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Themes and Colors
LitCharts assigns a color and icon to each theme in Indian Ink, which you can use to track the themes throughout the work.
Tom Stoppard’s play Indian Ink emphasizes the British Empire’s responsibility for India’s deep poverty and inequality. As the British poet Flora Crewe visits India and mingles with the English elite and the absurdly wealthy Rajah, she recognizes that they’re only rich because they have subjugated the vast majority of Indians for centuries. She also sees how this hierarchy affects every aspect of colonial life. Ordinary Indians—like Flora’s servant Nazrul—labor tirelessly but invisibly in the background of the play to make the people who colonized them wealthy and comfortable. Meanwhile, educated upper-class Indians like the painter Nirad Das and the Theosophical Society president Coomaraswami treat Flora with excessive respect and deference. Perhaps they have internalized the colonial hierarchy and learned to view English people as superior to themselves, as Flora suggests, or maybe they simply know that they’ll face consequences if they do not play along with the hierarchy. Indeed, Nirad Das fully understands how the British Empire has systematically plundered India, and he supports Gandhi’s independence movement in secret—but the play’s conclusion strongly suggests that the government actually imprisons him in part because his taboo relationship with Flora threatens the colonial hierarchy.
Most troublingly, the scenes set in the 1980s show that similarly unequal dynamics continue today—decades after Independence—in both England and India. For instance, Flora’s sister Eleanor lectures Das’s son Anish—who lives in England and is married to an Englishwoman—about how the British Empire brought justice and civilization to India. Meanwhile, when he travels to impoverished Jummapur, Flora’s biographer Eldon Pike gets the same royal treatment that she did. He also receives all the credit for reviving Flora’s story, even though the person who made his work possible—an ordinary servant named Subadar Ram Sunil Singh, who is the only person who actually remembers Flora—never even gets to speak in the play. In short, Indian Ink shows that colonialism isn’t just a relic of the past in England and India—rather, the British Empire still forms the template for their deep but fraught interconnections.
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The Effects of Colonialism ThemeTracker
The ThemeTracker below shows where, and to what degree, the theme of The Effects of Colonialism appears in each act of Indian Ink. Click or tap on any chapter to read its Summary & Analysis.
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The Effects of Colonialism Quotes in Indian Ink
Below you will find the important quotes in Indian Ink related to the theme of The Effects of Colonialism.
Act 1 Quotes
“Jummapur, Wednesday, April the second. Darling Nell, I arrived here on Saturday from Bombay after a day and a night and a day in a Ladies Only, stopping now and again to be revictualled through the window with pots of tea and proper meals on matinee trays, which, remarkably, you hand back through the window at the next station down the line where they do the washing up; and from the last stop I had the compartment to myself, with the lights coming on for me to make my entrance on the platform at Jummapur. The President of the Theosophical Society was waiting with several members of the committee drawn up at a respectful distance, not quite a red carpet and brass band but garlands of marigolds at the ready, and I thought there must be somebody important on the train—”
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In the opening scene of Indian Ink, protagonist Flora Crewe disembarks her train in the fictional Indian city of Jummapur in 1930, during the last decades of British colonial rule. Stoppard narrates this scene through the medium of Flora’s letters to her sister, Nell, who also appears in the scenes set in 1980s England as the elderly Mrs. Eleanor Swan. This narrative technique, which appears throughout the play, allows Stoppard to interlace his two timelines, showing how the past shapes people’s sense of identity in the present and how people’s life experiences shape the way they remember the past. Flora Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. N
FLORA And it’s called a duck bungalow …”
MRS SWAN Dak bungalow.
FLORA “… although there is not a duck to be seen.”
She disappears into the bathroom with her suitcase.
MRS SWAN Dak was the post; they were post-houses, when letters went by runner.
IKE Ah …
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As Eleanor Swan and Eldon Pike go through Flora Crewe’s old letters from Jummapur, Swan repeatedly gives Pike much-needed context about India so that he can understand what Flora’s journey would have been like. In this passage, Swan corrects Flora’s misunderstanding: Flora calls the bungalow (home) where she stays in Jummapur a “duck” bungalow, but it’s really a “dak” bungalow—a disused old postal house. Swan’s correction shows that she knows far more about India than Flora did in the 1930s and Pike does in the 1980s—which foreshadows the play’s later revelation that Swan has lived decades of her life in Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et
“The sightseeing with picnic was something of a Progress with the president of the Theosophical Society holding a yellow parasol over me while the committee bicycled alongside, sometimes two to a bike, and children ran before and behind—I felt like a carnival float representing Empire—or, depending how you look at it, the Subjugation of the Indian People, and of course you’re right, darling, but I never saw anyone less subjugated than Mr Coomaraswami.”
