Climbing the Mango Trees

I recently read "Climbing the Mango Trees: A Memoir of a Childhood in India" by Madhur Jaffrey. The book shows an India different from the one that I grew in. This was pre-independence India and Madhur J's family was very well off financially and was very well connected. They lived in absolute luxury. Their clothes, mannerisms seem to be Anglicized. She narrates how her enterprising family through generations held on to their socio-economic standing despite the shift of rulers.The rulers could be as disparate and distant as the Mughals and the British but the family adapted to the changing rulers and tried fitting in by adopting the lifestyles of the rulers of the moment. There were breaks in fortune in between, however an enterprising member would emerge and restore the family to its grand state. The lifestyle was definitely upper class. Just to give an idea, all the cars owned by Madhur J's family were American and that too in pre-independence India. The outline and the framework of this book is in upper-class, pre-independence India. In the next layer she projects the dynamics of growing up in a large joint family, with all its members having their own quirks and the effects on those around them. It is a beautiful portrait.


The book shows India in a decent light, which is refreshing considering the multitudes published to make it look otherwise. The book ends with her deciding to go to Miranda House to pursue a college degree. I eagerly wait for a sequel.

 

Thanks Bujji for the feedback.