"No Where Man" — Kamala
Markandaya (1972)
Genre: Novel
Setting: London, England (primarily during the late 1960s–early 1970s)
Themes: Racism, alienation, identity, diaspora, cultural conflict,
existential crisis
Summary
"No Where Man" tells the story of Srinivas, a retired South Indian Brahmin
living in London, as he grapples with isolation, cultural displacement, and
racial prejudice. The novel is set in the politically turbulent atmosphere of
Britain during a period when xenophobia and anti-immigrant sentiment were
intensifying.
Srinivas and his wife Vasantha
immigrated to England in search of better opportunities and a modern lifestyle.
They settled into a middle-class English neighborhood and raised their
children. However, as time passes and Britain becomes increasingly hostile
towards immigrants, Srinivas finds himself estranged not only from the British
society but also from his children, who are more Westernized and distant from
their Indian roots.
Tragedy strikes when Vasantha dies
suddenly. Her death leaves Srinivas devastated and alone. With no close
friends, family, or societal acceptance, Srinivas descends into a spiral of
existential despair.
His interactions with Margaret,
an Englishwoman and former colleague, and Laxman, a younger Indian
immigrant, further expose the generational and cultural gaps within the
immigrant experience. Margaret's paternalistic affection and Laxman’s
opportunistic nature both highlight the protagonist's sense of dislocation.
Eventually, Srinivas withdraws further
into himself, reflecting deeply on the meaninglessness of existence and the
collapse of both cultural and personal anchors in his life. The novel ends
ambiguously with Srinivas seemingly walking into oblivion, symbolizing both his
literal and metaphorical erasure from the world.
Major Themes
- Alienation and Exile
Srinivas is alienated from British society, his children, and even the Indian community. His struggle highlights the inner turmoil faced by many immigrants who find themselves belonging neither to their homeland nor to their adopted country. - Cultural Displacement
Srinivas's Brahminical upbringing clashes with British modernity, leaving him culturally stranded. His children’s assimilation deepens his sense of loss and cultural dislocation. - Racism and Xenophobia
The novel portrays the harsh realities of racial discrimination in 1970s Britain. Immigrants are seen as outsiders, and this persistent rejection weighs heavily on Srinivas’s psyche. - Identity Crisis
Srinivas’s crisis of identity stems from being caught between two worlds. His existential contemplation questions the very purpose of life in a place where he no longer feels visible or relevant. - Loneliness and Existential Despair
The death of his wife marks the beginning of Srinivas’s existential journey. His loneliness mirrors the broader existential themes present in much of modernist literature — questioning life’s meaning when stripped of relationships and cultural belonging.
Character Sketches
1. Srinivas (Protagonist)
- Role: Retired South Indian
Brahmin, the central character
- Significance:
The novel revolves around Srinivas’s journey through loneliness, cultural alienation, and existential despair. He represents the first-generation immigrant caught between nostalgia for his Indian past and rejection by British society. His inner turmoil and ultimate dissolution capture the emotional cost of diaspora and displacement.
2. Vasantha (Srinivas’s
wife)
- Role: Wife and companion of
Srinivas
- Significance:
Vasantha provides emotional balance to Srinivas. She helps him navigate life in a foreign land with pragmatism. Her sudden death creates a void that accelerates Srinivas’s descent into isolation and existential crisis. She embodies warmth, tradition, and stability.
3. Laxman (Young
Indian immigrant)
- Role: Ambitious,
opportunistic younger compatriot of Srinivas
- Significance:
Laxman represents a younger generation of immigrants who are less bound by nostalgia or cultural rigidity. He contrasts Srinivas’s idealism and cultural rootedness. His opportunism and adaptability highlight the generational and ideological divide between old and new immigrants.
4. Margaret (Englishwoman,
acquaintance of Srinivas)
- Role:
Former colleague and friend of Srinivas
- Significance:
Margaret offers companionship to Srinivas but also embodies the complex, often condescending attitudes of the British liberal class towards immigrants. Her relationship with Srinivas underscores cultural misunderstandings and the limits of cross-cultural empathy.
5. Ann and Ravi (Srinivas
and Vasantha’s children)
–
Role:
Children of Srinivas and Vasantha, largely off-stage but significant
–
Significance:
Ann and Ravi symbolize the immigrant generation that distances itself from
parental heritage and traditions. Their assimilation and emotional detachment
exacerbate Srinivas’s feelings of cultural and familial alienation. They
reflect the generational drift that many immigrant parents experience.