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When Flora Crewe arrives in Jummapur, the local Theosophical Society—which has invited her to give a talk on the London literary scene—takes her out for a formal tour of the city. This is a section from her letter describing the experience: it’s both pleasant and unsettling, educational and demoralizing. She feels honored that the society treats her as such an important guest. At the same time, it distresses her to realize that this treatment reflects the unjust social, economic, and racial hierarchy that the British Empire has imposed on India. Indeed, in this scene, she starts to understand the complex Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corp
“Yes I am in heat like a bride in a bath,
without secrets, soaked in heated air
that liquifies to the touch and floods,
shortening the breath, yes
I am discovered, heat has found me out,
a stain that stops at nothing,
not the squeezed gates or soft gutters,
it slicks into the press
that prints me to the sheet
yes, think of a woman in a house of net
that strains the oxygen out of the air
thickening the night to Indian ink
or think if you prefer—”
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This is the poem that Flora Crewe writes while Nirad Das paints her in Jummapur. It is one of Flora’s last poems, and the title piece in her final collection, Indian Ink, though the play’s audiences and readers do not yet know this. However, the poem does clarify several key features of Flora Crewe’s work, reputation, and legacy. It is obviously erotic: “I am in heat” is both a literal reference to the weather in Jummapur and a metaphor for sexual desire. (This is clear from the beginning of the poem, when Flora evokes “a bride in a bath” waiting Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earu
DAS May I ask you a personal question?
FLORA That is a personal question.
DAS Oh my goodness, is it?
FLORA I always think so. It always feels like one. Carte blanche is what you’re asking, Mr Das. Am I to lay myself bare before you?
DAS (Panicking slightly) My question was only about your poem!
FLORA At least you knew it was personal.
DAS I will not ask it now, of course.
FLORA On that understanding I will answer it. My poem is about heat.
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Nirad Das paints Flora Crewe as she sits on the verandah of the bungalow where she is staying in Jummapur, writing a poem. When he carefully tries to ask her what her poem is about, this is the conversation that ensues. Flora is teasing and flirting with Das, but he is hesitant and concerned. After all, she talks to him with a familiar, bantering, egalitarian tone that is neither common nor viewed as appropriate in conversations between Indians and English people during the colonial period. Das is not used to this tone, and he’s not entirely sure what Flora’s means, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis co
I did say that but I think what I meant was for you to be more Indian, or at any rate Indian, not Englished-up and all over me like a labrador and knocking things off tables with your tail—so waggish of you, Mr Das, to compare my mind to a vacuum. You only do it with us, I don’t believe that left to yourself you can’t have an ordinary conversation without jumping backwards through hoops of delight, with whoops of delight, I think I mean; actually, I do know what I mean, I want you to be with me as you would be if I were Indian.
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When Flora asks if Das will answer a “delicate question,” he excitedly replies, “I am transported beyond my most fantastical hopes of our fellowship!” This is Flora’s reaction. She finds Das’s response frustratingly inauthentic; he is obviously trying to win her favor. She compares his efforts to ingratiate himself with her to an overenthusiastic dog trying to please its owner—of course, she no doubt misses how insulting it could be to compare Indians to dogs in a colonial system that justifies itself by saying that nonwhite people are closer to animals than humans. But her intentions are clearly good: she Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deser
ANISH Oh … yes. Yes, I am a painter like my father. Though not at all like my father, of course.
MRS SWAN Your father was an Indian painter, you mean?
ANISH An Indian painter? Well, I’m as Indian as he was. But yes. I suppose I am not a particularly Indian painter … not an Indian painter particularly, or rather …
MRS SWAN Not particularly an Indian painter.
ANISH Yes. But then, nor was he. Apart from being Indian.
MRS SWAN As you are.
ANISH Yes.
