becoming aware of sexuality as a force around her. Lenny is
anxious about what is going to happen to her country and her city. She hears all sorts of adult
conversations about India being partitioned and violence between different religious groups.
Finally, on Lenny’s birthday in 1948, the British leave India and it is split into two separate
countries. An angry mob kidnaps Ayah after Lenny gives up her hiding place. She spends the rest
of the novel trying to find her missing nanny, eventually finding her with the help of her
godmother.
Ayah
Ayah is Lenny’s 18-year-old nanny. Her real name is Shanta which means “peace.” She
is described as “chocolate-brown and short.” She is so beautiful that everyone, from shopkeeper
to beggar, stares at her in the street. She has a number of suitors, including Masseur, Sharbat
Khan, and Ice-candy-man. After Partition, when most Hindus like Ayah leave Pakistan for India,
Ayah decides to stay. One day a mob discovers her at home and kidnaps her. Ice-candy-man
forces her into prostitution and then marries her. She converts to Islam and takes the name
Mumtaz. Eventually, she is rescued from Ice-candy-man and leaves for India to find her family.
Ice-candy-man
Ice-candy-man is a Muslim popsicle seller. He also does other odd jobs and scams, such
as freeing birds, selling herbal remedies, and pretending to be a Muslim saint. He is in love with
Ayah and is one of her many suitors. However, over time he becomes jealous of the others, most
particularly Masseur. When the population exchange between Hindus, Sikhs, and Muslims begin,
he finds a train full of Muslim refugees from India who have been slaughtered. He begins to turn
on his former non-Muslim friends. He also helps kidnap Ayah, makes her work as a prostitute,
and then marries her. They live in the red-light-district that hosts the kind of high-class brothels
in which he grew up. Ayah wants to leave him and when she is freed he begins following her,
first to the camp for rescued women and then across the border to India. He assumes the role of
the mad lover, reciting poetry and pining for his love. When the novel was first published in
England, the title was not Cracking India, but Ice Candy Man.
Godmother
In Cracking India, Godmother is presented as “a truer source of strength and action,
through knowledge instead of pride and rhetoric,” in contrast to “the dirtiness of politics” on
all sides, which Sidhwa has observed, victimize suffering “common people” The matriarch of
Lenny’s family, Godmother is characterized by her strength and wisdom. Godmother’s real name
is Roda. She is married to Oldhusband and lives with Slavesister. Godmother is Lenny’s role
model. She is loving and independent. She seems to know everything happening in Lahore
thanks to her wide connections and many informants. She helps discover Ayah’s whereabouts
and then rescues her. Godmother acts as something of a counterpoint to Ice-candy-man in that
she is empathetic to the suffering of women all around her. She dares to challenge the pervasive
presence of sexual violence in society.
Mother/Mrs. Sethi
Lenny’s mother is a very beautiful and maternal woman. She runs the household
efficiently and manages an entourage of servants. A woman of the privileged, economic class,
she keeps herself busy with her social commitments. Mother is well-educated and has a wide
circle of friends, including many foreigners. Lenny wants attention from her mother and gets
jealous when it is given to others. She tries to put a good image forward to her community. She
also secretly helps women who have been kidnapped reunite with their families after Partition.
Father/Mr. Sethi
Father works in an office. He is loving but not always very emotionally available. He
spends a lot of time reading his newspaper at home. Lenny likes seeing her mother and father
