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Nick Price
Jethamoshai is the uncle of Mayadebi and Tha'mma. When the girls were little, he was an eccentric man and was difficult to take seriously—though he was sometimes frightening because of his skeletally thin frame and piercing eyes. Years before the start of the novel, Jethamoshai and the girls' father began feuding, and as lawyers, eventually came to an agreement to build a wall through their shared house. After the wall was built, the two factions of the family stopped speaking to each other and lost contact. During the following fifty years, Jethamoshai held onto his pride and hatred of his brother's family. He even ran several of his family members out of the house and allowed Muslims to move in. One of those Muslim families, Khalil's family, cares for Jethamoshai in his old age when Mayadebi and Tha'mma return to take Jethamoshai "home" to India. Because he's still spiteful and is now a senile old man in his nineties, Jethamoshai is only persuaded to leave the house when he’s told that he's finally going to court to challenge his family for ownership to the house. He's brutally murdered by a mob within minutes of leaving the house.
Jethamoshai Quotes in The Shadow Lines
The The Shadow Lines quotes below are all either spoken by Jethamoshai or refer to Jethamoshai. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
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2. Coming Home Quotes
But you know, the strange thing was that as we grew older even I almost came to believe in our story.
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Once you start moving you never stop. That's what I told my sons when they took the trains. I said: I don't believe in this India-Shindia. It's all very well, you're going away now, but suppose when you get there they decide to draw another line somewhere? What will you do then? Where will you move to? No one will have you anywhere.
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Jethamoshai Character Timeline in The Shadow Lines
The timeline below shows where the character Jethamoshai appears in The Shadow Lines. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
2. Coming Home
...them all. When Tha’mma was little, her part of the family ate with her uncle Jethamoshai’s family. Her grandfather was terrifying, and after his death, Jethamoshai attempted to take his place...
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Jethamoshai was known for losing his temper, though the children felt relatively safe given that he...
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Eventually, Jethamoshai and Tha'mma's father decided to divide the house in half with a wall. The wall...
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...and took him yearly to visit family in Dhaka. Eventually, only Tha’mma’s parents, aunt, and Jethamoshai lived in the house, but their bitterness persisted. In 1931, Tha’mma’s parents died, and she...
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...never got to see the upside-down house. She explains that she told Mayadebi that on Jethamoshai's side of the house, everything was upside down and backwards. She remarks that strangely, she...
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...park who was once a neighbor in Dhaka, and this friend claims that one of Jethamoshai's sons is in Calcutta. The narrator's parents aren't sure what to do with this information,...
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...tells Tha'mma that her husband went back to Dhaka several times to try to bring Jethamoshai back to India. She explains that the house in Dhaka is now inhabited by Muslim...
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...could get her son a job. Tha'mma scoffs and changes the subject: she worries about Jethamoshai, and believes her last quest in life will be to bring him home to India,...
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...she's never taken a holiday and never will. She insists she'll go to bring back Jethamoshai. However, Tha'mma remains uncertain about actually going.
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...but she met a man who lives in the house, Saifuddin. Saifuddin is thrilled that Jethamoshai's relatives are coming, as he believes Jethamoshai will die soon. Mayadebi suggests that Tha'mma bring...
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...Tha'mma to a bench to sit down, and Tha'mma reminds herself of her duty to Jethamoshai. Saifuddin explains that the old man isn't doing well, and insists that his guests have...
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Tha'mma is in awe that Jethamoshai lets Muslims care for him when he used to not allow Muslims to get within...
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Khalil arrives. He greets Saifuddin with deference and smiles widely at Jethamoshai's relatives, and May recognizes that Khalil isn't simple at all. He insists that Jethamoshai won't...
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Tha'mma approaches Jethamoshai, but he yells at her to stop, sit down, and tell him about her case....
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Jethamoshai asks Tha'mma to describe her case, and Tridib loudly explains that they're relatives. Jethamoshai's face...
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Tha'mma gives up, but Saifuddin insists they need to find another way to convince Jethamoshai. Khalil tells Tha'mma to not listen to Saifuddin, as he just wants to claim the...
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Khalil miserably agrees, but says that Jethamoshai will only leave the house in Khalil's rickshaw if Khalil tells him he's going to...
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...her and pushed her down and then continued to the rickshaw. He tried to pull Jethamoshai out of the mob, but the mob dragged Tridib in. After a moment, the mob...
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