Babul Mehta/Pita Character Analysis in The Overstory

Babul Mehta is Neelay’s father. Originally from the Gujarat state in India, he immigrates to the U.S. with a degree in solid state physics. He then begins working for an early computing company, developing a microchip. A kind and brilliant man, Babul is extremely close with his son, who calls him “Pita.” Babul starts Neelay on his path to technological stardom when he brings home a computer kit for he and the seven-year-old Neelay to construct together. Babul later becomes very sick and moves to a clinic in Minnesota, but Neelay is able to show him the world of Mastery before he dies.

Babul Mehta/Pita Character Timeline in The Overstory

The timeline below shows where the character Babul Mehta/Pita appears in The Overstory. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.

Consciousness, Value, and Meaning Theme Icon

...Ritu (whom he calls Moti) is from the Rajasthan state in India, while his father Babul (whom he calls Pita) is from Gujarat. Ritu is cooking in the kitchen when Babul... (full context)

Complexity, Branching, and Interdependence Theme Icon

Neelay is very excited about the box his father is carrying, and Babul reveals that it is a present for both of them: a computer kit. When he... (full context)

Over the next days and weeks, Babul and Neelay build the computer and teach it a few simple commands. Months pass, and... (full context)

Destruction, Extinction, and Rebirth Theme Icon

Human Nature, Psychology, and Storytelling Theme Icon

...the computing business grows, the Mehta family becomes wealthier and moves to a new neighborhood. Babul fills the garage with a constant wave of new tehnology and gear. Meanwhile, Neelay attends... (full context)

Neelay is still extremely close to his father, and he and Babul delight in their new discoveries and inventions. When Neelay is 11, he plans to make... (full context)

...his life is ruined, how all his family in India will find out, and how Babul will be crushed that Neelay talked back to a white person in a position of... (full context)

...the darkness. Suddenly Neelay feels like a child again, standing under the tree with his Pita, who reminds him of the banyan fig and all the “code that made this gigantic... (full context)

...looking out over the sea. One, a blue-skinned god, is being played by Neelay’s father Babul, who is 2,000 miles away from his son in real life. Neelay himself is in... (full context)

Neelay reminds Babul of their first computer kit, and how all the trees that now surround them came... (full context)