A Piece of Childhood
Chapter -1 The novel opens with an epigraph a small extract from his own poem “A Letter” giving a talk about his mother and atmosphere of his home. The novel begins with the memory of his absent father that he misses having it as his “first real memory”. It was summer before his father went to a war and he saw young English officers going their way to the Burma where even the poet Alun Lewis had died there. He started describing his house location which is romanticized and behind their flat was the Arabian sea. Moraes mother was a pious woman but his father was not religious as his mother explained to him because his father received his education in England.
The narrator goes on to talk about his childhood days before his father went to war. His father would read newspapers and he would run to his mother first when he is in stress and was shy towards his father. He believes his mother “smelt of flowers” and he would “buried my head between her small breasts and was happy”. He narrates the daily routine of the family members like dinner , lunch and walk with his nanny at the part and young English officers having a beer before his father went to war. The narrator receives a letter from his father from Burma and his father sketches a picture of him in the margin , one of himself , standing in a jungle slashed at by the slanting rain. The narrator asked his mother about his father but his mother replied back with “in a cloudy way “which was becoming common in her personality.
While the narrator and his many were walking down the pavement during the monsoon , there was a sudden explosion and they talk about the end of the world. Moraes mother came to take them back home. Moraes mother said that there were some oil tanker that has burst in the harbour. Dom asked if such explosions also happens in the war and her mother started to cry. The narrator then goes on to explain his parents love story and marriage where they both met when her mother was sixteen and father twenty one. His father went to England and for eight years was at Oxford’s and Lincoln’s Inn. They wrote each other and he came back as a qualified barrister but he was a literary person who got the post of Literary Editor in the Times of India. They both got married and Moraes explains that his mother’s paternal especially her mother was the first Indian woman doctor and her name is endowed still in Bombay. Her father was an engineer but Moraes states that Hindu caste system has divided their Catholic communities too. Their parents got married in 1937 and he was born in 19July 1938.
The narrator shows the Indian growing nationalism where his father attended parties and both his parents smoked and drunk. They also supported Gandhi and Nehru and their flat was filled with young nationalists who had either emerged from prison Or hiding from police.
Moraes mother was a doctor, a pathologist and Moraes growing Oedipus complex is seen as he watches his mom work at the hospital nurturing the small foetuses and she was even send to look after Gandhi who went on a strike in 1944 at Juhu. The narrator talks about his visit to the camp at Juhu and his experiences meeting Mrs. Sarojini Naidu who handed him an orange. He also talks about Mahatma Gandhi and compared Mrs. Naidu to Mary Magdalene. Gandhi laughed and talked to him in English but he and his family only spoke English as his Catholic communities living in India had only spoken English for two generations. He only knew Hindi which was the pidgin that he used to speak with the helpers and servants at home. Gandhi asked Naidu whom she was and Naidu said Beryls. Gandhi tells that all the children of India should learn how to speak Hindi. He offered Gandhi the orange that Naidu gave it to him but Gandhi refuses and told him to take care of his mother till his father returns from Burma.
After coming back from Juhu , Moraes mother would come to him at night and sat next to him talking about her childhood days and spend some time with him. She would cry at one of the songs being played by her and she even slapped Moraes when he asked the reason for weeping. He did not understand but his father returns home. It became a normal day for the family and his mother was hysterically happy. His father would come to his room and read him stories as there are parties in his flat and his father would spend time with him in his bedroom.
After some days of his father’s return , Moraes’s mother jewellery was stolen from the dressing table and the investigation by police found out that Hamal, who was a small country boy and a new employee was accused as the jewellery was found under his pillow. Hamal was later asked to leave at once by Moraes father who was enraged with anger and later it was found out that Ram , one of the servants and a bearer had actually stolen the jewellery because he had an affair with Moraes nanny and she got pregnant. Later , Ram brought back the jewellery and left but Moraes was angry and felt disappointed at how he treated Hamal who was innocent.
As time goes by , the narrator started to spend time with his father going to Royal Asiatic Library and developing his taste for literary writing borrowing the works of Edgar Rice Burroughs , Jeffrey Farnol and Conan Doyle. Moraes mother seems to look different and she had become pale and unfriendly spending her time saying the rosary and her appearance has changed. Her mother tells him a story about the party they had been and were introduced to an American woman on their visit to Bombay. She told Moraes that his father had known her for years and She had a proof of it. He pretended that he met her only once on that party and he even visited her while he pretended to be in Burma.
