The Return Synopsis

The Return is an autobiographical novel. This novel is about a Tamil family living in Kedah
after the second world war and also presents an Indian boys journey of self-discovery while
growing up in Malaya.
The narrative, Ravi starts with a description of the arrival of his grandmother who is
an old woman addressed by the name of of Periathai, the Big Mother, and her struggles in
her new country Malaysia. She has a strange appearance, carrying her baggage and being
accompanied by her three sons. In order to live, she became a tinker, then a healer, and then
she farmed in the land that she thought was hers. However, the family house she established
was threatened with demolition, and her sons went too far off places in their new nation. The
story then shifts to Ravi about his young life with his family in the hospital compound that
was governed by Menon or the 'Ayah'(which means 'chief'), which he calls 'the long house.'
Ravi has many questions regarding his nationality and self identity as part of the first
generation Hindu born in Malaysia. This crisis he has as a boy will be carried on until he
grows and assimilates the English language and culture. However, Ravi did feel that his
family was with the others in the lower rung of the pecking order in their small community.
Kannan, his very hardworking father, was in charge of washing clothes in the hospital and for
people who could pay. The whole family include Ravi helped in the washing and delivered
the clean clothes. They were relegated to this position for as long as they lived. This is the
main reason why Karupi, Ravi's stepmother, persuaded and convinced his father that she had
a dream that told her to send Ravi to the English school.
Since Ravi was enrolled in the English school, his self identity crisis grew and
became more and more complex. He was still in the process of knowing himself and his
original nation through Tamil education. But then, there was a brisk paradigm shift with his
adaptation to English education. The English school education that Ravi begins was initially a
cultural assault. Miss Nancy, Ravi's first schoolteacher, prohibited a lot of things were so
usual for a Hindu boy. For instance, going to school without brushing ones teeth and having
coconut oil in the hair (which Miss Nancy considers as rotten butter) was prohibited. Miss
Nancy was the embodiment of the colonial culture. She shaped the boys' way of thinking and
lifestyle to establish the insights of social mobility.
Though Murugesu, the teacher who brought from India to teach in Tamil school, used
books and his experiences to educate the Hindu boys in Tamil, Miss Nancy shrewdly

reconstructs the fairy tales in order to mock and scorn Hindu social practices. In effect, she
introduces new norms that are in direct contradiction to the way the boys were raised and to
the way they honoured their culture and traditions. One of the examples is when she
graphically described how a witch was supposed to have eaten Hansel while Gretel was
crying in the background. She described how the witch ate Hansel piece by piece. In the mind
of Ravi, the Deepavali goat-slaughter flashed in his mind, which considered as a sacred
celebration was now thought to be gory. Miss Nancy flashed a vengeful face to her students
after telling the story.
However, Ravi finds himself being pulled into isolation when he has gradually
accepted the dominance of English language and the culture. He begins despising the
community that he lives in. He feels disgusting when he heard about all the gossip and
intrigue which is the primary social exchange of the women there and all the bad-mouthing
and clashes in the long-house community. So, for him, the most important thing is getting the
English education not so much because he did not want his family to be washers for life. He
wants them to get away and have a better life. Although at first his family did not understand
him, he gradually distanced himself from all of the family's bickering and noise. He resorted
to living a life in isolation with the English books and comics. He also distanced himself from
his peers in the community as he found new friends in his school. His friends begin to see
him as a different person compared to them.
In Ravi's community, there was a line called "yellow line". Behind this line are the
people from the upper class lived. Ravi crawled through this line and was met by one of his
school friends in his yard. Upon getting home, he was summoned to Ayah's house and was
given a beating. At this point in time, Ravi's disgust over traditional customs had won over
his desire to hang on to the culture in their community.
Ravi's achievements in the English school served as a factor for Menon's authority to
be threatened. Menon was threatened when Ravi was good in the language of authority, the
English language. Because of this, Menon forced Kannan to get Ravi to stop schooling.
However, Kannan stood by his son and made a compromise. Ravi can study if he can support
himself. Ravi responded with bursting initiative because he knew that he was able to get a
scholarship for secondary school.
Ravi's father did all that he could for Ravi to go through his primary school. However,
with the turn of events and being threatened and being the subject of eternal gossip in the
community due to Kannan's compromise with Ayah, Kannan decided to expand their business

to the city. Ravi establishes his own room, his own domain while he continues to work and go
to school. Eventually, the place became theirs and the business expanded. At this point in
time, when the British were packing up to leave Malaysia, Ravi accounts that he saw an
entire city being built right before his eyes. With the advent of new traders after the 'The
Emergency' and with the onset of 'The Independence', Ravi's family began to adapt. Their
business was previously enough for them. They had moved out of the long-house community
because of their expanded washing business and also due to Kannan's conflict with Menon.
The problems come when Ravi was allowed to continue schooling despite Menon's
overall veto. This time, Menon was disgusted with their expanded business. Kannan has to
find the ways so that his children can eat. Furthermore, he says that he is tired of bending to
someone else's wishes. After a time in the city and having enough for all of them, Periathai
died. Kannan, being the only son nearby, shouldered the expenses for the rituals and the
burial. Kannan made the funeral a spectacle for everyone. Instead of keeping the rituals
simple, he succumbed to taking measures so that the whole town may know of Periathais
demise. Consequently, his whole family suffered from his economic losses. Then he was bent
on regaining what he lost and pursued Periathais dream of having a house of their own. The
family then embarked on another expansion plan for their business.
Kannan took a long time to recover as if turning neurotic. Karupi ruled the house as
well as the business. At that moment, what mattered to Ravi was his studies since he was now
close to getting his teaching bursary and he can now get to the land of his dreams. Ravis trip
to England was just described in passing. What is notable is his feeling of triumph when he
was able to teach English children.
When he returned home, his excitement disappeared when he caught the smells and
sights that he was running away from when he was schooling in Malaysia. As he entered their
shop, he noticed that there were no more clothes but only his stepmother Karupi, his younger
brother Kumar and his other siblings were there. He realised that his father had given up
everything in order to build their own house. Due to the state restrictions, they were not
allowed to do so and were threatened with demolition. Despite Ravis warnings and
admonitions, Kannan continued to demand for more of his earnings so that the family can
save up for their house expansion.
His father again became neurotic, mumbling to himself and isolating himself in the prayer
room. His obsession to drive their own stake in the land of Malaysia was with him until he
died.