Managing Grief and Culture
Bharati Mukherjee’s short story “The Management of Grief” acts as a powerful response to the Air India Flight bombing on which many Indo-Canadian passengers were killed. “Management of Grief” focuses on an Indian community residing in Toronto as they deal with the aftermath of the tragic event. The characters are presented with a guideline for the stages of grief and are pressured to follow it: first denial, depression, acceptance, and finally reconstruction. Since the guideline goes against Indian culture each character in the story struggles to confront two different identities presented by separate cultures when forced to deal with death and grief.
The narrative of this story is told from the conscience of Indo-Canadian woman Shaila Bhave as she struggles to deal with the loss of her husband and two sons. The opening pages set the tone of community, a strong value in Indian culture as Shaila’s home is filled with various neighbours and families making Indian tea, as well as a representative from the Indo-Canadian Society. All of whom join together with the intention and hope of aiding the victims’ families in their grieving. To further emphasize the strong sense of community, Shaila reflects on the day Kusum and her family moved in across the street. Upon moving, the new family invited the neighbourhood into their home for a housewarming party where they prepared traditional Indian cuisine while their daughter performed a dance. Shaila reflected on the night and remembered how “everyone took pictures for their albums and for the community papers - another one of our families had made it big in Toronto” (111). Thus showcasing the importance held for community values in a way that is comparatively different to a typical Canadian community, outlining the differences between cultures.
To contrast the communities management of grief,