Hullabaloo tells the story of the lives of the villagers of Shahkot. These people are depicted with wonderfully bright images to create an energetic novel. This energy is so excessive that it creates characters from a fabulous world, bordering on caricature. Desai uses these characters to mock the oppressive Indian culture and the strong traces of the British colonial era still present in modern India. The text creates an effervescent world for the reader to explore. Desai's domineering images produce whimsical characters, which are used for satirical purposes. The characters are painted with colorful visual imagery, “to stare in amazement at this lean, long-legged apparition among the leaves” and “her cheeks were like vanilla pudding… a pink and white birthday cake.” The bright images leave the reader with a clear picture in their mind and allow them to suspend reality to accept the satire. The city itself is described as oppressive, a reflection on the satirical themes, “the heat had shrouded the whole of Shahkot in a yellow, cloudy haze.” “When there was almost no space left to draw on, when the walls, the floor and the ceilings were full, packed to bursting, Sampath was born.” These two descriptions, through tactile images, convey a feeling of claustrophobia and stress in the reader. Desai's eccentric characters and the ridiculous situations in which they find themselves in fake gender roles and Indian society, Hindu mysticism and British colonial influences These aspects have been an integral part of India for centuries. The Chawlas are described as the typically patriarchal Indian family in which Mr. Chawla, often found: “His shirt needed ironing were discovered dusty, dirty and unpolished... in the middle of the paper... and were considered ignorant while Sampath's teachings, which are false, are readily accepted. Sampath's false spiritualism caricatures the Hindu gurus of India , mocking people's blind acceptance of their words. Although the context for an Eastern and Western reader is different, Desai allows readers of both audiences to awaken to the issues surrounding modern India. Desai suggests that gender roles, lingering colonial influences, and mysticism are holding back India's socioeconomic development. The village of Shahkot presents itself as a microcosm of the nation. The vivid exaggerations highlight to the reader the absurdities and inconsistencies of some attitudes, behaviors and social constructions, which are holding back India's future. It is in the colour, eccentricity and fabulous nature of Shahkot that his work generates its greatest power of revelation.