Allusion by Desai?

Do you believe that Kiran Desai was alluding that Sampeth had a mental illness? Or was Sampeth simply a young man avoiding his responsibilites?

Thats actually a really good point natty1717...Sampath never fit in at home. People always thought he was weird, and different. I think that she may have been alluding to the fact that everybody fits in somewhere, no matter how "weird" they may seem.

I agree with Sinead. I don't think Sampath had a mental illness. The author may have simply been saying that Sampath was strange and didn't fit in with most people. He did eventually find his place in society, though.