Moraes was completely shocked and he ceased to trust his own mother. He and his mother decides to go to Take Hotel that Moraes has never been too to meet the American woman his father has had been visiting. The woman , in her forties opened the hotel door and Moraes’s mother asked if she could speak with her regarding her own husband. They went to verandah to talk and he stood near the carpet. She returned crying from the verandah and left the hotel to home. Moraes went to his father’s study room and read Batman. Moraes talks about his natural vivid imagination the moment he reads any book and the way he can add new into this plots and stories. His father became aware of Moraes’s mother mental health as well as worried about Moraes’s mental health too.
Moraes was sent to Catholic Prep.School called Campion School and he was eight years old. He was unpopular and he was driven by the chauffeur every morning and driven back every evening. Moraes’s Oedipus complex shifted to another woman teacher in the school including Miss James , a young Scottswoman whom with his imagination would rescue her from fire , flood and murderer and would get kisses in return as a reward. One day they went for a shopping and he was accompanied by a family friend Ashok whom he found quite annoying since he knew everyone in the school and Moraes was later introduced to others by him.
Being at school , he didn’t see much of his mother and she had completely gone ravaged and dishevelled “with the indefinable terrifying look of madness”. She would lock herself in the room for four hours and the doctors began to appear in the flat. Moraes’s father asked him if he would like to go to Ceylon as his father has been made the editor of The Times of Ceylon and they would have to live in Colombo. When Moraes’s father went to tell his mother about it , she started to throw things here and there and even broke the tall plaster Christ on the wall and she even pushed her husband to the wall. She was about to break the phone as well and Moraes believed that this was the end of one part of his life.
Chapter 2-The author describes his journey from Bombay to Ceylon by train, a journey that was marked by a strange and unfamiliar environment. He was accompanied by a bearer, Vincent, and a driver, Kutthalingam, who were hired to accompany him. The train journey was filled with noise, smell, and trains, and the author felt a sense of departure. The train journey was a long and arduous one, with the author’s parents and stewards discussing the train’s conditions. The author’s father has two bearer namely Vincent who was the bearer, and Kutthalingam, the driver.The train journey was a long and arduous one, with the author experiencing the harsh realities of the journey. Vincent was always there to provide meals, water, and beer for the passengers. The driver was less decorous and sat comfortably in a heap of bedding.
The narrator’s journey to Colombo ends with his mother crying and her head looking like someone else’s. They stay in an expensive hotel by the sea while his father searches for a house. The mother is gay and witty, but her tears and uninterested behavior persist. The family finds a house called ‘Salcombe’ in a fashionable part of town, but the mother remains uninterested. Doctors recommend returning her to India, but the narrator refuses. The narrator spends time with his father and Kutthalingam, who takes him for drives around Colombo. Kutthalingam is a kindly man with seven children in India and is proud of his knowledge of Colombo. He takes the narrator to parks, zoos, and big shops. He even drives the narrator to Negombo, a beach outside Colombo, where he enjoys the best crabs he has ever eaten.
Kutthalingam was puzzled by his mother’s refusal to take some air, which he believed was bad for her health. One day, he asked her to come with him on an excursion to Mount Lavinia, a nearby beach. Kutthalingam pointed out beautiful spots and the mother wept, but she refused to pay for them. When they returned to Colombo, Kutthalingam pulled her out of the car, and she screamed. Kutthalingam then took her back to Mount Lavinia, where they discovered beautiful fish in the water. The fish died, and the mother became violent and feared for her safety. The father tried to take the child to his office to keep her out of her way, but the mother refused. The father planned to take the child with him, but the mother started watching until the father left. Kutthalingam eventually parked the car and the child joined them.
The narrator’s father was embarrassed by his constant presence in his office, reading and interacting with his staff and proprietors. He loved his job and enjoyed lunchtime in a large hotel. His mother became possessive and threatened to kidnap him if he went out with him. The narrator’s father tried to take him to his office to keep him out of her mother’s way, but her mother refused. The narrator’s mother became angry and threw objects, which the narrator refused to open. The narrator’s mother eventually locked herself in her room, and the narrator heard his father’s voice. He reluctantly complied, and the narrator and his father went to the office. As they entered the office, the mother rushed after them, demanding help. The doctor, along with two white women, pleaded with the narrator to help. The father’s face turned grey, and he instructed Kutthalingam to drive to the office.
The author’s mother is in Bombay, where she is receiving electric shock treatment. His father, Kutthalingam, and Vincent, a friend of Kutthalingam, entertain him and his dog Kumar, who is a champion in the dog show. The boy’s mother refuses to receive treatment, and the boy is left to spend the night with his family in Negombo.
