The Lowland

Subhash and Udayan are attached to each other, despite the growing differences and distance between the two brothers. Udayan has been outspoken and rebellious ever since he was a child. He is constantly getting in trouble with his parents and teachers at school. His rebellion against authority becomes problematic when he is in college. Udayan is a successful student who becomes a member of the Naxalite movement, a Maoist revolutionary group, during his time at the university. The Naxalites are a violent group that condone killing in order to accomplish their goal of economic equality.

While at the university, Udayan falls in love with Gauri, and the two elope. While they are living under his parents’ roof, Udayan becomes more involved in the Naxalite movement, and while he tries to keep this from his wife, he eventually involves her as an accomplice. The police shoot Udayan when they discover his involvement in the murder of a police officer.

Gauri is an independent woman who loves to study and was raised by her grandparents in the city of Calcutta—a lifestyle that afforded her an education and the ability to dream of her future.

Gauri and Udayan are both students at the university; they eventually elope and move in with Udayan’s parents. Gauri is not welcomed by her in-laws, and this becomes worse when she becomes a widow. Heartbroken, Gauri agrees to marry Subhash and moves to the United States where she struggles to find peace. When she gives birth to Udayan’s daughter, Bela, Gauri has a hard time feeling any maternal bond. The older that Bela gets, the more freedom Gauri seeks. Gauri starts at the university with a PhD in philosophy and quickly spends all her time at the library or in her room studying.

She eventually leaves Subhash and Bela for a job in California, abandoning her role as a wife and mother—an action that weighs heavily on her for the rest of her life. Education had always been an escape for Gauri and continues to be throughout her life. She finally lets go of Udayan and finds some peace with her life decisions.

Bela is Udayan and Gauri’s daughter, though Udayan is killed before he knows that Gauri is pregnant. Bela is born in Providence, Rhode Island after Gauri and Subhash marry. For much of her life, Bela believes that Subhash is her biological father, not her uncle.

Bela is an independent and spirited young girl, much like Udayan. At age 12, Bela is devasted when her mother abandons her. Bela is extremely close with Subhash but starts to become distant after this experience. She is a nomadic environmentalist who steers away from serious relationships.

Bela becomes pregnant and goes back home to raise her daughter. She stays with Subhash even after he tells her the truth about her biological father.

Richard is Subhash’s first college roommate in Rhode Island. Richard taught Subhash how to drive, and Subhash cooked Indian food for Richard often. They reconnected when they ran into each other in Providence. They became fast friends again, going for beers and bike rides together. After Richard dies suddenly from a blood clot, Subhash begins to think about his own life and mortality.