ABSTRACT
Velutha and Ammu’s passionate liaison and the extraordinary bond that Ammu’s Dalit lover shares with her children lie at the heart of Roy’s novel and its preoccupation with social divisions. To varying degrees, both these relationships violate ‘the laws that lay down who should be loved and how. And how much’ (31).1 In this essay, I will attempt to demonstrate that the transgressive nature of the two relationships stems from stark caste as well as class differences. Roy’s depiction of these affective ties reveals not only the convergence but also the tension between the two systems of social stratification, and brings to the fore their implications for human intimacy. While the novel illustrates the capacity of intimate, tactile relationships to shift rigid social hierarchies, I will argue that it also underscores their limitations. Finally, the poetics of narrating cross-caste, cross-class intimacy from a non-Dalit, upper class perspective will be explored.
