Hidden Messages

when sampath is perched in his guava tree, he is referred to as Baba, or father. people revere him as a holy man or holy figure. sampath, the monkeys, family members, and officials all have different connection to religious figures from many different faiths. maybe they are symbols? or allusions to the different religions? there is evidence from Buddhism, Hinduism, Confucianism, Christianity, and Islam. are these just allusions? or maybe even parables? if they are parables, what is the moral lesson? the cliches that sampath professes are familiar in their similarity to Chinese adages and proverbs from the Bible. what are other significant symbols in Hullabaloo that allude to religious beliefs?

One answer to your question would be the very end when sampath turns into a guava. That could be considered enlightenment in buddhism or hinduism. However, I believe he was Hindu?

@allysonbrianna
i think he was either a Hindu or a Sikh, though throughout the book there is mention of his teachers being Christian (brothers). seeing as shakot is in the Punjab region of india, the cultural fusion would be very high. they had chinese missionaries bringing Buddhism, native Hinduism, the british brought Christianity, and pakistan (predominately Muslim) used to be a part of the region. also, Sikhism was founded in the punjab region of india, so i think that the odds of sampath being a Sikh are very high. i still think there are other allusions to various religions, let alone what ones the characters believe. maybe the author is trying to how coexistence and tolerance, as well as similarities between faiths?

I was just rereading through the book, and I came across a sentence that makes me 99% positive that he is Hindu.

Pg.18 "Sampath's father appeared down below with his yoga mat."

you're probably right, but even though Sampath is Hindu, there is still a lot of underlying religious symbolism in the story. for example, on page 167, sampath thinks, "they were using him for their own purposes." he was ranting about how the people were bringing dirty ideas and polluting what was around him. he was angry that people were twisting his ideas and using them for his own purposes. could this be compared to the perspective of God upon those who twist the Bible or Qur'an, and use it to their own purposes?

@brebre 13, I totally agree that it parallels what people do to make the Bible or Qu'ran (or any holy book for that matter) agree with what they want to preach. Sampath is above all of the other people who twist his words though, spiritually and mentally. I wondered if his turning into a guava was enlightenment. If it is, then is Kiran Desai trying to give the hidden message that Hinduism is the way to be liberated from the human condition?