A Married Woman - Manju Kapur

I rarely read Indian authors. One of the very few books that I enjoyed by Indian authors are Inheritance of Loss by Kiran Desai and Two Fates by Judy Balan. The reason I don't prefer books by Indian authors is this -when I read books set in a foreign culture and locale, I can't really relate to it. I just take what is being written at face value and happily get carried away by the book. But, when the book is set in an Indian context, with Indian characters and Indian locales, I don't really enjoy the book if I don't relate to it. I am not saying that I am fully aware and conversant with the diverse cultural and socio economic strata of India, but this book by Manju Kapur disappointed, even irritated me in so many levels.

Astha, a middle class Delhi girl gets married to Hemant -a foreign educated handsome boy who is working in a PSU bank, so that he can take care of his parents. They have an awesome sex life for the first two years of marriage, then they get two kids. Then Hemant goes on to become an entrepreneur and starts a TV manufacturing unit, capitalizing on the virgin black and white TV market. By the way, the book is set in 1970s to 1990s in New Delhi. Hemant's business flourishes and Astha continues to work as a school teacher -more for self satisfaction than for the money. And also, Astha is diagnosed with migraine, which rears its ugly head every now and then in the book.

Astha gets roped in for a summer workshop by her school principal. She meets Aijaz, a popular street theatre artist who promotes secularism through his plays. He is also a renown historian and incredibly attractive and is very good with kids. Astha gets this assignment when Hemant is completely absorbed with setting up of the TV manufacturing facility. Astha gets encouraged by Aijaz to write the screen play for the Babri Masjid issue and the kids, including her daughter and son, perform in the play. She also gets infatuated with Aijaz, whose attention and appreciation makes her realize how much her husband is taking her for granted. (I seriously don't understand why she expects so much from Hemant.)

In the meanwhile, we are introduced to Pipeelika, a social activist who works with an NGO for upliftment of slum children. She and Aijaz get married -a Hindu weds a Muslim thing and almost after a year, Aijaz is killed in a communal riot, where he, along with other street theatre artists are burnt in a van by communal forces.

So now, Astha, along with other people who were associated with Aijaz and his troupe, stage protests and form the Sampradayakta Mukti Manch. Astha gets involved in their activities -much to the disapproval of her husband and the mother in law. She is also made to do a painting for the SMM fund raiser and she gets drawn into her hobby...she realizes how much painting helps her in centering herself in the day to day demands of her family. She soon takes up painting full time and quits her school job. Then Astha visits Ayodya, where the Babri masjid issue is brewing slowly and steadily and she addresses the crowd as a keynote speaker for a meeting organized by SMM. Here, she meets Pipeelika.

Then, all of a sudden, these two have an affair and finally, after traipsing all over India in a yatra to promote secularism, they slowly break apart, because Pipee wants a committed relationship whereas Astha cannot and does not want to leave behind her husband and children. Pipee goes to the US to do her PhD and Astha stays back and lives her life. This is the story of this book. Throughout the book, all the political and social drama involving Babri Masjid is slowly built up and culminates at the demolition of the Babri Masjid.

I think this is the first time that I have given such a detailed outline of the plot. Whew! The book is absolutely stifling with all the unnecessary emotions Astha feels. The author manages to twist even a normal statement given by Hemant into a chauvinistic one. You don't believe me? Here is one random sample -"Hemant saw her getting ready to leave and demanded, 'Where are you going? I am free, you know that.' Astha thought of all the evenings she had been free and waiting and wondered if there could ever be a day when she could feel the same right to complain that Hemant did." I mean, seriously, what is stopping her from screaming at Hemant? Not once do they have a screaming match. In the initial days of their marriage, Hemant is portrayed as a hero with streaks of meanness and all of a sudden, he is the insensitive and vile husband. Where is the justification for this transformation?

The book is all about Astha's "feelings" and tracing of the whole Babri Masjid fiasco -right from the spark to the Rath Yatra to the demolition. There are very little actual conversations and character descriptions. Astha is irritated by her mother in law, but for what? We don't even get to read the exchanges between them or the dynamics that exists between the two. Hemant, poor guy, is stereotyped into the pampered Indian male who expects his wife to serve him with devotion. And the contradictory part is, if Astha's MIL or Hemant are as oppressive and narrow minded as the author makes them out to be, then how come Astha ends up doing so many things? Painting, protesting, travelling, having a lesbian affair and what not? And why the hell is she unhappy with her life? I really don't get it. So what if her husband does not share her interests? Is there any rule that married couples must do all things together?

Oh God, I really felt my blood pressure raising every time Astha felt "stifled", or "incomplete", or "lost". If a character is going to feel all that throughout the book, then there must be enough justification as to why she is feeling that way, so that the readers can relate and empathize. But, here...ufff....I just willed myself to finish this book so that I can vent my frustration at such a pathetic writing here in my blog.