MAN’S ENDLESS STRUGGLE FOR SURVIVAL AND IDENTITY AS PORTRAYED IN RUPA BAJWA’S NOVEL ‘THE SARI SHOP’

The paper is an attempt to probe into the harsh realities of man's existence on earth and how the class differences affect a man's life and make his survival even more difficult. It is an attempt to explore the struggles of a commoner and his efforts and failures to live up to the standards set by the rich. The story of a commoner who wishes to identify himself with the rich and struggles to be like them but ends up disappointed and disgusted with the kind of treatment given to people like him for instance ,Kamla, a character in the novel. RupaBajwa through the protagonist Ramchand opens up a window to her world and presents a society which is highly divided between the rich and the rich and the rich and the poor. The story brings forth considerable insights into the contemporary Indian society and the constant struggles of a commoner for a better life, his desires, and aspirations and his failures and inabilities to fulfill his dreams. The streak of realism that runs throughout the story brings us face to face with therealities of life, where a poor man the protagonist of the story better called a subaltern, is bound to suffer and leads a mundane life of misery after all his efforts end up in nothingness. Ramchand a salesman at the Sevak Sari House and Kamla, wife of Chander are the representatives of subaltern under discussion.