In Custody (Anita Desai)

By King Meera -
Urdu comes from 'Ardu' meaning army
Noor-
Represents dying Urdu - very secular
He does not find liqour sinful
portrayal of Urdu as a secular language - not always islamic
Noor also did not find poetry religious

 1) cohabitation of languages
-English narration of a story about Urdu and Hindi
-Reaches wider audience, unbiased, neutral - no condescending or patronizing tone; chronicling the death of a language

2) social life of language
-Linguicide
-Languages do not exist in isolation; must be spoken to live on

3) hero worship
-Especially of intellectuals like Noor
-Attitudes may be either of awe or utilitarian
-This explains his marriage to Begum, the poet and intellectual - earlier his disciple - now his wife and companion

4) title, 'In Custody'
-All characters in custody of someone else
-languages also change hands (mouths)

5) politics of language
-North/South divide - butt of jokes
-elite/ordinary - social status

http://www.indianruminations.com/contents/review/language-and-postcolonialism-anita-desai%E2%80%99s-in-custody-dr-rita-garg-meerut/

http://www.postcolonialweb.org/india/desai/structure.html
^this one is good; go see

Illusion vs Reality

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