The Lowland

In a small town in Calcutta, India, there is a mosque, the Tolly club, huts, neighborhoods, and a lowland, “two ponds, oblong, side by side” (3). Vivid descriptions of the lowland, a flooded plain during monsoon season filled with water hyacinth, gives us a glance into the title of the book. The lowland is the area between two ponds that floods half of the year, joining the ponds together. Subhash and Udayan often crossed the lowland in their youth to play football. 

The Tolly Club, a country club and golf course, highlights the differences between socioeconomic classes post World War II. With high walls to keep out the undesirable, the poor and refugee population, the club caters to the rich and British population—“the height of the wall was raised, so that the public could no longer see in” (4). The Adi Ganga river that runs through town is polluted due to the influx of Hindu refugees living in shanties along the river.

Subhash and Udayan are curious young boys who are attached to each other. Although he is older, Subhash is not as daring as his younger brother. Through their neighbor Bismillah, who worked as a caddy at the golf club, the boys acquire broken balls and a dented putting club.