affectionate with each other, but it is rare. Father is worried about money. He also begins having
an affair towards the end of the novel and hits his wife.
Electricaunt (also known as Mini-Aunty)
As her nickname implies, she is Lenny’s aunt by virtue of being Cousin’s mother.
Electricaunt is a resourceful widow. She moves quickly, which is why she is known as electric.
She is obsessed with the color blue.
Slavesister
Slavesister is Godmother’s younger sister. She is lower on the hierarchy than Godmother
and is essentially her servant. She is constantly cooking and doing chores. She also likes to
complain and uses any opportunity to try to gain power over Godmother.
Papoo
Papoo is the daughter of the family of sweepers that live on the Sethi property. She is a
little younger than Lenny and is mischievous and defiant. She often fights with her mother
Muccho. Despite ill-treatment by her mother, she possesses admirable courage and resilience.
Eventually, she is married off as a child bride to an older man. In this way, her spirit is broken.
Muccho
Muccho is Papoo’s mother. She is a sweeper and lives in the bungalow behind the Sethi’s
house. She often beats her daughter, though she regrets it later.
Moti
Moti is Muccho’s husband and Papoo’s father. He is a sweeper and lives in the bungalow
behind the Sethis’ house.
Cousin
Lenny’s cousin is Electricaunt’s son. He spends a lot of time with Lenny and Adi, though
he is older than them. It is expected that Cousin and Lenny will get married when they are older.
Cousin finds Lenny attractive and takes every opportunity to touch her or make hints about what
sex is. Lenny gets angry when he does this, and they agree to wait until she is older.
Imam Din
Imam Din is the Sethi family’s large and friendly cook. He is Muslim and has family in
the village of Pir Pindo. He takes Lenny there several times. He is the great grandfather of Ranna.
He is a good man, though sometimes grumpy. He fakes an oath to God in order to protect Ayah
from the mob who eventually takes her away.
Sher Singh
 Sher Singh is the attendant of the zoo. He is Sikh and one of Ayah’s suitors. He is
responsible for the lion there, which Lenny is scared of. He enlists Ice-candy-man’s help in
getting rid of some of his Muslim tenants. Later, Ice-candy-man turns on him because he is Sikh.
He leaves for India.
Adi Sethi
Adi is Lenny’s brother. He is a year and a month younger than her. He is quiet and aloof,
often private with his thoughts and interests. He is attractive but in a feminine kind of way.
Dost Muhammad
Imam Din’s grandson who lives in Pir Pindo.
Ranna
Ranna is Imam Din’s great-grandson. He lives in Pir Pindo. He is a young, handsome boy
a little older than Lenny. They become friends when she visits. During Partition, his village
becomes part of India and Sikhs come and massacre almost everyone. He survives wounded and
eventually is able to make it into Pakistan where he reunites with his aunt and uncle. Thanks to
the Sethi family collections, he attends a convent school.
Dr. Manek Mody
Godmother’s brother-in-law who visits occasionally from Rawalpindi. He has a flirtatious
relationship with Godmother and loves to make Lenny and Adi laugh with his jokes.
Oldhusband
A quiet man who is married to Godmother. He occasionally impresses Lenny with
profound statements.
Yousaf
Yousaf is the Sethi family’s odd-job man. He is curly-haired and handsome.
Colonel Barucha
The head of the local Parsee community. He is also a famous doctor that treats Lenny for
polio and her limp.
Gardener of the Government House
Another suitor of Ayah’s, the gardener sometimes has news or rumors about what the
British rulers of India are doing.
Chidda
Imam Din’s granddaughter who prepares food for everyone when she visits Pir Pindo.
Khatija and Parveen
Ranna’s sisters who live in Pir Pindo. They are only a couple of years older than Lenny
