Non Verbal Communication

Bye- Bye Blackbird

Publisher - Orient Paperbacks. 
Price: Rs. 60
ISBN:         81-222-0029-X
Author: Anita Desai     
Pages:         230
Part- 3
Edition: Hardcover
Volumes:   5

Published: 5thprinting-2001

Bye-Bye Blackbird (1971) -Winner of Sahitya Academi Award focuses on Desai’s experiences of the traumatic life of the Indian Diaspora. In this novel, we find theme of East and West encounter - different philosophical outlook- what really is the difference between marital displacement and the feeling of up rootedness in alien country is penned through the emotion of Desai. Desai portrays Indian-the blackbirds with tough time in England. In this novel, Adit and Sarah –husband and wife have different mind-set adding to Diaspora sensibilities. Adit and his friend Dev represent emigrant’s different feelings, situations, and the treatment of different issues related to Diasporas. Desai attempts to capture the very essence of culture and tradition of India as well as  London.                                                            

There are three parts of the Novel- First- Dev’s arrival and his experiences in London and longing for India. Novels begin in London’s background.  Adit Sen - from India has a good job of travel agent in London and lives a happy and satisfying life with his English wife Sarah. He loves London’s splendid, grand materialism, whereas his friend Dev who comes England to Adit for some studies at ‘London School of Economics’ and subsequent employment values Indian spiritual culture. Dev misses badly Indian morning, mother’s prayer and a cup of tea from mother. However, Adit- an Indian soul  is full of dreams and aspirations to rise as rich with high status, wealth, and power in London .He thinks gold is scattered everywhere like Sarah's hair  in London . He does not want to go back to India for clerical government job . He loves wearing tweed on a foggy November day. He likes Convent Garden Opera House with its chandelier like a hive of fireflies. He likes girls there and dancing with them. He likes thatched cottages and British History and reading the letters in The Times. While living in London Dev becomes nostalgic for every little and ignored thing in India.He talks about puja to the rising sun and strictly instructs Adit to live with the Indian values. Moreover, Adit likes pub, economic freedom, social freedom, reading posters in the tube, walking near Thames, ravens- mad black witches croaking and raving which he can not get at Calcutta. On the contrary ,Dev fills with disgust with western culture philosophy-‘eat drink and merriment’ and calls London a ‘Jungly city'. Dev appreciates natural divine beauty of Himalayan hill station, Simla or Mussoorie or Darjiling and other little towns. While in London everything is new to Dev beyond his Indian imagination and experience. 

 Adit finds London as land of opportunity where he came to adventuring it. To be exact, Adit and Dev are friends’ but Adit loves London and its Culture, prosperity, facility which he can not find in India Whereas Sarah is fascinated by eastern culture, music, food and religion. Adit loves Sarah, she is from England. Adit lives as a tenant at Emma Motiff’s House who is interested very much in Indian culture but jealous lover of India.  The reason why Emma Motiff loves India is She had been engaged to a young British soldier who had served in India and died there of dysentery and was buried in Ambala. She had his letters and gifts wrapped in Cashmere shawl for thirty years. Emma feels alienated and lonely living inside her lonely shell and shares some happy moments with Sarah (who has the same feeling born out of cultural dilemma) to talk on Indian great Indian artists and its great and soothing and peaceful culture.  Emma Motiff arranges inauguration of ‘Little India Club’ with joining of all the Indian immigrants in auspicious presence of Swami.

Sarah being the wife of Adit Sen- sometimes thinks as she does have any existence at all-whether she is English or Indian, whether she is married to Adit Sen having his identity or she has her father’s identity as Sarah Rose common James? By marrying Adit-an Indian Sarah is alienated from her own country’s people. Desai’s use of narrative technique with stream consciousness symbols and imagery is wonderful. The complexity of modern Indian culture is presented with what exactly is the difference between marital displacement and the feeling of uprootedness in an alien country.

Despite of positive impression of England on Adit, he admits nostalgic reveries of his native land. Adit longs for native-Calcutta food. He lives in England but is a sufferer of cultural dilemma-a complicated worrying thinking of people. As a result, with bagful gifts to his family members Adit wants to go India by air as he had a bad experience of travelling by Sea among Muslims who were going to Mecca. On the other side, Dev manages to find a job and thus decides to stay in London forgetting insult, hurt and humiliation in public and private places .He forgets insult,feeling of unwanted person, and being called a 'wog'. At the end Adit yearns to be in India.He longs for Calcutta food and people and on  account of declaration of war by Pakistan in India  Adit happily moves to India  with his pregnant wife Sarah saying bye bye to Blackbird-Indian immigrants. Thus, Expatriation of the individual is a persistent theme in Anita Desai’s novels.