Unaccustomed Earth
The story revolves around the expanding sense that the family is drifting apart, from each other and from their heritage, in the wake of Ruma’s mother having died. As one example of this, language is something that reflects Ruma’s heritage and how her attempts to preserve it have faded. She tried to teach Akash Bengali only to start forgetting it herself.
Similarly, her mother is left unable to pass down her saris because Ruma prefers pants and skirts. Akash’s distaste for Indian food and Ruma’s struggle to cook it are yet further examples. These illustrate the way that Ruma’s mother was the one to carry on her heritage and attempt to preserve it through her children, where Ruma’s efforts to do the same are met with little success.
As the clearest example of this, we see that Akash has no memory of his grandmother. While in a very literal sense it’s because he was young when she died, in the story this serves the purpose of showing the increasing distance between new generations and their cultural heritage.
The description of Ruma feeling closer to her mother in death gives a definitive statement on the ideas being presented, that in her absence she begins to notice all of the things her mother provided that are no longer there, the connection to their culture being prominent among them. This feeling of being closer though is recognized by Ruma for what it is: “She knew that this was an illusion, a mirage, and that the distance between them was now infinite, unyielding.” (27)
Hell-Heaven
A Choice of Accommodations
Only Goodness
Nobody’s Business
Once in a Lifetime
Year’s End
Going Ashore