TEARS OF CONTRITION: GUILT AND REMORSE IN ANITA RAU BADAMI’S CAN WE HEAR THE NIGHTBIRD CALL?

Abstract

Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? by Anita Rau Badami, Indo-Canadian author, is an intriguing narrative with complex layers of guilt and betrayal within the family and society against historical and political backgrounds. The novel intersects with the characters in unexpected circumstances, which expresses their emotional interconnectivity. This abstract examines the multifaceted conditions of guilt and remorse that haunt them in their lives. The characters in Can You Hear the Nightbird Call? struggle with guilt that comes from many situations, such as betraying loved ones, seeing horrific events during the partition, forgetting traditional practices, and finding out identity in a diasporic environment. By resulting from the lives of people like Bibi- ji, Nimmo, Leela and Pa-ji this study seeks to clarify the relationship between trauma, guilt, and memory, illuminating the long-lasting effects of past events on personal psychology.