Pickle Jars and the Chutneyfication of History
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There are numerous references in the book to chutney and the
pickling process. The narrator seems actually to be writing
his book from a pickling factory. Characters in the book
put their emotions - love, guilt - into their chutneys and
this in turn effects the people who eat them.
This process could be seen as a metaphor for the process of making a history through narrative. Significant events are chosen for their flavour and according to the preferences and interpretations of the pickler.
Towards the end of the book Saleem has
one pickle jar for each chapter. He has pickled his past
in the form of narrative. Saleem reminds us however
that "the future cannot be preserved
in a jar; one jar must remain empty ..." [p. 462]
See the list of other prominent motifs.
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