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CAMARADERIE AS SANCTUARY: HEALING TRAUMA IN ARUNDHATI
ROY'S
THE MINISTRY OF UTMOST HAPPINESS
D . L. Mahalakshmi
Associa e P o esso & Head, School o Libe al A s English
A. V. P. College o A s and Science, Ti upu
h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17283369
Abs ac
This pape shows how iendship and oge he ness, o en called cama ade ie, help people deal wi h
many o he auma issues in hei li es. The no el aken o his is The Minis y o U mos Happiness by
A undha i Roy. The s o y ollows cha ac e s who eel his kind o pain. They a e subjec ed o gende iolence,
social es ic ion, and poli ical con lic . In ac , he main cha ac e s a e o en ou side s in socie y, and hey
ind com o and s eng h by ha ing ela ionships wi h o he s. Th ough hese bonds, hey a e able o heal
and li e a ai li e in his un ai wo ld. Roy uses cama ade ie no jus as a heme, bu o in i e he eade o
wi ness eelings and jou neys. The no el also helps in showcasing healing and how people can be a g ea pa
o ha healing as well. I helps he cha ac e s ace hei aumas and build new iden i ies. The pape also
a gues ha ue healing happens h ough sha ed s o ies, kindness, and he quie s eng h o iendship.
Keywo ds: Cama ade ie, A undha i Roy, T auma, Healing, Su i al
In oduc ion
T auma s udies ha e been a e y impo an lens o unde s and con empo a y li e a u e.
They o e many ideas and showcase how indi iduals and communi ies deal wi h pain and
ma ginaliza ion. In ac , he no el The Minis y o U mos Happiness deals wi h his pain. I shows
how he wo ld is ma ked by con lic and exclusion. I is a powe ul na a i e ha no only del es
in o he li es o he ma ginalized in India, bu also b ings oge he pe sonal and poli ical
aumas. Ye he e is always hope in he s o ies. This no el is no jus a s o y, bu a way o
exp ess communi y bonds. In his pape , cama ade ie is explo ed in he no el as bo h a
na a i e de ice and a he apeu ic mechanism. This no only enables he cha ac e s o heal, bu
also o c ea e al e na i e o ms o belonging.
A undha i Roy has desc ibed he Janna Gues House, a g a eya d, in The Minis y o U mos
Happiness, and o Anjum, a ansgende woman, and o he s ma ginalized by socie y, i
becomes a place o e uge because academics migh label i a "quee coun e public". Bu i 's also
a place whe e people a i e wi h pain, shame, and ea , and ind accep ance and e e yday
kindness ins ead, and hus he g a eya d becomes a place o e uge, whe e among he dead, who
don' demand con o mi y om he li ing, he li ing can begin anew. One c i ic has said, " he
g a eya d's inhabi an s open a space be ween he wo lds o he li ing and he dead, allowing
hem o communica e" (Kłaniecki 290), and he e o e Anjum and Saddam Hussain o m a amily
he e, so i eaches ha healing can begin in unexpec ed places, whe e we a e held as we a e.
Roy challenges whe e we hink sa e y belongs, and hus he g a eya d is whe e people end o
g a es and bu y he unclaimed, and whe e lo e and esis ance a e enac ed, because i aises he
ques ion: why should sa e y only be a ailable o hose wi h he igh add ess, and so some imes
e uge eme ges in unlikely places, and ha is pa o i s powe . In i s e y exis ence, blu ing he
lines be ween he pas and he p esen , i claims ha belonging can be ebuil , and he e o e
collec i e auma and healing a e connec ed, because in Roy's no el, auma is no an indi idual
ma e , bu a he i is s uc u al, embedded in ins i u ions ha no malize exclusion and ha m.
As c i ics ha e no ed, "ins ances o injus ice a e he esul o ins i u ional opp ession and
isola ion" ha occu s p io o a speci ic auma (Das), and hus Anjum's ejec ion based on he
gende iden i y and Tilo's expe iences o s a e iolence in Kashmi a e no isola ed inciden s,
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bu a e connec ed pa s o he same sys em, because hey a e embedded in he same
ins i u ional amewo k. Ye hese cha ac e s lea n o sha e he bu den, and so when Anjum
akes in abandoned child en, when Saddam sha es his loss and is hea d, hey a e no only
su i ing, bu also ebuilding us in a wo ld ha ied o ake i om hem, because collec i e
healing does no e ase pain, bu a he i sha es i so ha i does no b eak one pe son's back.