6. Neighbors and Minor Characters
- Unnamed
English Neighbors
Represent growing xenophobia and social coldness of British society towards immigrants. Their gradual withdrawal from Srinivas and Vasantha mirrors the broader rejection immigrants face. - Laxman’s
Friends and Associates
Secondary characters who help paint the landscape of newer, less sentimental immigrant life — pragmatic, disconnected from tradition, and focused on material success.
Narrative Technique and Style
Kamala Markandaya employs third-person
narration but closely follows Srinivas’s internal thoughts and reflections.
The prose is introspective, meditative, and laden with philosophical
undertones.
Her language is elegant but understated, emphasizing the emotional and
psychological landscapes of the protagonist over dramatic action.
Critical Analysis
- Post-Colonial Perspective
The novel interrogates the post-colonial immigrant experience, shedding light on how former colonial subjects navigated identity in ex-imperial nations. - Psychological Realism
Markandaya delves deeply into Srinivas’s mind, exploring depression, grief, and existential thought with nuance and empathy. - Universal Relevance
Though firmly grounded in the South Asian diaspora experience, the novel’s exploration of loneliness, identity, and belonging is universally echoing. - Title Significance
"No Where Man" (echoing The Beatles' song title “Nowhere Man”) signifies a person who belongs nowhere — neither to his country of origin nor to his adopted homeland. The three-dimensional and cultural liminality becomes a metaphor for existential homelessness.
Conclusion
"No Where Man" is one of Kamala Markandaya’s most distressing and mature works. Through
the quiet tragedy of Srinivas, she articulates the pain of diaspora, the brittleness
of human connections, and the timeless search for meaning in an indifferent
world.
It is a deeply introspective novel that echoes with anyone who has felt out of
place or struggled to resolve their cultural identity in a changing world.
Places in Novel
London, England
Primary setting of the novel.
Significance:
London represents both potential and disappointment. For
Srinivas and Vasantha, it initially symbolizes opportunity and modernity.
However, as time passes, it transforms into a cold, alien, and hostile
environment where Srinivas feels increasingly unwelcome and invisible.
London is not described romantically — instead, Markandaya
paints it as grey, impersonal, and indifferent to immigrants like Srinivas.
3.
Highgate (North London area)
The neighborhood where Srinivas and Vasantha live.
Significance:
A middle-class area that, at first, allows the couple to
integrate peacefully. Over time, as racial tensions rise, Highgate becomes a
space of quiet hostility where Srinivas feels more and more isolated. The
neighbors grow distant and xenophobic, reflecting the broader shift in British
attitudes towards immigrants in the 1970s.
4.
The Park
A recurring location where Srinivas goes for walks and
contemplation.
Significance:
The park serves as a symbolic space of introspection and
detachment. Srinivas often wanders here to escape the suffocation of his empty
house and reflect on his past, his loneliness, and his existential anxieties.
It embodies both physical and metaphorical emptiness.
5.
Srinivas’s House (Home)
The domestic space shared by Srinivas and Vasantha.
Significance:
After Vasantha’s death, the house becomes a hollow,
suffocating environment. Once a space of companionship and cultural continuity,
it turns into a symbol of loneliness, stagnation, and decay. Srinivas’s
inability to maintain or engage with the house mirrors his deteriorating mental
state.
6.
Margaret’s House
Home of Margaret, Srinivas’s English acquaintance.
Significance:
A space of ambiguous comfort. Margaret shows kindness and
offers Srinivas company, but her house also becomes a setting where subtle
power imbalances and cultural misunderstandings surface. It highlights
Srinivas’s marginal position — welcomed but never fully included.
7.
India (Evoked through memories)
Though physically absent, India is a powerful imagined
space.
Significance:
India represents cultural roots, tradition, and identity.
Through memories and recollections, Srinivas constantly contrasts his life in
England with his past in India. India symbolizes familiarity and belonging —
but also something permanently lost. His detachment from his homeland compounds
his alienation.
8.
Laxman’s Apartment
The living space of the younger immigrant, Laxman.
Significance:
A representation of a newer, pragmatic immigrant experience.
