Across Continents and Cultures

Thursday, April 2nd
The Space Between Us

In Bombay (some now prefer Mumbai) 65 year-old Bhima, a low-caste (but not an "Untouchable") illiterate Hindu cleans house and cooks for the well-to-do Sera Dubash, a Parsi woman, whose daughter is pregnant and apparently happily married. Bhima's granddaughter, whose college education has been paid for by Sera, is pregnant out of wedlock, and her hopes for an improved lot in life appear doomed as a result. Umrigar deftly oscillates between Bhima's and Sera's worlds, and she vividly depicts their variant life-styles and class conflict, but she also suggests important parallels. Both Bhima and Sera are widows, in effect, and through flashbacks we learn that both suffered from spousal abuse, though in very different ways. Discussion Leader: Louise Ackley Louise Ackley is retired from the Boise State University English Department. She has participated as a Let.s Talk About It program scholar since 1986.