ABSTRACT
The Shadow Lines is Amitav Ghosh's touching commentary on one of the most traumatic events of the sub-continent, the partition of India. This masterpiece by Ghosh focuses on the imaginary links stretching across the realities of nationality along with the feeling of rootlessness and cultural seclusion leading to the thematic propagation of the novel. One of the most significant offshoots of post-coloniality is an unusual response to the past and this work revolves around the memories connected with the pain of partition. By placing the grandmother at the center of the narrative, the author attempts to lend authenticity to his perception, since she has been a witness to the entire holocaust. Ghosh questions the authenticity of these arbitrary divisions and celebrates the togetherness of aliens who are rooted together by the self- propelling sensitivity and friendship. A narrative like The Shadow Lines provides insights into the reality of human experience in a persistently changing social environment, when the very concept of the nation has acquired a new definition. Ghosh shows that men and countries set up borders to exclude people and create differences based on nationalities, race, culture and religion. But the borders set by men are mental constructs, and the lines on the maps are mere shadows.