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After seeing his father’s portrait of Flora Crewe on the cover of Eldon Pike’s book, Anish Das visits Eleanor Swan in the 1980s to discuss his father’s life and art. Swan asks Anish about himself, and she is surprised to learn that he lives in England and is also a painter. She immediately compares him to his father. In this curious exchange, Anish insists on his individuality while Swan denies it. He insists that, just because he is an Indian and a painter, he is not necessarily like his father—in fact, his style and influences are completely different. But Swan Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omnis iure. Sint qui qui. Qui similique praesentium. Ex consequatur magnam. Aliquid iste enim. Sequi aut maxime. Adipisci voluptate et. V
ANISH We had been loyal to the British right through the first War of Independence.
MRS SWAN The … ? What war was that?
ANISH The Rising of 1857.
MRS SWAN Oh, you mean the Mutiny. What did you call it?
ANISH Dear Mrs Swan, Imperial history is merely … no, no—I promise you I didn’t come to give you a history lesson.
MRS SWAN You seem ill-equipped to do so. We were your Romans, you know. We might have been your Normans.
ANISH And did you expect us to be grateful?
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As Anish Das and Eleanor Swan discuss Jummapur and India, they run into this basic disagreement about colonial history in India. In 1857, thousands of Indian soldiers rebelled against the British colonial government and nearly succeeded in overthrowing it. But Anish and Swan disagree about whether this event should be called “the Mutiny” (as it is often known in England even today) or “the first War of Independence” (as Indian nationalists often call it). This minor debate aptly illustrates many of the questions at the heart of the play’s plot. Namely, Swan and Anish’s disagreement shows that it matters deeply Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Molli
ANISH Mrs Swan, you are a very wicked woman. You advance a preposterous argument and try to fill my mouth with cake so I cannot answer you. I will resist you and your cake. We were the Romans! We were up to date when you were a backward nation. The foreigners who invaded you found a third-world country! Even when you discovered India in the age of Shakespeare, we already had our Shakespeares. And our science—architecture—our literature and art, we had a culture older and more splendid, we were rich! After all, that’s why you came.
But he has misjudged.
MRS SWAN (Angrily) We made you a proper country! And when we left you fell straight to pieces like Humpty Dumpty! Look at the map! You should feel nothing but shame!
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Anish Das and Eleanor Swan’s disagreements about the legacy of British colonialism in India culminate in this explosive argument. Das accuses Swan of spreading harmful lies about Indian history, while falsely imagining Britain to be a glorious, benevolent, and cultured country. Swan angrily insists that India only became “a proper country” because British colonialism forced it to develop. Needless to say, the facts are on Das’s side—virtually all modern historians would agree with him. Meanwhile, Swan’s perspective shows how people who participate in atrocities distort history to avoid feeling guilty and responsible for their actions. Swan’s kind offer of cake Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetu
MRS SWAN We were right up near Nepal …
ANISH Yes, the tea-tray …
MRS SWAN You spotted it. In India we had pictures of coaching inns and foxhunting, and now I’ve landed up in Shepperton I’ve got elephants and prayer wheels cluttering up the window ledges, and the tea-tray is Nepalese brass. One could make a comment about human nature but have a slice of Battenburg instead.
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As Anish Das and Eleanor Swan chat about India, England, art, and their relatives, Nirad Das and Flora Crewe, Swan eventually reveals that she lived in northern India for many years. In fact, her husband was an administrator who worked for the British colonial government. Anish points out her Indian-style tea-tray—a subtle sign that Swan actually can appreciate Indian art—and Swan admits that she seems to miss India as much now that she lives in England as she did England when she was living in India. Swan’s comment illustrates the power of nostalgia: people miss things from a distant past Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia
FLORA That was the thing I was going to ask you.
DAS When?
FLORA The delicate question … whether you would prefer to paint me nude.
DAS Oh.
LORA I preferred it. I had more what-do-you-call it.
DAS Rasa.
FLORA (Laughs quietly) Yes, rasa.
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After Das accidentally sees Flora undressed, she goes ahead and asks him the “delicate question” she has long been wondering about: would he paint her in the nude? Das ends up agreeing. When Flora says that a nude portrait would have more rasa, she means that it would more accurately capture her identity and the atmosphere surrounding her collaboration with Das. Of course, this is no surprise, since she is world-famous for writing erotic poetry. Flora and Das’s agreement represents their relationship evolving to a new, deeper stage. It doesn’t necessarily mean that they have sex—although it certainly implies as Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam con
DAS Nazrul was delayed at the shops by a riot, he says. The police charged the mob with lathis, he could have easily been killed, but by heroism and inspired by his loyalty to the memsahib he managed to return only an hour late with all the food you gave him money for except two chickens which were torn from his grasp.
