Shekhar Character Analysis in A House for Mr Biswas

Shekhar is Mrs Tulsi’s beloved older son, whom Mr Biswas disparagingly calls “the elder god.” Like his younger brother Owad, he is educated at Catholic school; he has trouble finding a wife and, when he eventually marries Dorothy, he moves in with her family and becomes alienated from the family due to her Christian faith. He comes to resent Owad, who gets to go abroad for school.

Shekhar Character Timeline in A House for Mr Biswas

The timeline below shows where the character Shekhar appears in A House for Mr Biswas. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

...Fate had granted her.” When eating, he would ask about the “little gods”—her studious brothers (Shekhar and Owad) who slept in and seldom left the new upstairs wing that included the... (full context)

...would do to her high-caste family members—Seth would become a leather-worker and the “two gods” (Shekhar and Owad) barbers. Worst of all, Mrs Tulsi “ain’t a Hindu at all” because she... (full context)

...his game, and he offered “the holy ghost,” too, before noting that “the two gods” (Shekhar and Owad) looked more like monkeys and joking that “the place is like a blasted... (full context)

...getting into the Catholic college. Mr Biswas declared them “just jealous” and “the elder god” (Shekhar) blamed Mrs Tulsi for letting Mr Biswas move in. Furious that Mr Biswas wanted the... (full context)

Education, Work, and Language Theme Icon

Colonialism, Oppression, and Escape Theme Icon

...littered the Tulsi house and led Mr Biswas to an argument with “the elder god” (Shekhar), who in fact wore a crucifix, the weekend before he left for his examinations for... (full context)

...bring in food; all the Tulsis came “except Seth, Miss Blackie, and the two gods” (Shekhar and Owad), who were busy in school. Hari donned his pundit’s dhoti, and the Tulsis... (full context)

...of exciting luxuries, although the sisters tried to hide their excitement and “the elder god,” Shekhar, was particularly melancholy this year, frightened at the prospect of being married off. Everyone’s attention... (full context)

At Hanuman House, a handful of the children married and moved out, including Shekhar, whose matching process was arduous and took him to live with his wife’s family. Mrs... (full context)

...school in England, which devastated a jealous Mr Biswas and alienated many of the Tulsis; Shekhar had wanted the same for himself, and he came for a last weekend visit before... (full context)

...hold his head under water for as long as he could, and then Owad and Shekhar threw Mr Biswas into the water. He surfaced in a rage, and they realized that... (full context)

...power was too superficial to fix the family’s conflicts, and particularly the sisters’ distrust of Shekhar. They even heard that Seth was looking to buy property. (full context)

...were no gifts or festivities, just Chinta’s “tasteless and rust-rippled” ice cream. The next morning, Shekhar came with sweets, but the sisters felt abandoned by him and blamed his Christian wife,... (full context)

...find one every so often, and soon became her grandmother’s favorite. When the newly wealthy Shekhar visited with Dorothy, his Presbyterian wife, the family recoiled and blamed her for his modern... (full context)

...the boat and joined his family in crying. He kissed his mother, Mrs Tulsi, shook Shekhar’s hand, and embraced the sisters before moving onto the brothers-in-law. When he shook Mr Biswas’s... (full context)

When Shekhar and Dorothy came to visit, the sisters held Owad’s accomplishments against theirs—but Owad nevertheless grew... (full context)

...the siblings would visit the house—the sisters mingled while the brothers played bridge. One morning, Shekhar and Owad argued about modern art, and Anand thought it would be funny to scatter... (full context)