The Village by the Sea (A Puffin Book)

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Jagu agrees to let Hari work in his restaurant so Hari sends home a postcard letting his sisters know where he is and that he is going to bring his earnings to them. Life is hard for Hari in Bombay but he works hard. While working for Jagu, Hari meets Mr. Panwallah who takes Hari under his wing and starts to teach him how to make watches and how to repair them. The man jokingly comments to Biju that he’s building another ordinary fishing boat, which irritates Biju; he tells the man about all of the boat’s special features. The man laughs and says that soon fifty miles won’t be enough as the area is being overfished. He tells everyone listening that the Thul villagers should give up on fishing and move onto other things. Biju says that fishing is the village tradition, and always will be, and even if it wasn’t, they still have their fertile crop fields. The man points out that soon the factory landowners will buy up the rice fields. Even if the Thul villagers don’t want to sell it, the government will force them.

The Khanekars’ property is littered with rubbish, neglected and shabby; the brothers who owned the land sold their crop groves and other assets to pay for toddy. Their wives all left them, and only their mother (Hira-bai) is left to care for them. The story was good. On the outer layer, there doesn't really appear to be much happening but when you get to the core you realise just how much is happening and changing in Thul (and other places). Again, I felt quite distanced from the story because of the writing but I did enjoy it.Lila and Hari are the oldest children in a poor family. They live in Thul, a small fishing village located next to the sea in a rural region of India. The family has not always been poor, but fell into bad fortune when the children’s father paid a large sum of money to a man who promised to get him a job in Mumbai. However, the man lied to him and disappeared with the money. After the incident, the father fell into a deep despair and began drinking and neglecting the family. He does not earn a living, but borrows money from the neighbors to buy alcohol. The old man has a comfortable little home and is improving in health. Everyone in his area loves him and they have been taking care of him. Guardian children's fiction prize relaunched: Entry details and list of past winners". The Guardian 12 March 2001. Retrieved 5 August 2012. What would you do if you had a permanently bed-ridden mother and a drunkard for a father,with three siblings to look after. Hari thinks about what Ramu told him while he works in the fields. He cuts his toe and notices a snake; he wonders whether he will be able to get a job at the factory, since he did not finish school. He can read and write but he never took an exam and has no degree. Does he even need a degree to get a factory job? He can work hard—surely that’s all that a man needs.

Disturbed and agitated by the conditions at his place, Hari runs away to Bombay, leaving behind Lila to take care of their parents and sisters.When he gets home, he finds that his mother’s condition has improved and that his father is slowly beginning to recover from his alcoholism. He starts a small business raising animals and thinks about using what he learned from Mr. Panwallah to open his own watch repair shop in the village. The story ends on a hopeful note with the family’s situation finally beginning to improve. Lila comes with their dog Pinto to bring Hari chapatis (Indian flatbread) for lunch; she is annoyed that Hari doesn’t seem to be working very hard. Lila asks Hari what they should do, and almost cries as she recounts that their father still hasn’t woken up and will only go drink himself to death at the liquor (“toddy”) store at night. Hari thinks they can look after themselves, but Lila reminds him they don’t go to school anymore and soon they will have no more money to buy books and uniforms for their younger sisters, and that their mother needs money for medicine. Hari says he is doing the best he can; Lila says they must do more. I don't know why I read it in the first place, well, it was a gift and maybe that's why. Not head over heels on it, not at all. The wheel of time keeps turning regardless of whether or not people want it to. Factories will be built. Jobs will be gained and lost. Former modes of working and living will fade away and others will take their places. Change and adaptation are not easily done, especially by older generations, but they are often what is necessary to keep going. Whereas someone like Sayyid Ali deplores change, Mr. Panwallah embraces it. Hari respects both of these men but ultimately adopts Mr. Panwallah's perspective because it is what he has to do to survive, and what he has to do to find meaning in life and respect for himself. Freedom

I have heard and seen cases of people in my country going through poverty and hunger. It’s just not about the slums, the faraway rural areas or the families living in worst conditions in villages. It’s also about families everywhere even in glamorous cities with everyone looking like having the best lifestyle.The Village By the Sea study guide contains a biography of Anita Desai, literature essays, a complete e-text, quiz questions, major themes, characters, and a full summary and analysis. p. 214: … Hari said, ‘Mr. Panwallah, you celebrate Coconut Day and Diwali and yet you are not a Hindu, are you? I thought you are a Parsee that celebrate only the Parsee festivals.’ ‘Oh no, no, no, boy,’ cried Mr. Panwallah comically. ‘What would be the fun of that? And why should I miss the fun of all the Hindu and Muslim festivals? No, no, I believe in sharing everything, enjoying everything. That is why I have so much fun, eh? No gloom for me, eh?” Later that day, they are finishing up their work on a Japanese watch when the customer comes in to pay for it. Mr. Panwallah tells him to give the money to Hari, who did all the work. Hari is stunned, and says he will buy his family presents. There are many such families and happenings in this part of the world. We empathize with them but there is more that we could do in terms of rehabilitation and support. Reading about them is an eye opener especially for those who live in the larger towns and cities. Explanation of Rating: The Village By The Sea is the story of the evolution of Lila and Hari into adults as they face their family’s predicaments. The story has a gentle voice of the author and it is an impressive book. I have realized again that there are people who have a tougher life than me. Moreover, it made me embarassed that I have thought I am poor at times. I love the book because it tells about a life style and love of a poor family who live in Thul, which is fourteen kilometers away from Bombay.