The boy is terrified of his mother and resents her for stopping his evening out. The doctors lead him to the dog show, where he learns obedience from Vincent. The boy is acquitted of winning the novice exhibitor class, but is later praised for his obedience. Kutthalingam, who is acquitted of making Kumar sit, is praised for his bravery. The boy is praised for his bravery and wins the prize for the best novice and maiden exhibit.
The narrator, a young boy living in Ceylon, reads a variety of books, including children’s books and adult novels. He also writes a biography and a weekly magazine about household affairs. His father does not approve of his activities, but gives him a fishing rod to fish in the rock pools. The narrator discovers a racecourse near the house and a stream with tiny fish and weeds. He captures a mud turtle and brings it home, but Kutthalingam, the narrator’s father, is unhappy with it.
The narrator learns about Ceylon’s history and the ruins, which he discovers are populated by elephants, leopards, antelope, wild boar, buffalo, and monkeys. He is determined to be the first to see the legendary man-monkey, the Nittaewo, and is determined to be the first to see it. The house is shut up, and Kumar lodges with the same family.
The author and his father drove around the coast of Ceylon, visiting old Portuguese forts and other attractions. They then drove through the jungle, encountering various animals and encountering a leopard. They paddled out into the bay, where they heard the Nittaewo singing. The naturalist, a tall, white-haired Sinhalese, introduced them to the Nittaewo. The author’s father, a fat greying woman passed away after being struck by a bullock cart. The author and his father shared laughter about the incident.
After Batticaloa, they drove into the true jungle where they saw various animals. The early morning was the best time to see the larger animals, such as a leopard and a brown beast. Later in the day, the jungle became motionless and ashen, with animals sleeping except for the monkeys. They reached the abandoned kingdoms of Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa, the capitals of the first Sinhalese kings. The ruins of these ruins were not as well-cared for as they are now, but the sight of the fallen monuments made the author aware of history.
The author describes his experience with the Veddahs, the original inhabitants of Ceylon, who were introduced to them by a government man. The Veddahs offered the author birds’ eggs and a dead pheasant, but the author refused, leading to their disappearance. The author writes a vivid account of their experience, which is later published in a natural history magazine. The author’s life in Ceylon was filled with love, responsibilities, and a love for animals. However, the author’s father announces the death of their friend Gandhi, causing the author to mourn the loss of his childhood hero.
Chapter 3- In Bombay, the author lived in a suburban house with his mother and sister’s family. He read books in the garden and was told by his father that he would be offered the editorship of his old paper, the Times of India, but would return to Bombay to live with his family. He felt a fawning quality and wanted to return with his father.
Upon arriving in Bombay, his uncle encouraged his children to play with him, which made him feel uneasy. His mother petted him but he did not see her often. He was insulted by his uncle’s behavior and was told to go to bed. After living in Santa Cruz, he lived his own life, with only the children occasionally demanding his presence. The suburb was inhabited by middle-class Christians, and he was hauled to the church every Sunday. His father, Vincent, and other family members were upset and resentful of their situation.
The author’s grandfather who lived in Santa Cruz was a successful engineer. He had a strong Catholic background and was opposed to his father’s marriage due to his mother’s frivolous nature. However, upon arriving in Santa Cruz, the grandfather found it impossible to ignore the author. He invited him to his house where he learned Latin and was taught by his widowed sisters. He was a quick learner and tried to please his grandfather, but he never praised him. After a few trips to the city for treatment, he moved to Bombay to live with his aunt, Aunt Pilly. The family lived in a cool, dark house with books and paintings, and he enjoyed talking to Aunt Pilly about her life. When he asked about his father’s fish, Aunt Pilly showed him the beautiful Midnight Molly, which he was reluctant to keep.
The narrator and his mother catch a Molly, which Aunt Pilly gives him as a gift. The Molly is a bridge between the narrator and Aunt Pilly, and the narrator cherishes it as a bridge to the life he seems to have lost. When they return home, the narrator’s aunt’s children surround them, and they try to investigate the Molly, but it breaks. The narrator finds the Molly, and he sweeps the broken bridge off the path. The narrator develops a habit of loneliness due to the proximity of his aunt, uncle, and cousins. He enjoys looking at his married aunt, Aunt E., who is beautiful and charming. One evening, the narrator is told that Aunt E. will pick up the narrator and uncle from a party. When she arrives, she takes off her sari and wears a utilitarian pink brassiere. The narrator feels a change in himself and the light goes out, leaving him in a tousled darkness.
