Games at Twilight

Anita Desai was born in Mussoorie, India, in 1937 and grew up in New Delhi, and much of her writing is set in India and draws on her culture. “Games at Twilight” is one such text and revolves around the family structure and societal norms at the time of her writing. The general plot of the text itself is seemingly innocuous, as it centers on a children’s game of hide-and-seek on a hot summer day. However, the story also highlights familial roles and gendered expectations in traditional Indian culture.

Historically, joint family structures in which extended family and multiple generations live together were common in India. This text centers on a joint family household, although it is unclear how many family members live together and how each of the children are related. Within the text, the author introduces a mother and several children, mentions a father who goes to work each day, and references several other unnamed adults and cousins. Ravi, a younger sibling and the story’s central character, mentions that the many family members gather on the lawn in the evenings, including “the parents” and “brothers, sisters, and cousins” (Paragraph 26). This nightly gathering is a signal that these extended family members live either together or near each other.