T auma heo y o en ells us ha wi nessing and communi y a e c i ical o eco e y, and hus
Roy gi es us a li ed e sion o ha heo y, because empa hy makes g ie bea able and digni y
possible, and he e o e esis ance h ough iendship is a powe ul ool, as hese small ac s o
ca e a e also a o m o esis ance, because he iendships a Janna Gues House ejec he
message socie y gi es abou who belongs. One schola w i es, "[ he cha ac e s] de elop a s ong
iendship ha helps hem su i e in a socie y ha o en ies o ea hem apa " (Medha i
213), and hus Anjum's makeshi amily does no p o es wi h banne s, bu a he hey cook,
laugh, a gue, and wa ch o e one ano he a nigh , because hey e use o le one ano he
disappea , and so in a di ided wo ld, showing up o one ano he is adical, and he e o e hei
loyal y sus ains hem when iolence e up s, and hei ca e is a daily p ac ice o saying: we' e
he e, oge he , despi e e e y hing. Roy's o m ma ches he li es she w i es abou , and hus he
no el's agmen ed, many- oiced s uc u e, i s shi s in ime and pe spec i e, mi o how
memo y eels a e i has been shaken by pain, because bu he book holds oge he a ound a
agile, pe sis en hope: ha lo e, memo y, and solida i y can c ea e new homes (Kłaniecki
290), and so eade s do no jus obse e he cha ac e s, bu a he hey piece hem oge he ,
lea ning o lis en o di e en ones o su e ing and s eng h. In con as , Tilo's pain is quie and
in e nal, and hus Anjum and Tilo's oices expand ou unde s anding o wha esis ance migh
look like, and he e o e he no el becomes a space o lis ening as a p ac ice o ca e, because
he e a e se e al h eads ha un h ough hese poin s, and so i s , Anjum's expe ience
demons a es how ans iden i y is o ged in ela ion o ca e and communi y, and hus he
mo emen om isola ion o leade ship a Janna Gues House is ela ed o he accep ance she
ecei es and c ea es a ound he , because Roy p oposes ha iden i y is no jus wha we claim,
bu wha o he s enable by how hey hold us (In e na ional Jou nal o English Educa ion and
Li e a u e 65). Ul ima ely, The Minis y o U mos Happiness in i es us o econside whe e
healing akes place and wha esis ance migh be, and hus a g a eya d is a sanc ua y, because
iendship is a poli ics, and he e o e a ac u ed na a i e is a pa h o u h, because Roy does
no o e he p omise o escue, bu a he she o e s some hing mo e di icul : he p omise ha
e en in a wo ld ha isola es i s subjec s, we can build some hing ende and eal oge he .
Then he e’s he in e sec ion o poli ical auma and pe sonal eco e y, especially in he
Kashmi na a i e. Cha ac e s like Tilo and Musa ca y he sca s o s a e iolence, bu hei
connec ions—howe e lee ing—o e momen s o solace. Roy links pe sonal pain o la ge
poli ical s uggles, showing how collec i e auma equi es collec i e ca e. Ano he heme is
mo he hood and ca e, seen in he al e na i e amily s uc u es a Janna Gues House. These
chosen bonds, a he han biological ones, ede ine wha amily means, emphasizing ha lo e
and suppo can come om anywhe e.
Finally, s o y elling i sel eme ges as a o m o healing. Cha ac e s sha e hei na a i es,
whe he h ough la e-nigh con e sa ions o quie con essions, and in doing so, hey p ocess
hei pain. Fo eade s, oo, engaging wi h hese s o ies becomes a way o con on and
unde s and auma. Roy’s no el sugges s ha elling and lis ening a e ac s o connec ion ha
can mend b oken spi i s.
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Connec ing o B oade Con ex s
Roy’s wo k i s in o b oade auma heo y and pos colonial li e a y c i icism, which
examine how his o ical and sys emic o ces shape pe sonal pain. T auma heo y ells us ha
healing o en equi es communi y, a space o be hea d and unde s ood—some hing Roy’s
cha ac e s ind in each o he . Pos colonial c i icism, meanwhile, highligh s how colonial legacies
and mode n opp essions c ea e he condi ions o auma in places like India. Roy’s depic ion
o ma ginalized li es—whe he ansgende indi iduals, poli ical ac i is s, o he poo —echoes
hese ideas, showing how sys emic exclusion wounds en i e communi ies (Iye 165).
Ye , Roy doesn’ lea e us in despai . He ocus on cama ade ie aligns wi h pos colonial
na a i es o esis ance, whe e eclaiming agency h ough communi y becomes a way o
challenge opp essi e s uc u es. By cen e ing he oices o he ma ginalized, she ew i es he
na a i e o who ge s o belong and who ge s o heal. This connec s o la ge discussions in
li e a u e abou how s o ies can be bo h a mi o o socie y’s ailu es and a map o some hing
be e .
Conclusion
A undha i Roy’s The Minis y o U mos Happiness is a p o ound explo a ion o auma and
healing, wi h cama ade ie a i s hea . Th ough se ings like he Janna Gues House g a eya d,
Roy shows how e en he mos unlikely spaces can become sanc ua ies when sha ed wi h o he s.
He cha ac e s’ collec i e expe iences o pain and eco e y emind us ha auma isn’ aced
alone; i ’s a bu den ligh ened by mu ual suppo . F iendship, in his no el, isn’ jus a com o —
i ’s a o m o esis ance agains a wo ld ha seeks o di ide. Roy’s agmen ed na a i e d aws
eade s in o his p ocess, making us pa o he healing jou ney. Themes like ansgende
iden i y, poli ical auma, al e na i e amilies, and s o y elling all unde sco e he powe o
communi y bonds. In he end, Roy’s wo k speaks o a uni e sal u h: in he ace o su e ing, i ’s
ou connec ions wi h each o he ha o e he u mos happiness.
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