The narrator is adamant about his father’s arrival at the Bombay airport and his new flat. He is excited to see his father and his uncle, Vincent, and Kutthalingam who are coming to visit with their dogs. The narrator’s mother is hesitant to let him stay at the Ambassador flat, but she agrees. They move into the new flat, which is spacious and has a swimming pool. The narrator is fascinated by the game and the players, but refuses to play. His father takes him to a cricket match, which he finds fascinating. During these early months, he sees little of his mother, who is distant and visits priests and nuns. The narrator’s mother is bitter about the priests and nuns, and she refuses to talk to them.
The narrator’s mother became sadder and paler, and her father tried to take her out. She began to destroy objects and objects, and Vincent, a man she disliked, left. The narrator’s mother spoke for the first time in days, and the narrator remained defiant. Years later, the narrator received letters from Vincent asking for money, which he sent. Vincent died of tuberculosis, and his wife thanked the narrator’s father for the money.
Chapter 4- The author and his parents embarked on a ship to Australia, where his father had never been to Australia. The ship was an organized complex city, with mealtimes and bedtimes in comfortable bunks. The author enjoyed the motion of the ship and the company of other children. The ship became an isolated community, and the author’s mother struggled to meet people. The ship encountered squalls and storms, and the shipwrecked islanders, including the king of the Cocos Islands, were awe-inspiring. The author was disappointed by the people he encountered, and the author found the people to be unreliable. The ship stopped at Perth and Adelaide before disembarking at Melbourne. The author enjoyed Sydney and Canberra, with the cricketer K.S. Duleepsinhji teaching the author how to bowl. The author kept a journal of his trip, producing verses to describe his experiences. The people he met were mostly politicians, such as W.M. Hughes, the First World War premier, Menzies, Chifley, and Evatt.
The author describes his experiences as an Indian expatriate in Australia, where he met a small black man named Charlie, who was from the Jhelum side of India. Charlie had come to Australia as a camel driver and had made a living through casual labor for thirty years. He was the first expatriate he had ever met, and he was introduced to Roger Hartigan, a famous cricketer who had made a hundred runs against England. The author was introduced to Roger in Brisbane, where he would take the author on walks around the city, talking about his cricket career.
In New Zealand, the author experienced a sense of being separate from his body and becoming more abstracted. He wrote more verse and sought solitude, but his mother was less pleased. Duleepsinhji reassured her that the Indian government who wanted him to tour Southeast Asia and prepare a confidential report about press relations in the countries. The author’s mother agreed to go home, despite her initial hysteria.
The author flies from Sydney to Darwin, landing on a barren airstrip with mosquitoes. He head northward, landing at Diakarta and meeting an Indian ambassador. He explores Djakarta, where the author’s mother makes friends with the ambassador’s wife, a neat old lady with silver hair and spectacles. The author’s father interviews Sukarno, and they see the city and the Javanese people. The author’s mother is troubled by the author’s father’s relationship with the ambassador’s wife, who is worried about losing him.
Singapore is hot and filled with rumors of terrorist activity. The author stays in the Raffles Hotel and hears about terrorists on the mainland and Malayan independence. He attends an evening party hosted by a Chinese millionaire friend, where he meets an Indian police officer who shares his knowledge about the terrorists. The police officer congratulates the author’s intelligence and profound knowledge of the situation. The author’s father is congratulated for his son’s intelligence and knowledge of the terrorists.
The author then goes to Saigon to study under the French. Despite his father’s warnings about not to show off, the boy is determined to make a good impression. They visit a café where a bomb was thrown, and a cabaret where a troupe from England performs can-can dances. He is disappointed when the lights go out and a patrol runs into some Viet Minh. After a week in Saigon, they fly to Dalat to interview Bao Dai, the puppet ruler set up by the French. They travel north to Hanoi, where they hear French howitzers and encounter a Vietnamese maidservant who informs them they must drink rice wine. He is excited to join them, but his father insists he stays in Hanoi due to the potential shootings. They arrive at a French post, where they are greeted by a commandant who gives them a bon-bon.
The author recounts his experiences during the Vietnam War, including an interview with a Vietnamese commandant who was a Viet Minh sympathizer. They were taken to a hospital tent where they saw bandaged and worn-looking soldiers. The author’s father questioned why they didn’t stop the man from hitting the man, but Kutty chuckled at the situation. Later, they visited a Vietnamese professor who was a Viet Minh sympathizer and invited them to a garden. Jacqueline, a 15-year-old, was invited to practice her English. The author describes his time in Bangkok, where he visited a restaurant run by a Chinese man who offered them a meal. The author’s father was skeptical but later revealed that he was a writer. They traveled to Rangoon and Calcutta, where they spent six months. When they arrived in Bombay, they found the city lively and the dogs wild.
