Gustav Flaubert and Ivan Turgenev

The Romantics is a culturally inclined book written by Pankaj Mishra. The publication deals with life’s differences and how people came to know more about their own respective cultures. It brings out every reader into a journey of culture. life and the true meaning of existence. The main character Samar, made his move while he is in a juxtaposition of cultures. One may find himself in the shoes of Samar who wanted to engage in more discoveries. Samar, is a fresh graduate who arrived in Benares, also known as the holy city in 1989.

He wanted to continue with his solitary life with his book as he chose to stay in a room there. Samar loves to deal with his friends namely Edmund Wilson, Gustav Flaubert and Ivan Turgenev. But on the place where he stays, he lives adjacent to a woman from the west, Catherine. She is a French young woman who had a great impact on Samar’s life. She made a vast change on his outlook in life and dealing with what the good world awaits for him. He was able to recover from the past that he wanted to escape but then the conflicting part is that he falls for the wrong woman.

Catherine is already committed which made the story interesting. It was really a big frustration for him to know the truth since he fall in love for the first time since he never believe in the set up of love before. In Benares he discovered many things that changed his life. Starting from the ancestors Brahmin down to practices and political issues. He was able to contemplate on the commonality of people who are there. They all wanted to escape their past. Going back to Samar and Catherine, the two had a chance to become lovers but then Catherine decided to cut their relationship off.

Good thing Samar was able to recover and took a teaching job for young Tibetan children. When he was reunited with an old friend from Benares after seven years, he told himself that he is apart from those people who lives there. He is now far from the old tradition and on his way to recuperating for a better future. The Romantics tells about the clashing of culture in contemporary India. The author attempted to explore how people during the time differ from their backgrounds, culture and how it is romanticized to unveil the mysteries of India.