Significance of The Blue Curtain

The blue curtain divides the press's inner workings from the eyes of outsiders. The division caused by this curtain will slowly diminish, fading completely by the end of the book. The curtain can be viewed on several levels, as The Man-eater of Malgudi can be viewed on several levels. First, the curtain can represent Nataraj's ego. The curtain protects his inner self (the press) from the eyes of the world. It separates his inner sanctum from his outer world. Second, the curtain is a partition, which relates to the movement that divides India in 1947. This movement divides Pakistan into two parts, decreeing that the Muslims occupy the western portion, while the Hindus occupy the eastern. Eventually, the western portion of this division separates from India entirely, becoming modern-day Pakistan.