Cross-Cultural Human Relationships in Sunetra Gupta’s So Good in Black

Abstract

Sunetra Gupta who is an Indian immigrant living in England and working in Oxford University as a Professor of Zoology has written five novels. Her fifth novel, So Good in Black published in 2011 celebrates globalization and the free passage to western countries for Indians and for the westerners to India. Human relationship is the main crux of postmodern writings and Gupta also brings out the cross-cultural human relationship in So Good in Black with much details. At the backdrop of Kolkata, India, Gupta colourfully draws the human relationship especially man-woman relationship in this novel. As the values of life are at stake due to the materialistic advancement in the modern world, Gupta highlights the fact that human relationship always lies in dark and it is good to keep it in black. The characters namely Byron Mallick, Max Gate, Damini and Ela suffer as they from relationship with themselves and with others who are their kith and kin. The women characters namely, Damini, Ela and Barbara become victims in the hands of Byron and Max, as they try to form relationship among them. The cultural values of India and the West is comparatively discussed by the author in this novel to bring out the very nature of Indian woman like Ela who gives importance to Indian culture and prefers it though she experiences cross-cultural human relationship.