Fire on the Mountain Themes

When Fire on the Mountain begins, Nanda Kaul tells herself that she has the life she’s always wanted. She lives in an austere cottage in the Himalayan foothills, with only her cook Ram Lal as company. Nanda Kaul thinks her isolation is freedom. In the context of her married life—when she was responsible for raising a mob of children and supporting the career of a husband who never loved her (the Vice-Chancellor)—this association makes…

In its three central characters—Nanda Kaul, Raka, and Ila Das—Fire on the Mountain demonstrates two different orientations toward the truth and self-knowledge. All three must contend with painful things. But while Raka cannot deny her nature or her truth, both Nanda Kaul and Ila Das spin stories and reinvent history to protect themselves from pain. Ila Das’s pride prevents her from admitting her need or asking for help. Nanda Kaul’s…

Much of Fire on the Mountain centers on the lives of its privileged (or formerly privileged) trio of main characters. Nanda Kaul and Ila Das are coddled daughters of the Indian upper class that flourished under the British Raj. They lived on lovely estates with nannies, governesses, and tutors to tend to their needs. Nanda Kaul continued to live a privileged existence as the wife of a university Vice-Chancellor who made sure that his table…

Fire on the Mountain explores the inner lives of female characters, all of whom have been profoundly shaped by patriarchal society, which offers people like Nanda Kaul, Ila Das, Asha, Tara, and Raka limited opportunities and primarily values them for their marriageability. Impoverished villager Preet Singh treats his nine-year-old explicitly as a commodity when he arranges to marry her to a middle-aged man in exchange for some property and livestock. But…