Illusion of Reality in Amit Chaudhuri’s ‘A Strange and Sublime Address’

Abstract

Amit Chaudhuri belongs to the new generations of Indian writers in English Literature. He is a poet, essayist, novelist, literary critic, musician and Classical singer. He is world widely acclaimed for his love for Indian classical music in all his novels. His novel ‘A Strange and Sublime Address’ (1991) portrays the real picture of Calcutta in 1980s and also it discusses the child’s view on the world of adults, whose activities are strange and amusing to them.  Sandeep, a ten year old boy from Bombay observes the sights and sounds of Calcutta and every day details of events is deeply linked with child’s world view juxtaposed against adults’ choices and attitudes. This paper attempts to bring out the children’s world of imagination and illusion in the novel A Strange and Sublime Address.