Chapter 5- In Bombay, the author dreamed of Jacqueline in Hanoi’s garden and wrote verse frequently, but every new attempt was a failure. He discovered an anthology containing work by Eliot, Auden, and Spender, which excited him and allowed him to see how to write verse. He wrote in three different styles, varying in style from Eliot to Spender. He was awed by the soft, husky voices of Anand and Desani, who had published books and met writers who were myths to him.
At a writer’s conference, he met Auden and Spender, who introduced him to the poet. The recognition of one poet by another doubled his output of verse. He also enjoyed cricket, playing it with his friends. The difference between his two lives was marked, as he was the hermit poet at home and the hermit poet at the cricket field. However, he developed a callus on his finger, which he displayed to his father, believing he had cancer. His father examined it and told him not to worry. After studying the entry on cancer in the encyclopedia, he wrote poems about death.
The author writes essays about cricket and is surprised when a publisher friend of the family’s publishes them. Tendulkar, a friend of the author, is a skilled book designer and a lover of Russian literature. He visits Tendulkar’s one-room hovel in Kalbadevi, where he explores the city and its inhabitants. Tendulkar’s love for books and his fascination with the city’s life led the author to develop socialism instincts. The author is taken on expeditions by Kutthalingam, who is astounded by the author’s behavior. Manishi Dey, a painter, introduces the author to modern poets and the work of Sidney Keyes. Verrier, a scholar, introduces the author to contemporary poets and Wordsworth. Verrier encourages the author to learn poetry, and the author’s shyness fades when he praises his works. The author’s frustration with his work drives him on to write more, proving his belief in his talent.
The author describes his experiences with Verrier, a poet who praised him for his verses. He was influenced by Verrier’s letters, which he sent to Bombay, discussing poetry and life. At fifteen, he found Verrier’s letters boring and abandoned. His mother, who had a resentful relationship with him tried to help him recover his lost son’s dog Kumar. However, the author’s cruelty towards her led to a relapse.
A monsoon brought Kumar’s illness, and the author had to take him to the vet. The mother refused to allow Kumar in the flat, fearing it would infect everyone. The author confronted her, but she refused to obey. The author sat on the verandah, protecting the dog and themselves from the rain. The dog eventually died, and the author buried him with Kutthalingam. The author’s mother was too afraid to obey him, and the author’s father was away in Delhi.
The author lived a solitary life outside the flat, playing cricket and drinking coffee. At fifteen, he was too shy to make advances to anyone. The magazine The Illustrated Weekly of India published some of his poems, and the editor, Shaun Mandy, praised the ones he published. Shaun Mandy invited the author to have a drink with him, and he suggested he get together with Nissim Ezekiel, a young poet. Ezekiel encouraged the author to work on his verse and pursue poetry, even though he didn’t consider them a poet. The author’s grandfather died, and the author had no real contact with him for years. He drove down to Santa Cruz for lunch, where he ate English food and enjoyed old Indian Christian life. The author felt no emotion when he heard of his grandfather’s death, which came suddenly through a heart attack.
The narrator is moved by the privacy surrounding his grandfather’s death and the mourners’ condolences. On his sixteenth birthday, he feels maturity and mature, but he still has a lust for girls. His father suggests he study French at the Alliance Française, but he must also pass exams. He falls in love with Colette, a young and pretty blonde woman who acted in plays and had written poetry. He shares private lessons and eventually write a poem called ‘French Lesson’ about her. The poem explains that they didn’t understand each other and he works on it with care and precision. Ezekiel, the poet’s teacher, praises the poem, but it initially cooled his emotions towards Colette and he stops his lessons at the Alliance. The poem reflects the narrator’s desire to be like Rimbaud and his desire to learn French poetry.
The narrator has been deliberately hurting his mother since the death of Kumar, causing her to grow worse. She blames him for sending him abroad and attacks the servants. One day, the narrator hears his mother scream and a violent attack on the servants. The narrator tries to intervene and he catches the knife out of her hand. The narrator’s mother. The narrator calls his father, who tells the terrified servants to leave the flat. The narrator leaves the flat, shaking uncontrollably. A large crowd stares at the windows, and the narrator is left shaking. The father and two doctors reassure him that he is safe, and the narrator is led to the car. The crowd stares in through the windows, leaving the narrator to weep.
The narrator’s father and doctors are trying to convince his mother to open the locked doors, but she refuses. The doctor suggests certifying her insane and breaking down the door, but the father refuses. The family drives to a friend’s flat, where the mother is certified insane and placed in a Bangalore mental home. The father feels guilt for the incident.
Chapter 6-
