Themes
Key
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Hullabaloo in the Guava Orchard, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Absurdity and Chaos
Nature vs. Modernity
Traditions, Customs, and Expectations
Exploitation of Spirituality
Summary
Analysis
An incredible summer heatwave has fallen upon the small Indian town of Shahkot. One resident, a recently married young man named Mr. Chawla, scans the newspaper for information about the troublesome weather. It seems that people have come up with plenty of outlandish theories to explain the oppressive heat, and plenty more outlandish attempts to solve the problem. The citizens of Shahkot struggle in vain to keep cool as they consider wild, superstitious plans to summon the monsoon they so desperately need. But rain still hasn’t arrived by the end of summer, and the people begin to lose hope.
The heatwave disrupts the ability of Shahkot’s citizens to live normally in town, bringing an ancient struggle with nature to a modern, urban area. This struggle sets the stage for future conflicts between nature and modernity, both of which are constantly competing for dominance over the other.
Themes
Naturally, the dry, prolonged heatwave has brought a period of drought to Shahkot and the surrounding regions. The Red Cross establishes famine relief camps nearby, but their planes always fly over the town of Shahkot to deliver supplies to other areas. As the drought reduces the availability of food and strains the town’s economy, a pregnant woman named Kulfi, Mr. Chawla’s wife, seems to grow bigger by the day. The townsfolk can’t help but stare at Kulfi as she passes by with her swelling belly, but they quickly look away when they see her dark, intense eyes. But she isn’t paying them any attention, as her concentration seems focused on something distant and known only to herself.
As the drought continues to interfere with the possibility of a normal modern life in Shahkot, Kulfi’s introduction adds another layer of strangeness to the town’s circumstances. Her quiet focus on something imperceptible to the other townsfolk implies that she might be mentally unwell or perhaps able to perceive things that others cannot. Through the heatwave, nature itself seems to be pushing Kulfi’s oddness even further than usual, maybe towards some kind of breakthrough.
Themes
When asked about Kulfi’s odd behavior, Ammaji (Kulfi’s mother-in-law) dismisses the townsfolk’s concerns and explains that it’s just Kulfi’s pregnancy that’s making her act so strangely. But Kulfi continues her unusual and single-minded lifestyle, her head swimming with thoughts and fantasies of delicious food of all kinds. She bribes merchants with fine clothes and jewels from her dowry, in exchange for the fruits and vegetables she silently craves. Her husband Mr. Chawla is exasperated at her behavior, but Ammaji consoles him with the same words she tells the townsfolk: Kulfi is just pregnant, and this odd behavior will pass.
Here, the full extent of Kulfi’s strange habits becomes clear. This helps to define her character, but it also highlights the kind of society she lives in. From the beginning, Kulfi defies the cultural expectations of the town of Shahkot without even giving them a second thought. Her lack of self-consciousness about her unusual behavior allows her to avoid feeling trapped by these expectations, but she still holds onto unconventional longings and desires of her own.
Themes
Mr. Chawla, uncomfortable with sickness or odd behavior of any sort, strives to bring order into his wife’s strange lifestyle. He gathers books from the library about pregnancy and raising babies, and he enrolls her unborn child in the Mission School to avoid waiting lists. But Kulfi never seems to listen to Mr. Chawla as he constantly reads health advice to her. Nor does she take any heed of Ammaji’s more superstitious advice about taking care of herself and the baby. Instead, Kulfi continues fantasizing about her cravings, and keeps feeling the baby kick restlessly in her belly. Feeling trapped and desperate for a change of scenery, she finds an old box of crayons and draws a bounty of trees, plants, fruits, vegetables, and animals all over the walls of the house. Mr. Chawla and Ammaji watch in apprehension, hesitant to upset her.
Mr. Chawla’s reaction to Kulfi’s behavior paints a clear picture of his character. Where Kulfi seems completely unaffected by the town’s expectations for how a person should act, these expectations define Mr. Chawla and shape his worldview. His aversion to the messy, complicated aspects of life highlights a fear of vulnerability that may be explored later in the novel. Meanwhile, Kulfi’s drawings elevate the situation and make it even more outlandish. Events are clearly spiraling out of control, but the characters are reacting in a less extreme way than more realistic characters might. This helps to establish that the novel is satirical, and that more absurd events are yet to come.
Themes
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After Kulfi’s colorful drawings have expanded to take up almost the entirety of the house’s walls, a day comes when strong winds blow and swirling clouds finally darken the skies over the town of Shahkot. Seeing this from her window, Kulfi shouts that the rain is finally coming. Sure enough, the townsfolk rejoice as a heavy, deafening monsoon descends on Shahkot. Amid the sounds of pouring rain and cries of relief and joy, Kulfi roars with the thunder as she goes into labor. Two hours later, she’s given birth to a baby boy with a birthmark on his cheek. Almost immediately after this joyous moment, Kulfi, Mr. Chawla, and Ammaji hear an earth-shaking noise from outside, and they wonder if the world is ending just as their child has been born.
The monsoon’s arrival in this moment establishes a strong connection between Kulfi and nature. While the other citizens of Shahkot can only guess at what might happen next, Kulfi seems to react instinctively to changes in the weather. Kulfi giving birth at such an ideal moment seems to be a clear sign of good fortune from the heavens themselves, heightening the novel’s absurdity even further. But the sudden, loud noise from outside indicates that this auspicious birth might bring new complications as well.
Themes
Outside, where the monsoon is still raging, Mr. Chawla and Ammaji find the source of the noise: a crate of supplies from the Red Cross has finally dropped from a plane and landed in the jamun tree in the courtyard. As the people of the neighborhood excitedly gather much-needed food and supplies strewn about the damaged tree, they can hardly believe their sudden, almost magical moment of luck and overwhelming relief. Ammaji announces the birth to the neighborhood, and the house soon fills with dripping-wet people excitedly wishing the baby well. They suggest naming the boy Sampath, meaning “good fortune.” Kulfi feels a growing sense of peace as she imagines how life might flourish from this moment on.
With the arrival of the Red Cross supplies, it seems even more likely that Sampath’s birth has some cosmic significance. Through this seemingly miraculous birth, the tension between nature and modernity finally settles into harmony, at least for a moment. But the sheer unbelievability and chaos of this moment seems to herald a great change coming to Mr. Chawla’s family, for good or ill. Either way, through the welcome monsoon, nature itself has made it clear that this moment is a new beginning.
Themes
