Rupa Bajwa
Biographical information awaited.
Rupa Bajwa (b. 1977) hails from Armitsar, Punjab. Her debut novel The Sari Shop was longlisted for the Orange Prize for Fiction 2004.
Works
- The Sari Shop {2004}
The Sari Shop
The Sari Shop revolves around the anxieties of Ramchand, a lowly shop assistant at Sevak Sari House in Amritsar. Ramchand was not born poor. His parents are killed in an accident and he is brought up by his uncle. As soon as he is old enough to fend for himself his uncle finds him a job as a shop assistant where he is condemned to a life of ennui and drudgery and far from the education he craves so much.
But all this changes suddenly when he is dispatched to the rich, English-speaking Kapoor household to deliver saris and fabrics for the daughter’s trousseau. Seeing them converse in English, Ramchand’s passion gets re-kindled and he buys himself a second-hand grammar book, an Oxford Dictionary, a fresh pair of socks and a bar of Lifebuoy soap. These four things, he is convinced, will give him the kind of life he has wanted since childhood.
The novel captures the essence of Amritsar with all its gossip, its alleys, its busy bazaars, its eateries, mannerisms and its petty rivalries among the rich and bored women.