“The Narayans”
by Akhil Sharma
from the August 26, 2o24 issue of The New Yorker
For a few years in the mid 2010s, around the publication of his second novel, Family Life, we got several stories from Akhil Sharma, so it’s nice to see another bit of short fiction from him after quite a few years without.
Here’s how “The Narayans” begins:
Mrs. Narayan was small, dark-skinned, oval-faced. She had a wonderful singsong voice. She’d come up to you at temple on Holi or Diwali and offer congratulations so heartfelt you’d feel as if it were the first time the day had ever been celebrated. We all liked her. She was an immigrant, too, but she didn’t seem to have jangled nerves the way we did. She cooked for many of us and regularly tried to refuse payment. “This is from my side,” she’d say. “A horse can’t be friends with grass,” we might answer.
I hope you’re all starting a good week, and I look forward to reading the story and any thoughts you may care to share!
Akhil Sharma’s fictional short story is very disturbing in how a patriarchal biased older culture in India could allow a family child abuse perpetrator to go unpunished and the victim’s life totally ruined by them being blamed for the crime. It is true that in America, a similar crime in an American family might go unpunished out of shame or because of never being reported. But it is far more likely there would have been justice.
Sharma tells this story from a second person plural “we” or community perspective which is much more important and valued in Indian society or used to be. Family values in American society are not considered as important since most suburban communities are highly dispersed and the overall focus is much more focused on family members being more individualistic than communal.
I liked the presence of the successful, humanitarian professional woman, Dr. Shukla. This short story illustrates how easily good people can be mistaken for bad. And how bad people can be mistaken for good. Which can happen in any culture.
Also it shows how the criminal act of a bad man/bad father can besmirch or destroy the good reputation of all Indian immigrants or NRIs, non-resident Indian people, which can fuel resentment and racism. Although Sharma says in an interview that any minority can be harassed at any time if a majority in that community feel threatened or are envious by the minority’s presence.
I really appreciate Sharma including Dr. Shukla in the story because she represents the incredible benefits of India’s professional diaspora at work in American society.
There are not a lot of first person plural short stories but “The Narayans” is a great example of that viewpoint.