Anne+visits+the+Palace+(GC)

Stepping Closer to the Past
In Ruth Prawer Jhabvala's historical fiction novel //Heat and Dust//, protagonist Anne sets out to India in the 1970s in hope to learn about her great-aunt-in-law Olivia's life in India during the 1920s. As Anne begins to interact with India and learn about Olivia, she notices that her life is following the footsteps of Olivia's. The passage regarding Anne's visit to the Nawab's palace in Khatm strengthens a connection between the central characters themselves, and between the central characters and the novel's setting.

__Michael Xie__ The relationship between Anne and India creates a similarity between her life in India and Olivia's. As Anne and Inder Lal set out to visit Khatm and the remains of what used to be the Nawab's palace, the “desert sand” “choke up” their “ears and nostrils”, and the “hot winds” blow freely into the bus. Dust is a recurring motif throughout the novel, and is commonly used as a symbol for the past. Thus the dust which set Anne's “teeth on edge with grit” and “choke up [her] ears and nostrils” suggests that the past, along with a bit of India, is becoming part of Anne. The fact that both Anne and Olivia suffer from the stifling dust from Khatm forms a parallel between the two central female characters. Anne then enters the now “empty” palace, and sees “old cloth fans hanging dustily from the ceiling” of “the Palace”. The text creates a sensory image of dust falling down from the ceiling, presumable onto Anne. The palace, which is a part of India, is a location closely tied to Olivia, and is now interacting with Anne, which further strengthens the connection between Olivia and Anne. “Dust” once again acts as a symbol of the past, which is falling onto Anne, bringing her closer to the past and Olivia.

__Oliver Bech (final version)__  The parallelism between the gradual downfall of the Palace’s condition and the Nawab’s power is also shown through this extract through Anne’s descriptions of the palace. When Anne arrives in Khatm to visit the Nawab’s palace, she describes the Palace as “Protected”, “High” with “Pearl-grey walls.” This dominant description suggests the Palace’s presiding powers over the small town of Khatm. Anne further describes the Palace as “spacious” with “fountains and water channels, garden pavilions” and having a “Mosque with a golden dome”. Anne’s alluring description of the Palace gives a very vivid image of the Palace’s external beauty revealing the power of the previous owner, the Nawab, as being opulent and lavish in the height of his power. When Anne and Inder Lal enter the palace, Anne’s description of the palace changes drastically to “But the place is empty now”, the “But” introduces a contrast with what has already been mentioned, revealing the change in condition of the palace over time also being parallel to the downfall of the Nawab, as without the Nawab in the Palace the place is “Empty.” Anne further describes the worsening condition of the Palace as “And all that is left, here and there like shipwrecks floating in the marble halls, are some broken Victorian sofas.” This further demonstrates the deterioration of the Palace through the simile of “Like shipwrecks floating in the marble halls” comparing the Palace to shipwrecks and disarray reveals the destruction of the Palace. Thus, the downfall of the Nawab was parallel to the deterioration of the Palace.

__He Ra Kang__  Anne’s portrayal of Khatm as a deserted and abandoned place during her visit to the Nawab’s Palace illustrates the impact of the Nawab’s downfall on the desolate atmosphere of Khatm that results from the interdependent nature of Khatm and the Palace. Upon arrival to the town after a bus ride, Anne’s first impression of Khatm is “wretched”, which denotes the dilapidated atmosphere that surrounds the town. As the Nawab’s rule came to an end, his authority declined and the Palace is no longer valued. Consequently, the town of Khatm is now valueless and is filled with shabbiness. Anne then speculates Khatm as a place built “only to serve the [Nawab’s] Palace”. The word “serve” establishes an interdependent nature between Khatm and the Palace, as it reveals that Khatm was built for the sake of the Nawab’s Palace; and the presence of the highly respected Nawab’s Palace is what gives the town its value. However, since the Palace is now disregarded, the interdependent nature of the two places provokes the surroundings of the Palace to also be deserted and desolate. Therefore the streets of the town of Khatm are now “dense, run-down, and dirty”. The enumeration of negative adjectives describing Khatm suggests a sense of abandonment that characterizes the town, and thus further stresses the negative consequences of the Nawab’s downfall on the Palace’s surroundings. __Jocelyn Ng__ Inder Lal's reluctance to talk about the Nawab and the conditions of the palace imply India's will of forgetting about the past. When Anne first asks Inder Lal about the Nawab's family, "he doesnt know much more than I [Anne] do". Then, Anne proceeds to explain how Karim, the Nawab's nephew inherited the palace but have been wanting to sell it. "Over all these years, no price has been agreed upon" and "there are no other bidders" who would want a place like this. Although the palace old, it still holds many historical significance and if no one wants to purchase the palace, they must be trying to avoid that piece of history. When Anne tours the interior of the palac, she describes it as an emply "marble shell". She also states that "the furnishing has been sold off in European auction rooms". The almost dissasemblage of the palace after the Nawab's death further implies the wish to forget about the past. Finally, when Anne continues questioing Inder Lal about the Nawab, he "was no keen to discuss" anything about that subject. Also, Anne says, "who cares about that now?" and that "there is no one to be interested in their doing." The text shows evidence that no one really cares about the palace's past and its inhabitants, further supporting the idea that the people of India wish to forget and ignore what has happened before. __Conslusion__  This passage not only strengthens the connection between the characters and the setting, but also helps evolve the central plot of the novel. The descriptions of Khatm and the Palace progress Anne's understandings of the Place and the past, which aligns her life closer to Olivia's. In this excerpt during Anne's visit to the Palace, Anne perceives the desolate state of the Palace andthe Indians' reluctance to acknowledge their country's past. Anne beginning to understand India further marks her first step towards her goal of learning about Olivia.