Indian Culture in A Stench of Kerosene

Comment on what view of Indian culture is portrayed in A Stench of

Kerosene giving your own personal response.

' A Stench of Kerosene' , authored by the pen of Amrita Pritam, is a

tale of suffering and injustice in the rural areas of India. The

author tries to relate the life of a young Indian wife to the reader

in such a way that it leaves them feeling pity and remorse for her.

Within it there are elements of superstition, superiority, sexism and

ancient traditions. Evidently the portrayal of Indian culture is not

one that may be easily accepted by most western societies as it

reveals the actuality of Hindu culture in its extreme. It illustrates

how harsh it can be, especially towards the gentler sex.

The story opens with Guleri heeding to the call of a horse; ' The mare

was from her parents' village. She put her neck against its neck as if

it were the door to her parents' house.' In this line the mare

metaphorically represents her parents and her love for them, therefore

as soon as she hears it coming she ' ran out of the house'. This also

illustrates how deeply she misses her mother and father and how she is

anxious to be close to anything that may link her to them, even if it

is just a horse. ' she would come back her heart glowing with pride'

indicates how she feels towards her roots and home village. Guleri's

poignancy about her distance from her home also expresses her right as

a wife and daughter. The mere fact that she is only allowed a vacation

at her blood relations house once a year says something about the

harshness of Indian culture.

The annual harvest festival, a local traditional event, is described

by Amrita Pritam in such words that bring out the true colours of

Indian festivity, '...

... middle of paper ...

...omen in India.

'A Stench of Kerosene' contains multifarious techniques that allow the

author to engage many different points of view and effects. She writes

about her cultural heritage and its role in everyday life: the

supremacy of elders over ruling everything else, the discrimination of

women to such an extent that they are burnt alive, and superstition

that is dominant over all forms of logic and thinking.

My personal belief is that even though these people have traditions

that have been passed down from generation to generation, they are all

outdated and in some instances barbaric. Indians have a very deep

rooted history and therefore may find it hard to adapt to the modern

world, but as Amrita Pritam quite clearly illustrates; it is time to

proceed with life and forget the past, particularly with regard to the

oppressive treatment towards women.