but they act like older women with their seriousness and modesty.
Hotel Cook
This suitor of Ayah’s is a hotel cook at the Faletti’s Hotel restaurant.
The Shankars
 A newly-wed couple who are the Sethis’ tenants. They are deeply in love. Mr. Shankar
and Gita are constantly having sex.
Mr. Singh
Mr. Singh is a turbaned and bearded Sikh who often acts like a villager. He is married to
an American woman and their children are Rosy and Peter. He is very proud of being Sikh and is
quick to get into arguments.
Mrs. Singh
Mr. Singh’s green-eyed and pale-skinned American wife. Mother of Rosy and Peter.
Rosy
Mr. and Mrs. Singh’s daughter. She is good friends with Lenny and is often over at the
house. She owns glass jars that Lenny steals and then returns.
Peter
Mr. and Mrs. Singh’s son and Rosy’s brother. He is Lenny’s friend.
Mr. Rogers
Mr. Rogers is English. He is the Inspector General of Police in Lahore. He gets into an
argument with Mr. Singh about whether the Sikhs are ready to rule themselves. He thinks the
Sikh leadership is too violent. He is found murdered and mutilated in the street during Partition.
Lenny is traumatized by this news.
Mr. Bankwalla
An officer at the Central Bank of India. He debates the question of Indian independence
at a Parsee gathering.
Mrs. Pen
Lenny’s English neighbor who gives her lessons. She is married to an old Anglo-Indian
man.
Maggie Phailbus
A schoolteacher living in Lenny’s neighborhood.
Jagjeet Singh
He is the granthi (or Sikh religious leader) of a village near Pir Pindo. He swears to Imam
Din and the Muslims of the neighboring village that he will protect them, but when armed Sikhs
swarm the area during Partition, he is unable to do much.
Hamida
Hamida is a Muslim woman who is kidnapped from her husband and family during
Partition. She is taken to the Indian city of Amritsar and then makes it to the camp for displaced
women near the Sethi household. She becomes Lenny’s new nanny. She is ashamed of having
been raped but believes that bad things that happen are fated.
Gita
A friend of Mother who goes with her to visit Gandhi.
Mahatma Gandhi
 The Indian lawyer and non-violent activist against the British colonial government. In the
novel, he is described as fasting frequently to raise awareness against the British as well as
violence between religious communities. At one point he visits Lahore. Mother, her friends, and
Lenny go to visit him. He talks about crude things like rich food and enemas, but he has a
powerful effect on all the women there. Gandhi is one of several real historical figures who
appear in the novel.
Master Tara Singh
Master Tara Singh was a Sikh religious and political leader who opposed the Partition of
India. In the novel, he is described as hating Muslims and advocating for violence. He visits
Lahore and gives an anti-Muslim speech that leads to murder and arson in the city.
Jawaharlal Nehru
Nehru was an Indian independence activist who later became the first prime minister of
India. In the novel he is mentioned for his activities in the Indian National Congress and for
being close with the British.
Muhammad Ali Jinnah
Jinnah was a lawyer and leader of the All-India Muslim League (known in the novel as
the Muslim League). He became Pakistan’s governor-general after the formation of the country
in 1948. The novel describes him as a practical, cold, but fundamentally humane person who
historians and pro-Indian intellectuals have misunderstood.
Sharbat Khan
Sharbat Khan is a Pashtun, a Muslim tribesman from the area near Afghanistan. He is one
of Ayah’s admirers and brings her all sorts of fruits and nuts from the countryside. While in
Lahore, he sharpens knives and also works as a money-lender. He Is tough and sometimes uses
violence for work but gentle and respectful to Ayah and Lenny.

