In the halls of an Indian railway station we are introduced to the concepts of irony, contrasts and false expectations, all moulded together in the short story “Karma” by Kushwant Singh.
The protagonist who introduces us to these concepts is the Indian man Sir Mohan Lal: A man who sits in the 1st class waiting room, and a man who believes that the British culture is superior to the one of his homeland. He’s once proudly attended the University of Oxford and mingled with the English upper class. As a result, he’d now rather speak his anglicised Hindustani, or preferably just English, read The Times and wear expensive eau de cologne, all to care for his own self-image and to impress possible English contacts.

Sir Mohan sure has learned to exploit his talents learned in England, but with his arrogance and eagerness to stand out he seems to have forgotten where he comes from. He doesn’t respect the common values and lifestyle of India, which is visibly stated in the very beginning of the short story: “'You are so very much like everything else in this country, inefficient, dirty, indifferent,' he murmured. The mirror smiled back at Sir Mohan. 'You are a bit of all right, old chap,' it said. 'Distinguished, efficient - even handsome.” (p. 1., l. 5-9)
Introducing the reader to our protagonist with these words puts things into perspective: Sir Mohan looks into a mirror, in which he of course also sees himself; he dislikes it for being made in India, but so is he. He doesn’t realise this, and to the reader he already seems quite arrogant for not putting things into perspective. However he sticks to this idea: India is dirty and he, himself, is everything but that. This contrast serves as a basis for the conflicts of the story, and is again very visible when we meet Lachmi, or Lady Mohan Lal, the wife of Sir Mohan.
Lachmi is a common Indian woman who doesn’t know or