Abstract

This paper shows how Salman Rushdie in his novel, Shalimar the Clown (2005) explores in comparison the locale and the setting, where the personal, symbolic, allegorical and historical events disrupt the co-existence and scenic natural landscape, through the micro-cosmic lives of the protagonists. The personal aspirations of central characters and the consequent results impact the landscape of Kashmir. Bhoomi or Boonyi, though is not directly responsible for the collapse of the order but at a personal level for many characters, it is certainly a momentous disturbance. The other factors that bring about changes are religious extremism and tensions, fundamentalism, nationalism, and militarism. A great divide was created. This divide deepened as years pass by and spread like wildfire. The poison consumes the heart and minds of most people. Kashmir was once a syncretic culture, but now gives way to a deeply divided society. The changing objectives and fortunes of the central characters parallel the transformations that take place in the physical world and at the same time in the cultural mindscape. This paper examines the transforming situations and how they bring about a shift in every aspect of life. Besides, it relates the link between the characters and their immediate world and how that link victimizes everyone. Thus the locale and the lives in the novel are connected and destined for a similar fate.

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