Shubika Bilkha

Stories of the Cities by the Sea: Representing Society Through Fiction in Bombay and Karachi Shubika Bilkha

Since the Industrial Revolution, cities or metropolises have acquired predominance in the global economy due to their preeminence as centers of finance and commerce, religious centers and as seats of administration. The changing ideology of the City and the Country in England was particularly important because the process of colonization saw the transfer of these ideas onto the colonized nations, which influenced their development. With globalization, the experience of modernity transcended national and ethnic lines, but the interpretation of this urban culture differed amongst metropolises due to differences in social, political, cultural and religious histories. I focus on works of fiction dedicated to Bombay and Karachi,the metropolises of contemporary India and Pakistan. I analyze the different themes presented in the works of fiction which represent different social,cultural, political and religious aspects of these metropolitan cities. This has enabled me to understand the experience of modernity in these cities and their subsequent adoption of global or 'Western' mannerisms, as well as the very metropolitan ideals of power, money and success.