Role of Class and Corporate Life in Manju Kapur's Custody
Introduction
Manju Kapur's Custody (2011) is set firmly in the world of upper-middle-class Delhi — a world of corporate offices, expensive lawyers, air-conditioned apartments, and private schools. In this world, class is not just a social category; it is the invisible force that determines who can afford to divorce, who can fight a custody battle, and who can rebuild their life after separation.
Want to read the novel? Get Manju Kapur's Custody on Amazon.
The Corporate World as a Power Structure
The novel's central conflict begins in the corporate world. Raman works at The Brand, a multinational company, under Ashok Khanna — his boss. When Ashok seduces Raman's wife Shagun, the professional and personal boundaries collapse entirely. The workplace becomes a site of betrayal, humiliation, and power imbalance.
Ashok's corporate power gives him an advantage in every arena. He can offer Shagun a life that Raman cannot — international travel, luxury, status. His wealth enables him to handle the legal and social consequences of breaking up a marriage with relative ease. Corporate success, Kapur suggests, insulates the powerful from the moral consequences of their actions.
Class and the Divorce Process
One of Kapur's sharpest observations is that divorce in India is a class privilege. Poor families cannot afford the lawyers, the court fees, or the time required for prolonged custody battles. Raman and Shagun can — but only just. The legal battle drains Raman financially and emotionally, while Ashok's wealth shields Shagun from the worst consequences.
The novel shows that the Indian family court system, slow and bureaucratic, favours those with resources. Witnesses must be hired, lawyers briefed, and court dates managed over years. For a middle-class man like Raman, this is a severe strain. For Ashok, it is merely an inconvenience.
Class and Remarriage
Class also shapes the possibilities of remarriage. Raman is able to find Ishita — an educated, respectable woman from a similar background — through a matrimonial process that is still very much class-coded. Both families assess each other's financial and social status before agreeing to the match.
Ishita's family, though initially reluctant because of the divorce and step-children, ultimately agrees because Raman is educated, employed, and from a good family. Class compatibility overrides the social stigma of divorce — at least within certain limits.
Children and Class Expectations
Arjun and Roohi are caught not only between two parents but between two class worlds. With Shagun and Ashok, they experience luxury — foreign holidays, expensive gifts, a glamorous lifestyle. With Raman and Ishita, they experience a more modest but stable middle-class home.
This class difference becomes a source of conflict. Arjun, the older child, is acutely aware of the difference and resents it. The children's preferences in the custody battle are shaped not just by emotional bonds but by the material conditions of each household — a deeply uncomfortable truth that Kapur does not shy away from.
Conclusion
In Custody, Manju Kapur uses the upper-middle-class Delhi setting not merely as backdrop but as a lens through which to examine how class and corporate power shape intimate relationships. Divorce, custody, and remarriage are all filtered through the realities of wealth, status, and professional power.
The novel is a reminder that in India, the personal is never truly separate from the social and economic. Who you are in the class hierarchy determines not just how you live — but how you love, fight, and survive.
For more analysis, read our post on Social and Psychological Consequences of Divorce in Manju Kapur's Custody.
Get Manju Kapur's Custody on Amazon and explore this powerful story for yourself.
Join our reading community on WhatsApp for more literary discussions: Join WhatsApp Channel
0 comments