Lingering Memories in Vikram Seth’s Two Lives

Abstract

Memories play a vital role in everyone’s lives. As people grow up they pass through different stages in their lives. Though many events, places and people pass through, certain things remain fresh in the memory. When pleasant memories are recalled, the mind gets refreshed. Memories of long last dear ones are very much precious to be preserved. The present paper analyses the role of long lasting memories in the early life of the author and the lives of the protagonist couple, Shanti Seth and Henny Caro in the memoir Two Lives, authored by the internationally famed writer Vikram Seth.

Many authors have commemorated their parents. Perhaps, no author, until now, has written a whole long memoir commemorating a great uncle and a great aunt. But Vikram Seth has made a difference through his memoir which deals with the life of his uncle and aunt. In Two Lives, the lives of Vikram Seth’s uncle Shanty and aunt Henny are dealt with. They have spent most of their adult lives in a quiet suburban street in Hendon, where Shanty Seth had a dental practice.