FLORA Oh dear … you thanked him, I hope.
DAS I struck him, of course. You should fine him for the chickens.
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On the day when Das agrees to paint Flora nude, he relays this message to her from her servant, Nazrul, and this is the exchange that ensues. While Nazrul’s labor is essential to Flora’s daily survival in Jummapur, he is all but invisible in the play, which reflects the power dynamics of British colonialism: the people who did most of the labor in the British Empire and generated most of Britain’s wealth, like Indians, were completely invisible to ordinary British people. Das explains that Nazrul claims to have run into a riot linked to the Indian independence movement. Yet his Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque plac
DAS Oh!—you’re not dying are you?!
FLORA I expect so, but I intend to take years and years about it. You’ll be dead too, one day, so let me be a lesson to you. Learn to take no notice. I said nothing about your painting, if you want to know, because I thought you’d be an Indian artist.
DAS An Indian artist?
FLORA Yes. You are an Indian artist, aren’t you? Stick up for yourself. Why do you like everything English?
DAS I do not like everything English.
FLORA Yes, you do. You’re enthralled. Chelsea, Bloomsbury, Oliver Twist, Gold Flake cigarettes, Winsor and Newton … even painting in oils, that’s not Indian. You’re trying to paint me from my point of view instead of yours—what you think is my point of view. You deserve the bloody Empire!
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Shortly after Das agrees to paint Flora nude, Flora admits that she’s dying of a terminal lung disease. She thinks she has many years to live, but unfortunately, readers and audience members will eventually learn that she has only has a few weeks left. In addition, as Flora suggests in one of her final letters to Eleanor, Das’s watercolor of her will come to represent an important element of her legacy. Flora tells Das to make the most of his time on Earth, first and foremost by finding his authentic perspective as an artist—something that she has no doubt done Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetu
DAS The Empire will one day be gone like the Mughal Empire before it, and only their monuments remain—the visions of Shah Jahan!—of Sir Edwin Lutyens!
FLORA “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
DAS (Delighted) Oh yes! Finally like the empire of Ozymandias! Entirely forgotten except in a poem by an English poet. You see how privileged we are, Miss Crewe. Only in art can empires cheat oblivion, because only the artist can say, “Look on my works, ye mighty, and despair!”
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At the end of Act One, after Flora suggests that Das try to paint her from a more authentically Indian perspective, he argues that the British and their influence will eventually fade from India. He references the Mughal Empire, the Muslim dynasty that ruled India for centuries before the British. The Mughal emperor Shah Jahan famously built monuments like the Red Fort and Taj Mahal, and Edwin Lutyens was the English architect who designed much of New Delhi. Flora’s response to Das and Das’s line about Ozymandias’s empire allude to Percy Bysshe Shelly’s famous poem about a well-known statue of Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Mo
FLORA If you don’t start learning to take you’ll never be shot of us. Who whom. Nothing else counts. Mr Chamberlain is bosh. Mr Coomaraswami is bosh. It’s your country, and we’ve got it. Everything else is bosh. When I was Modi’s model I might as well have been a table. When he was done, he got rid of me. There was no question who whom. You’d never change his colour on a map. But please light your Gold Flake.
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Flora reiterates why she thinks it’s so important for Das to find his authentic style as a painter, and she implicitly connects this to India’s colonial predicament. Namely, she argues that Indians have to take their country back from Britain, just as Das must take his own artistic process back from the English influences that have too long stifled it. The colonial order has taught people like Das to be squeamish about taking and using power. But good art, like good governance, requires overcoming this squeamishness—whether this means ruling one’s own country, speaking for oneself, or merely painting the way Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempo
Act 2 Quotes
DURANCE Indianization. It’s all over, you know. We have Indian officers in the Regiment now. My fellow Junior here is Indian, too, terribly nice chap—he’s ICS, passed the exam, did his year at Cambridge, learned polo and knives-and-forks, and here he is, a pukkah sahib in the Indian Civil Service.
