Significance of Baba in Clear Light of Day

Baba is known as the quiet child. He learns to do most things but does not learn to talk. Baba can be said to symbolize no change. Baba remains pretty much the same throughout the book. He may have grown body wise but mentally he remains the same. Since childhood, he’d been playing with his marbles and he did so right through to adulthood. Baba can be said to be afraid of change. This may be seen when he was sent to the office and as soon as he entered the world outside his gates he went into a panic attack and ran back to his home. He lives in the same house which also remains unchanged. Even when Raja brings him a new entertainment system he refuses to use it and relies on his old gramophone which he taken from the Benazir’s room when he was younger. Bimla also uses Baba as an excuse to fight change. When Tara asks why there has been no changes made to the house, Bim claims that the change would probably confuse Baba. Bim also uses the excuse to escape going to Raja’s daughter’s wedding. She claims that New Delhi is too far out of the comfort zone of Baba. She attributes most of her lack of accomplishments to Baba as she said she could not leave him. Baba also helps to make Aunt Mira feel more satisfied, as he was dependent upon her and she felt a sense of purpose, a sense of want and appreciation. Aunt Mira gets to display most of her maternal instincts with Baba as he needed special attention and she was with him from the time he was a baby and she had been the one to teach him things that normal boys may learn on their own.