The Lowland

Living alone during his second year in Rhode Island, Subhash studies on a boat for three weeks. Being on the boat causes him to feel more alone and far from his family. Subhash started to save Udayan’s letters because they no longer discussed his participation in politics, which Subhash thinks is due to Udayan mellowing out now that he is married: “Subhash wondered if the girl, Gauri, had already replaced him” (63). He worries that his bond with his brother is fading. Subhash continues to try to please his parents; he sends money to their house and agrees to allow them to arrange his marriage.

One day during a beach walk, Subhash meets Holly and her nine-year-old son, Joshua. They become friends and meet on the beach often. After learning that Holly’s husband left her for another woman, Subhash becomes romantically interested in her. One Friday when Subhash meets Holly on the beach, and Joshua is away with his dad, Holly invites Subhash to dinner; he stays the night after they sleep together: “Inside the room he was able to forget about what his parents would think, and the consequences of what he was about to do” (72). They agree to meet again when Holly’s son is away. 

During his weekly dates with Holly, he misses being able to tell Udayan about his relationship and wonders how Udayan and Gauri met. Subhash tells Holly about his childhood in Calcutta and shares stories of his father cooking; Holly is fascinated by his different upbringing. He doesn’t share any stories of Holly with anyone, knowing that their lives are too different and afraid of his family’s disapproval. He imagines giving up his duty to his parents: “To live the rest of his life in America, to disregard his parents, to make his own family with her” (77).

Despite knowing their relationship is destined not to work, Subhash becomes jealous of Joshua’s father for having a link into Holly’s life. Subhash shares a memory with Holly one evening, of Subhash and Udayan being extremely feverish, and his parents being worried they would die: “That’s what happens when you become a parent, Holly told him. Time stops when something threatens them. The meaning goes away” (79).

One weekend, instead of spending it at Holly’s house, Subhash and Holly take a ferry to Block Island and stay in a hotel. She gives him a gift of binoculars. They explore the island on bicycles, which reminds him of his childhood with Udayan. Udayan’s latest letter describes the childhood games the brothers played together, and Subhash is surprised by the nostalgia in Udayan’s writing.

Holly is reserved and quiet during the evening, and for the first time they spend the night together without being intimate. The next morning as they are preparing to leave, she tells him that she is getting back together with Joshua’s father. While Subhash knows that their lives were too different to ever work out, he is furious with her. He sits alone on the ferry and “took out Udayan’s letter, reading it once again. But when he finished, standing on the deck, he tore it into pieces, and let them escape his hands” (82).

During his third year in Rhode Island, Subhash has a desire to travel home for the major festival, Durga Puja, that celebrates the goddess Durga. For the past two years, Subhash has received a package of gifts from his parents for the holiday. This year, the package was replaced with a telegram, “Udayan killed. Come back if you can” (83).