Themes
Women’s issues, the implications of colonization, and the bitterly divided quagmire of partisan
politics that the British left in their wake are reevaluated in the novel, picked apart by the sharp
questions of a child. Sidhwa’s credibility in the eyes of the press and literary critics of the
subcontinent is remarkably accentuated by virtue of her being a Parsi, a woman, and a first-hand
witness to the violence. The Parsis remained neutral during the Partition, a fact well remembered
by two countries [India and Pakistan] that are enemies to this day over the highly disputed events
of the Partition. Sidhwa uses this impartial position to its fullest, contributing greatly to the
national discourse on the matter.
1. Cracking
The theme of “cracking,” which gives the novel its title, refers to the Partition of India into the
two countries of India and Pakistan. As a child hearing conversations about this possibility, she
imagines that the countries will be literally “cracked,” “broken” and “split.” She tries to get a
straight answer from the adults. At one point she wonders: “Can one break a country? and
what happens if they break it where our house is? Or crack it further up on Warris Road?
How will I ever get to Godmother’s then?” Of course, what happens is less literal than this, but
in a certain sense, this theme of cracking is played out in all of the relationships the novel spends
so much time describing. When former friends become enemies or mixed-religion groups start to
stereotype each other—or, worse, attack each other—over religion, then the country really has
cracked into various pieces.
2. Sexual awakening
One major theme in the novel is Lenny’s slow realizations about the reality of adult sexuality.
She learns about sex from watching Ayah and her admirers. She slowly becomes aware of the
“involuntary female magnetism” that people like her possess in that they attract the people
around them. Lenny is also aware of the sexuality of her mother, Godmother, and the other older
women in her life. Lenny’s earliest sexual experiences are with Cousin, who often crosses the
line in talking about sex or even touching his much younger relative. Throughout the course of
the novel, Lenny learns about the dark side of sexuality. When she learns about Ayah being
forced into prostitution, she has terrible dreams: “That night I take all I’ve heard and learned
and been shown to bed and by morning reel dizzily on a fleetingly glimpsed and terrible
grown-up world.” Seeing Ice-candy-man’s actions towards Ayah, Lenny learns that sexuality
and desire can also be a destructive force.
3. Sickness
Much of the first half of the novel focuses on Lenny’s struggles with polio, which has damaged
her legs and feet and caused her to walk with a limp. Lenny is both worried about her health and
also enjoys the attention that being sick wins her. She appears to enjoy visits to the doctor and
the worrying of her family. When she gets her cast off, Lenny is worried that she will lose her
limp and become just like everyone else. For her, being sick is a mark of being different. Some
analyses of the novel by literary scholars compare this theme of Lenny’s physical sickness to a
metaphorical sickness in Indian society at this time. Just as Lenny’s body is racked by polio, the
communities described in the novel slow become sick and dysfunctional as people begin fighting
each other based on religion.
4. Division:
Greater still is the theme of division. “Cracking India” is really the story of the bloody war
between a community torn apart by religious differences. Lenny narrates, quite poignantly, this
theme: “It is sudden. One day everybody is themselves—and the next day they are Hindu,
Muslim, Sikh, Christian. People shrink, dwindling into symbols. Ayah is no longer just my
all-encompassing Ayah—she is also a token. A Hindu". These differences really impact
Lenny’s life. Although she is not herself a part of the warring factions in India, her primary
caretaker is, and through Ayah, Lenny is subject to witness the same division in her community.
5. Individual and societal trauma
Another important theme in the novel is how the trauma that individuals experience gets
mirrored in the trauma of an entire society. For example, in the previous theme, we saw that
Lenny’s sickness often gets compared to a larger sickness in society. Similarly, Ice-candy-man’s
grief and anger over seeing Muslim civilians slaughtered in a train cause him to light fires and
attack people from other religions in Lahore. Others who are subjected to his individual revenge
might also then seek revenge. In this way, individual trauma quickly turns into societal trauma
and snowballs into something increasingly violent and difficult to heal.
6. Social groups
The different groups that make up society is a repeated theme in the novel. In the beginning,
people from various religions socialize with each other. An example is the diverse group of
suitors who harmoniously gather around Ayah. There is also much discussion throughout the
novel of how the English play different social groups against each other with the logic of “divide
and conquer.” The various groups also begin to mistrust each other, particularly Hindus and
Sikhs. On the more individual level, Ayah’s suitors began to see each other more as “tokens,” or
stereotypes of the groups they belong to, than people. By the time of Partition, the social groups
are no longer able to live in harmony as India and Pakistan descend into violence.
7. Control over women
The novel shows the various ways that patriarchy, the system by which men have power and
authority over women, affects their lives. This is shown to be an older and more general form of
violence than Partition, but it is also part of how the Inter-communal tensions between religious
groups get acted out. For example, “Papoo” is married off to a man much older than her. She
gets no choice in the marriage and is drugged by her family so that she will not protest. Similarly,
during Partition different religious groups seek to get revenge against each other by raping or
kidnapping the women of the other group. Lenny learns that even after some of these women are
recovered, their families do not want them back. Godmother tells her that this is because some
men “can’t stand their women being touched by other men.” Lenny finds this unfair that
women are seen as property. She is also faced with the reality of how society controls women
when Ice-candy-man kidnaps Ayah. When the people around her describe this as “fate,” Lenny
reflects “I’ve seen Ayah carried away—and it had less to do with fate than with the will of
men.” In the end, Ayah refuses to see her as damaged. After she is freed, she decides to go across
the border to her family in India—whether or not they accept her.
8. Memory
Memory is shown to be unreliable in the novel. The story is narrated by Lenny from years after
the events. When describing the fires in Lahore, she describes them as lasting for months though
she knows this cannot be true: “But in my memory it is branded over an inordinate length of
time: memory demands poetic license.” The theme of memory also comes up when Lenny
thinks about how Ranna has gotten over his trauma of nearly being killed by a Sikh mob and
then escaping into Pakistan. She looks up to Ranna because he is able to accept his loss by letting
his memories of the trauma go. In contrast, Lenny’s refusal to forget makes her a more bitter
person: “The small bitterness and grudges I tend to nurse make me feel ashamed of myself.
Ranna’s ready ability to forgive a past none of us could control keeps him whole.” In this
sense, being able to misremember events or forget them can actually be a healthy thing. To
forgive partly relies on forgetting.