FLORA Is he here?
DURANCE At the Club? No, he can’t come into the Club.
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Act Two of Indian Ink opens at the Jummapur Club, an exclusive social club for British colonial officials. Flora dances with one of these officials, David Durance, who has clearly taken an interest in her. Eager to improve Flora’s view of the Empire, Durance tells her about the Rajah, who is technically the city’s ruler, even though the British will oust him if he goes against their wishes. He also praises the “Indianization” policy of replacing British colonial officers with Indian ones. While he presents this policy as a benevolent way of educating Indians and including them in their own Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti ni
PIKE Do you think he had a relationship with Flora Crewe?
DILIP But of course—a portrait is a relationship.
PIKE No, a relationship.
DILIP I don’t understand you.
PIKE He painted her nude.
DILIP I don’t think so.
PIKE Somebody did.
DILIP In 1930, an Englishwoman, an Indian painter … it is out of the question.
PIKE Not if they had a relationship.
DILIP Oh … a relationship? Is that what you say? (Amused) A relationship!
PIKE This is serious.
DILIP (Laughing) Oh, it’s very serious. What do you say for—well, for “relationship?”
PIKE Buddies. (Dilip almost falls off his chair with merriment.) Please, Dilip …
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On their visit to Jummapur, Eldon Pike and Dilip (his friend and guide) speculate about the unthinkable: could Flora Crewe and Nirad Das have been lovers? The possibility seems so remote that Dilip literally doesn’t understand Pike’s question at first. As Dilip implies, such a relationship would have been beyond taboo in the 1930s—it would have been just as transgressive as Flora’s erotic poetry was in London. And by the 1980s, interracial relationships are still all but unheard of in India, although much less so in England. However, in addition to underlining the transgressive nature of Flora and Das’s relationship, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Moll
I went home. It was still “home.” I learned that my father had left me his tin trunk which had always stood at the foot of his bed. There was nothing of value in the trunk that I could see. It was full of paper, letters, certificates, school report cards … (He takes a newspaper clipping from his wallet and gives it to Mrs Swan.) There was a newspaper cutting, however—a report of a trial of three men accused of conspiring to cause a disturbance at the Empire Day celebrations in Jummapur in 1930. My father’s name was there.
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Anish Das explains that, after his father’s death, he found two important artifacts in this trunk: the nude portrait of Flora and a newspaper clipping about his father’s arrest. This enables Stoppard to draw a clear parallel between Anish’s story and Eleanor Swan’s. Namely, both learn about their relatives through the artifacts that they left behind, and both are trying to recover stories that their loved ones never managed to tell them before their deaths. Anish brings both the portrait and the newspaper clipping when he visits Eleanor Swan at her home. Each artifact points Anish to a different hidden Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi
It is all bosh! The Theosophical Society is bosh! His Highness the Rajah is bosh! I must leave you, Miss Crewe. (He hesitates.) I think I will not be coming tomorrow.
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After learning that the Rajah has banned the Theosophical Society, Das visits Flora and reveals that they can no longer work together. He does not precisely explain why, but it should be clear to the audience that spending time with her will present too much of a danger to both of their safety. Surely enough, Flora reveals that she is also about to leave Jummapur and head to Shimla, in the Himalayas, for her health. These are some of Das’s last words to her before she goes. Das’s speech to Flora closely parallels her speech to him at the end Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis.
It’s no go the records of the Theosophical Society, it’s no go the newspaper files partitioned to ashes … All we want is the facts and to tell the truth in our fashion … Her knickers were made of crêpe-de-Chine, her poems were up in Bow Street, her list of friends laid end to end … weren’t in it for the poetry. But it’s no go the watercolour, it’s no go the Modigliani … The glass is falling hour by hour, and we’re back in the mulligatawny … But we will leave no Das unturned. He had a son.
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During their visit to Jummapur, Eldon Pike and Dilip go drinking and start quoting the famous Louis MacNeice poem “Bagpipe Music.” In this passage, Pike intersperses the first halves of lines from the poem (“It’s a no go,” “All we want is,” “Her knickers were made of crêpe-de-Chine,” and so on) with comments on their own journey to learn about Flora Crewe. “Bagpipe Music” focuses on the uniformity and alienation that modern culture imposes on English society. Thus, Pike’s drinking song arguably points to the way these same cultural influences have affected India, the way Flora and Das resisted them, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur labo
DURANCE Where did you get such a thing?
