Multiculturalism
Throughout the text, multiculturalism is a source of both conflict and status. Kalimpong is a city at the crossroads of cultural identity; Bengalis, Nepalis, Indians, and Tibetans establish multicultural communities. However, the impact of British colonialism lingers in Kalimpong, and ethnic and religious differences divide communities. For example, Catholic missionaries shame Nepali, Tibetan, and Indian students in convent schools, forcing them to adopt Western behaviors, such as speaking English and eating with a fork and knife.
Multicultural experiences and items also provide social capital among the wealthy of Kalimpong. Lola and Noni decorate their house with an eclectic collection of antiques and imports, such as British clothing, Tibetan choksee tables, and Russian paintings. The diverse origins of these items make Lola and Noni feel cultured, cosmopolitan, and adventurous.
In New York City, Biju encounters people from different cultural and ethnic backgrounds for the first time. Biju befriends Saeed Saeed, a Zanzibarian Muslim, and confronts the prejudices he learned in Kalimpong. Though multiculturalism expands Biju's worldview, he also suffers from the "unbearable arrogance and shame" of immigrating to another culture. Americans criticize Biju's accent, his skin color, and even the scent of his hair oil. Similarly, British society consistently rejects Judge Patel even as he attempts to assimilate into Western cultural ideals and embody English sensibilities.
Isolation
Many of the novel's characters live in physical, emotional, and cultural isolation, which impacts their ability to relate to others. Biju lives in the bustling metropolis of New York City, constantly surrounded by crowds. However, he is deeply lonely, unable to contact his father except through occasional letters. Biju cannot express his disillusionment about America and has difficulty maintaining friendships as his undocumented status requires him to evade detection constantly.
Judge Patel, Noni, and Lola live in a remote part of Kalimpong. Chasing romantic notions of seclusion and peace, the wealthy Anglophiles intentionally isolate themselves from others. Judge Patel, Noni, and Lola also experience isolation that is not of their own making. When Judge Patel travels to England, he grows so ashamed of his accent that he goes days without speaking. When Judge Patel returned to India, he felt like a foreigner in both his family and with his British peers. In their youth, Noni and Lola were so afraid of losing respectability that they did not forge meaningful relationships.
The most painful example of isolation in the text is Nimi's marriage. Nimi had never left her father's home before her marriage, and Jemu quickly departs for England after their wedding. When he returns, he shuns and abuses Nimi, who spends most of her life alone. Jemu refuses to speak to Nimi in her native tongue and eventually sends her away.
Cyclical Poverty and Oppression
A source of conflict throughout the text is the cyclical impact of poverty and oppression. The cook is born into servitude and cannot improve his station in life; Judge Patel expects Biju to take his father's place when the cook retires. Hoping to break the cycle of poverty, the cook sends his son, Biju, to America, believing he will easily make a fortune. But in the visa application process, the poor are disproportionately rejected, whereas those "who already had spacious homes, ease-filled lives" are quickly accepted.
Gyan blames Sai for his lack of opportunities. However, the source of Gyan's oppression is much more complex. Though Gyan's family pooled their scarce resources to educate him, employers reject Gyan because of deeply rooted prejudices against Nepalis and nepotistic hiring practices.
The drunk's wife pleads with Judge Patel for help, as the police blinded her husband, putting him out of work. She argues that people like her "have to suffer" since the police and goondas only target the poor but take bribes from the wealthy, allowing them to hold onto their power and privilege as "fortune piled on more fortune."
Violence and Cruelty
Judge Patel, Gyan, and the Gorkha National Liberation Front express their pain and frustrations through violence and cruelty. Judge Patel becomes insecure and suffers from self-loathing after his traumatic experiences at Cambridge. When he returns to India, his family constantly reminds him of his failures abroad. Unable and unwilling to process his anger and hurt, Judge Patel physically and emotionally torments his wife, Nimi, to "teach her the same lessons of loneliness and shame he had learned himself."
Gyan, likewise, torments Sai because she received privileges he did not. Though Gyan worked tirelessly to educate himself, he cannot provide for his family, who live in abject poverty. Gyan suggests that the GNLF take "the harshest route possible," inciting violence because he is ashamed of his relationship with Sai.
The Gorkha National Liberation Front's activities become violent as the young men leading the movement get a taste of power. After being disenfranchised their entire lives, the Nepali men relish the opportunity to make others feel the same powerlessness and fear they experienced. Others unaffiliated with the movement use the opportunity to "avenge ancient family vendettas" through violent means.
Colonialism and Post-Colonialism
The British ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947, when the British Raj dissolved after dividing the territory into India and Pakistan. The British used violence, cultural hegemony, and economic exploitation to subjugate the Indian subcontinent. British colonialism redrew geographic borders and left lasting social, psychological, and economic wounds on the subcontinent. Characters in The Inheritance of Loss grapple with their identities and futures in a post-colonial world.
Some, like Judge Patel, Lola, and Noni, grew up during the British Raj and lived through its dissolution. These three characters embraced British culture for various reasons, namely because they internalized the colonial belief that Western values were inherently superior and "civilized." However, despite Judge Patel's best attempts to become more like the British, he is still excluded. Even Sai, born after the establishment of the Indian nation, absorbed this damaging ideology. In her convent school, the nuns taught Sai that Indian cultural practices were "shameful."
Another lasting impact of colonialism, as described in the text, is the romanticization of the Western world and the negative stereotyping of the "third world." When he arrives in America, Biju is surprised that Americans experience poverty and suffering. Likewise, Judge Patel is disillusioned by the squalor he encounters in Liverpool. Tourists in Darjeeling photograph impoverished neighborhoods and two Indian Americans in the Calcutta airport criticize "incompetent" India.
Miscommunication
Conflicts arise and are exacerbated throughout the text through miscommunications. Sai and Gyan's relationship sours when Gyan presumes that Sai takes pride in her Westernized behaviors and enjoys acting like a "martyr." Sai, likewise, does not realize Gyan comes from a poor family and accidentally shames him. Even when Sai and Gyan argue, hurling cruel insults at one another, they fail to communicate the true cause of their anger and pain; they resort to stereotypes and slurs rather than express their feelings of abandonment and insecurity.
The cook and Biju cannot communicate due to the unreliable postal system and their determination to keep the other from worrying. The cook's letters are frequently lost in the mail or water damaged during monsoon season; he consequently feels ignored and rejected by his son. Biju moves around frequently, missing his father's letters. Additionally, Biju and the cook both lie to one another through omission. Biju tells his father of his successes but refrains from mentioning his loneliness and poor living conditions. The cook minimizes the tense conditions in Kalimpong.
Romanticization of the Other
Each distinct storyline in the text deals with the romanticization of the other. During the British Raj, a colonial Scotsman built Cho Oyu in the Himalayas, seduced by the orientalist descriptions he read in adventure travelogues. The reality of life in Kalimpong is more complex, and the colonizer eventually sells the mansion to Judge Patel.
Throughout his childhood, Judge Patel absorbed a fantasy of England in which every inch of the country was grand, cultured, and wealthy. He is shocked by the poverty he witnesses in Liverpool. Similarly, Biju imagined life in America would be leisurely and defined by wealth. However, Biju's life in New York is arguably more miserable than his life in Kalimpong; not only is he lonely, cold, and malnourished, but he endures racism and rejection.
Lola and Noni romanticize a secluded lifestyle where they and their servants adhere to rigid class roles. However, Noni and Lola realize that they missed out on life's greatest pleasures by retreating to Mon Ami and following arbitrary social rules.