Literature Review:

“Cracking India” by Bapsi Sidhwa is considered a significant literary work that uses a child’s
perspective to powerfully depict the trauma and devastation of the Indian partition, exploring
themes of identity, gender violence, and the consequences of political extremism through a
deeply personal lens, particularly highlighting the plight of the Parsi community as neutral
observers caught in the crossfire of communal violence; the novel is praised for its raw honesty,
poignant imagery, and its ability to capture the chaos and brutality of the historical event through
a seemingly innocent narrator.

The article titled “Cracking the Nation: Genier, Minorities, and Agency in Bapsi Sidhwa’s
Cracking India” by Jill Didur explores the intricate relationship between gender, nationalism,
and agency as depicted in Sidhwa’s novel. It analyzes how nationalist discourses in South Asia
exploit women’s identities to serve patriarchal interests, particularly during the tumultuous
period of India’s Partition. By focusing on the experiences of Lenny, a young Parsi girl, and her
ayah, the article illustrates the marginalization of minorities and the complexities of female
identity within national narratives. Lenny’s journey reveals the tension between conservative-
nationalist ideals and women’s lived realities, emphasizing her struggle to assert agency in a
context that often denies it. Didur emphasizes that Lenny's narrative perspective reveals tensions
between personal desires and the broader nationalist discourse, particularly concerning women's
bodies during the Partition. The discussion calls for a rethinking of agency to include indirect
forms of resistance, highlighting the ways women’s experiences are influenced by and contribute
to the socio-political landscape of postcolonial Pakistan.

The article "Narratives of Memory, Trauma and Women: A Critical Reading of Bapsi
Sidhwa's Cracking India" by Kalyani Hazarika examines the impact of the 1947 Partition on
women and society as portrayed in Sidhwa's novel. It highlights how the Partition led to
widespread violence and the victimization of women, who faced atrocities such as rape and
abandonment.
Through the child narrator Lenny, Sidhwa illustrates the complexities of identity and trauma
during this period, showing how individuals were profoundly affected. The article emphasizes
the theme of memory, suggesting that the trauma of Partition continues to haunt survivors.
Hazarika also notes Sidhwa's focus on female agency, challenging male-centric narratives and
depicting how women navigated the chaos of their circumstances.
In conclusion, the article asserts that Sidhwa’s work poignantly captures the emotional scars of
Partition, raising important questions about identity and the human cost of political decisions.
The article titled “The Repetition of Silence: Partition, Rape, and Female Labor in Bapsi
Sidhwa's Cracking India” by Lopamudra Basu explores the intricate themes of gender,
violence, and class in Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Cracking India, which addresses the trauma of the
Partition of India. The narrative is delivered through the perspective of Lenny, a young Parsee
girl, who witnesses the abduction and rape of her Hindu nanny, Ayah, amidst the communal
violence of Partition.
Basu critiques the historical erasure of women's experiences during this traumatic period,
emphasizing how women's bodies became battlegrounds for ethnic and class conflicts. The
article highlights Sidhwa's unique contribution to Partition literature by presenting a female
viewpoint, contrasting it with the predominantly male narratives that preceded her.
The character of Ayah symbolizes not only the victimization faced by women during the
Partition but also the intersection of class and gender, as she is portrayed as both a domestic
worker and a victim of ethnic violence. Basu argues that Sidhwa's depiction complicates the
simplistic dichotomy of victim-hood and recovery, revealing the nuanced realities faced by
women.
The author advocates for a deeper understanding of how narratives like Sidhwa's can illuminate
ongoing issues of gender-based violence and ethnic strife in South Asia. The article concludes
that while there has been a resurgence of interest in Partition studies, the scholarship must
continue to evolve to encompass the diverse experiences of women during this historical event.

The article "Woman Subjection As Reflected In Sidhwa’s Cracking India” by Najia Asrar
Zaidi, published in the “Pakistan Journal of Gender Studies (March 2020)”, examines the
profound impact of the 1947 Partition of India on women, illustrating their exploitation and
oppression in the context of political, religious, and societal upheaval. Zaidi argues that Bapsi
Sidhwa’s novel “Cracking India” serves as a feminist text that sheds light on the historical and
systemic violence faced by women during this tumultuous period. Through the experiences of
female characters, Sidhwa critiques the patriarchal structures that render women as property and
silenced victims of communal conflict. The article contends that literature, particularly Sidhwa’s
work, plays a crucial role in highlighting women’s narratives and advocating for their rights in
post-colonial contexts.