Laxman’s living conditions reflect a different attitude towards migration —
more flexible, opportunistic, and less emotionally tethered to either Britain
or India. It contrasts sharply with Srinivas’s old-world sensibilities.
Questions
1.
Who is Srinivas and what does he symbolize in
the novel?
Answer:
Srinivas is a retired South Indian Brahmin living in London.
He symbolizes the alienated first-generation immigrant caught between two
cultures — unable to fully belong to either his native India or his adopted
Britain. His journey represents the existential despair and cultural
dislocation experienced by many immigrants.
2. How does the death of Vasantha affect Srinivas?
Answer:
Vasantha’s death leaves Srinivas emotionally shattered and
deeply lonely. She had provided stability and companionship, and without her,
Srinivas’s isolation intensifies. Her absence accelerates his existential
crisis, pushing him into deeper introspection and detachment from the world
around him.
3.
What is the significance of the title No Where
Man?
Answer:
The title reflects Srinivas’s condition of belonging nowhere
— neither in India nor in Britain. It symbolizes his physical, cultural, and
existential homelessness. The play on the word “Nowhere” emphasizes his erasure
from meaningful social and cultural spaces, making him metaphorically
invisible.
4.
How does Kamala Markandaya portray racism and
xenophobia in Britain?
Answer:
Through Srinivas’s experiences, Markandaya depicts subtle
and overt forms of racism. British neighbors become distant and unfriendly;
social exclusion and growing hostility are evident. The novel captures the cold
indifference and rising anti-immigrant sentiment of 1970s Britain, making
Srinivas feel unwelcome and marginalized.
5.
What role does Laxman play in the novel?
Answer:
Laxman represents the younger, pragmatic immigrant
generation. Unlike Srinivas, he is opportunistic and less attached to cultural
or traditional values. His contrasting attitude highlights the generational
shift in how immigrants adapt to foreign environments — favoring material
success over cultural nostalgia.
6.
Describe the relationship between Srinivas and
Margaret.
Answer:
Margaret shows kindness and offers Srinivas companionship
after Vasantha’s death. However, their relationship is marked by cultural
misunderstandings and subtle condescension. Margaret’s well-meaning gestures
often reflect a patronizing attitude, exposing the limitations of
cross-cultural empathy and understanding.
7.
How are Ann and Ravi (Srinivas’s children)
portrayed, and what do they represent?
Answer:
Ann and Ravi are Westernized and emotionally distant from
Srinivas. They symbolize the generational and cultural drift within immigrant
families, where younger generations assimilate into host cultures and
disconnect from their roots. Their detachment deepens Srinivas’s sense of
alienation and loss.
8.
What are the major themes explored in No Where
Man?
Answer:
Key themes include:
Alienation and Exile — Srinivas’s estrangement from society
and his children
Cultural Displacement — The tension between Indian
traditions and British modernity
Racism and Xenophobia — Hostile British attitudes towards
immigrants
Identity Crisis — Loss of cultural and personal identity
Existential Despair — The search for meaning amid isolation
and irrelevance
9.
How does the park function symbolically in the
novel?
Answer:
The park represents a space of contemplation, isolation, and
detachment. Srinivas frequently visits it to escape the emptiness of his home
and reflect on his life. It symbolizes both physical loneliness and inner void,
aligning with his existential struggles.
10. What
narrative technique does Kamala Markandaya use in the novel?
Answer:
Markandaya employs third-person limited narration, focusing
closely on Srinivas’s inner thoughts and emotions. Her introspective and
philosophical narrative style allows readers to deeply engage with Srinivas’s
psychological and emotional landscape.
11. How
does the novel end and what is the significance of the ending?
Answer:
The novel ends ambiguously with Srinivas seemingly walking
away into oblivion, possibly towards death. The ending symbolizes his complete
withdrawal from a world where he no longer finds purpose, connection, or
belonging. It highlights the ultimate erasure of identity and existence in a
hostile environment.
12. How
does the novel depict the immigrant experience?
Answer:
No Where Man portrays the immigrant experience as one marked
by cultural displacement, generational gaps, racism, and identity loss. Through
Srinivas’s story, it reveals the emotional costs of migration — especially for
those unable to assimilate or reconcile their cultural heritage with their
adopted country.