FLORA His Highness gave it to me.
DURANCE Why?
FLORA Because I ate an apricot. Because he is a Rajah. Because he hoped I’d go to bed with him. I don’t know.
DURANCE But how could he … feel himself in such intimacy with you?
[…]
DURANCE … but I’m in a frightfully difficult position now.
FLORA Why?
DURANCE Did he visit you?
FLORA I visited him.
DURANCE I know. Did he visit you?
FLORA Mind your own business.
DURANCE But it is my business.
FLORA Because you think you love me?
DURANCE No, I … Keeping tabs on what His Highness is up to is one of my … I mean I write reports to Delhi.
FLORA (Amused) Oh heavens!
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On a visit to Flora Crewe’s bungalow, David Durance discovers the miniature painting of Radha and Krishna that the Rajah has gifted to Flora. He responds with anger and astonishment, but she insists that the painting is no big deal. However, she also casually mentions that the Rajah was sexually interested in her, probably owing to her reputation as an erotic poet. This outrages Durance, who claims that it’s a security threat for her to see the Rajah. To the extent that Durance’s claim is true, it shows that Durance is lying when he repeatedly insists that Jummapur is the Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur laboriosam. Eum accusamus harum. Accusantium iusto voluptas. Totam quae corporis. Impedit non ut. Incidunt rerum est. Aperiam doloremque eum. Animi soluta perspiciatis. Ut minima autem. Modi omn
The terror of the Empire Day gymkhana, the thrower of mangoes at the Resident’s Daimler.
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Eleanor Swan provocatively describes Nirad Das with this reference to the crime for which he was imprisoned: throwing mangoes at a car owned by the Resident (the main British official in Jummapur and David Durance’s boss). Of course, besides the true nature of Das’s relationship with Flora, this story about his alleged crime is this play’s other central, unresolved mystery: Stoppard never clarifies if Das actually threw the mangoes. It’s also entirely possible that David Durance invented the charge against Das, whether because Durance viewed Das’s political views as a threat to the Empire or simply because he grew jealous Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit neque odit. Tenetur qui dignissimos. Qui et ut. Voluptate labore corporis. Hic tempore laborum. Nisi quia ea. Quia soluta itaque. Deleniti nisi earum. Ad tenetur la
“Twenty years ago no European had ever been here, and there we were with a band playing, and observing that St Cloup’s Potage à la Julienne was perhaps better than his other soups, and so on, and all this in the face of those high hills, and we one hundred and five Europeans being surrounded by at least three thousand Indians, who looked on at what we call our polite amusements, and bowed to the ground if a European came near them. I sometimes wonder they do not cut all our heads off and say nothing more about it.”
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Indian Ink ends with Flora Crewe quoting Up the Country, Emily Eden’s memoir about her travels through India in the late 1830s. As the sister of the top British official in India, Eden had a privileged perspective on the country—as well as strong reasons for supporting British colonial rule there. In this sense, she’s very similar to Flora Crewe. By reading Eden’s book at the end of the play, Flora focuses on the easily-forgotten dynamic at the heart of British colonialism: it requires the application of brutal violence because it consists of a tiny, powerful minority ruling over an enormous, Dolorem et quae. Exercitationem non aut. Eveniet dolor non. Incidunt dolores sunt. Ad dolor at. Quia aperiam eligendi. Ut veniam voluptatem. Aperiam consequuntur mollitia. Provident expedita delectus. Occaecati ea suscipit. Optio ut iste. Voluptas aut occaecati. Accusantium recusandae voluptates. Explicabo minus tempore. Nostrum dolor asperiores. Ut aliquam officiis. Unde enim nesciunt. Commodi necessitatibus voluptas. Accusamus eaque omnis. Velit eaque error. Possimus corrupti soluta. Qui aut a. Rerum voluptas debitis. Voluptatem accusantium est. Mollitia eaque ipsa. Perferendis consectetur et. Dicta impedit ut. Ducimus possimus quo. Non inventore in. Eligendi atque placeat. Molestiae earum eum. Libero sit beatae. At a deserunt. Sint aperiam consequatur. Minima porro perferendis. Sit