The article "I Want my Ayah: Women at the Centre of Conflict in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking
India and Deepa Mehta’s Earth" by Annabel Pamies Mayoral explores the portrayal of
women during the Partition of India, focusing on Bapsi Sidhwa’s novel and Deepa Mehta’s film
adaptation. It argues that both works center on women as pivotal figures, representing political
power and cultural identity while also illustrating their victimization amid conflict.
The study analyzes key female characters, primarily Lenny, Ayah, and Lenny’s mother and
Godmother. Lenny serves as the narrative voice, providing an innocent perspective on the
chaotic events of Partition. Ayah is depicted as a symbol of attraction and cultural unity among
her diverse suitors, while the Sethi family represents a neutral Parsee community that navigates
the turmoil.
In contrast, Mehta’s film adaptation presents a more dramatic and victimized view of women,
particularly through Ayah’s character, who loses much of her empowerment compared to the
novel. The absence of influential characters like Godmother alters the narrative, leading to a
bleak ending for Ayah, which emphasizes her victimization.
The article concludes that Sidhwa’s portrayal offers a more nuanced understanding of female
agency, showcasing women’s resilience and active roles during the Partition, while Mehta’s
adaptation focuses on the tragic consequences of conflict for women, leaving a sense of
hopelessness.

The article “Partition Violence in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Cracking India” by D. Jaichithra

examines Bapsi Sidhwa's novel Cracking India, which is framed as a Bildungsroman, portraying
the coming-of-age of Lenny, a young girl in Lahore during the tumultuous period leading up to
and following the Partition of India in 1947. Through Lenny's eyes, the narrative provides a rich
depiction of her childhood and the diverse social fabric of Lahore, but this idyllic life is disrupted
by the violence of Partition.
As the story progresses, Lenny witnesses the disintegration of social bonds across religious lines,
including the tragic fate of her ayah and the broader community's suffering. The article highlights
how Lenny's observations reveal the harsh realities of religious intolerance and the victimization
of women during this historical upheaval. Despite her initial innocence, Lenny gains insight into
the complexities of human nature and the social dynamics of her society.
The author notes that while some critics find Lenny's narrative voice overly precocious, the dual
narrative technique—combining a child's perspective with adult reflections—effectively conveys
the blend of innocence and wisdom. The character of Ice-Candy-Man, originally central to the
narrative, symbolizes the coldness of political leaders, contrasting with the strength and
resilience of women like Godmother, who embody nurturing and corrective forces in a chaotic
world.
The article asserts that Cracking India not only illustrates the brutality of Partition but also
emphasizes the crucial roles women play as both victims and agents of resilience, ultimately
offering a nuanced understanding of this dark chapter in history through a feminine lens.

Conclusion
Cracking India is a deeply moving exploration of partition, weaving together history, identity,
and personal trauma. Through vivid imagery, complex characters, and poignant quotes, Sidhwa
creates a literary masterpiece that captures the tragedy of division and its lasting scars on
humanity.
References:

Sharpe, K.. Cooper, James ed. “Cracking India Literary Elements”. GradeSaver, 14 February
2021 Web. 18 November 2024.

Literary Endeavour. (n.d.). Home. Retrieved November 17, 2024, from

http://www.literaryendeavour.org

Agatucci, Cora, ed. “Introduction to Cracking India.” Handout [online], Humanities 210,
Central
Oregon Community College, Fall 2006. 7 Nov. 2006
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/coursepack/crackingindia.htm.
---, ed. Timelines of Asia: India, China, Japan: Table of Contents. 1997-2004. 20 Feb.
2004 http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/asianTML.htm. India Timeline 3:
The British Raj (late 17th – early 20th centuries):
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/IndiaTML/indiatml3.htm
India Timeline 4: Independence of India and Pakistan (20th century):
http://web.cocc.edu/cagatucci/classes/hum210/tml/IndiaTML/indiatml4.htm.
Bapsi Sidhwa’s Home Page. 2000-2002. 20 Feb. 2004
http://members.aol.com/_ht_a/bsidhwa/?mtbrand=AOL_US.
Shoemaker, Emily. “Cracking India – Sexuality.” eNotes Publishing, edited by eNotes Editorial,
eNotes.com, Inc., 18 Nov. 2024 <https://www.enotes.com/topics/cracking-india/themes#themes-
sexuality>