That Long Silence by Shahsi Deshpande

When I read Shashi  Deshpande’s novel That Long Silence  in the first year of my graduation, how little had I known about its depth other than pure academical intentions. I thought of that novel on and off over the years for some purpose or other.

That Long Silence is not an imaginary story. It is a story that happens in every middle class and educated Indian woman's life. The Indian women in this era are born at a time when there is much awareness about her rights, liberty to express her ideas, freedom to enjoy finance and the chance to stand for a cause. Still… they have a tradition of silence to continue!

This silence is not visibly forced upon them but something to be knowingly followed. The conditions may be different from family to family, but as Jaya in That Long Silence, at some point women are forced to be silent in all families. 

The protagonist Jaya is an educated middle class woman who lives with her husband Mohan and their kids Rahul and Rati. She is the typical Indian middle class woman in the present century, caught in between her realizations and the restrictions. Her father brought up Jaya as an "individual", who has the rights in the society irrespective of gender. When she thus assumes her role in the society, this upbringing still looks strange in front of the family she married into. 

Immediately after her graduation Jaya gets married and steps into her role as a dutiful wife, affectionate mother, "carefully being" dutiful to her in-laws…. to Aa, Ajji, kaka and her relatives. Her husband Mohan also plays his role as a dutiful Indian husband and never looks up to consider any imperfections in the life. As time goes Jaya's dutiful behaviour to Mohan and his family becomes a routine.

Jaya ponders throughout the novel for her role clarity, her life or is she living for someone else! She searches her identity as an individual and where her emotions are getting subdued! She, a failed writer and who had been forced to change her name as "Suhasini" in marriage, get haunted by memories of the past. 

In the meantime, Mohan leaves home due to his failure in career and to avoid the situation of "two bullocks yoked together." By the end of the novel Jaya gets back to her destined role, being present to the happiness of the family and ready to subdue her emotions.

 That’s what finally happens, right? Conciliation with your destined role!! Many of the readers can identify with one or other situation of Jaya’s story in your own life. You may find happiness or peace there but the silence will continue to echo!

The Golden Sepia Leaves

Amandeep Sandhu's debut novel The Sepia Leaves is indeed a promise to Indian English literature. The young Appu’s life, his emotions, feelings and concerns immediately take the reader to a new world, where they can stand beside Appu and watch his life.

The novel opens with Appu’s Baba's (father's) death, which triggers in Appu’s mind the scenes of his childhood.

At the initial stage of his childhood, Appu senses that there is something that distinguishes his family from others. In the growing up years, he realizes that his mother's unaccepted mental illness is responsible for that. The time when Appu asks his father to leave his mother is a significant scene in this novel. His father replies that his marriage with Appu's mother is a destined one and he cannot move away from responsibilities.

Baba was the real hero in his life who taught Appu the lessons of responsibility, courage and ethics in life. Appu shared Baba's love for literature and thirst for writing. A part of young Appu always longed to become the valorous Baba before his marriage with Mamman (Mother).

Always despised by her husband's family and the public, cared by her husband and loved/feared by her own son, Mamman's life is always under the shadows created by her own. She takes pride in being highly educated and coming from an affluent family. At the same time, she blames her husband and family for wasting away her wealth and education. An unfortunate incident had turned this poor woman into the circumstances that she was put in. Appu learns her story at a later stage and his heart goes on for her.

There are other prominent characters that leave their strong impressions on Appu’s eventful life. Baba takes Mando home to take care of Appu as well as to save her from the disastrous condition that she had been put in. Mando adjusts with the screeches and curses put on her by Mamman. Even in the troubled ambience of Appu's family, Mando finds peace. However a bad luck awaited her too, since she becomes victim to a brutal attack when Appu and family are out of home. Later she finds her peace at home in Antaryamin's small hut.

Even after all the troublesome experience in childhood, Appu never feels that he is someone to be sympathized on. He is ready to help others and ready to ask help from others too. As the reader goes through Baba's words to Appu a new light dawns before them.

"...the world is still a good place. There are problems. We all have problems. Still, you will never be lonely." (p.179)

This is the positive energy that the reader attains as he/she turns down the last pages of Sepia Leaves. As the title of the novel suggests reading this novel will make you as nostalgic as turning the sepia leaves of your childhood album. The only difference is that this novel will rekindle your memories and make them evergreen in your life...

Yayati By V.S Khandekar

I strongly believe that there is a time for each act in our life and the same act can have different significance in different situations.  Similarly, reading a book in different periods of your life can be totally different experience too. A re-reading of V.S. Khandetkar’s Yayati was such an experience for me. I was surprised on how much I had omitted during the first reading of this book in my childhood days.

As Yayati feels the difference in his perspectives during the four stages-Childhood, teenage, youth and old age- every human being must be feeling a difference in perspectives during these four stages in their lives too. That may be the reason; I got attracted to the dilemmas of characters in their young age during this second reading.

There is no doubt on the genius of the author to pen out the inner dilemmas of human life in an appealing manner. What we neglect about our ‘self’ in the day today life stand in bright colours in this piece of literary work. We not only think about the philosophical thoughts that hare vivid in the work but also consider our own inner dilemmas that we neglect in fear of facing them.

Human life itself is a change or growth in different levels. When we begin from our childhood, we are acutely aware of our existence within nature, which might wear off in our adolescence or youth and which might come back with a bang in our old age. When we think of this unbreakable relation with nature and not able to go with its order, there might be a tendency to wander off the path. 

Characters like Yayati, Devayani, Sage Sukracharya, and King Nahusha tried to find a way of their own through earthly pleasures. Whereas people like Yati tried to get away from the bond through extreme abandonment of worldly aspects. In a way, we, normal human beings like Sharmishta also tend to follow either of these paths when we cannot get hold on our own lives.  Curiously, it is only through a strong bond between worldly duties and our inner self that we can arrive at the final salvation.

In his long letter to Yayati, Kachan explains the intense relationship between one’s Atman (soul) and body (p.226-229). People may neglect the relationship sometimes and may realize the relationship in another turn of life. The excerpts from Upanishads and Vedas, on this relationship have been put in the novel in simple and coherent way for the reader’s thoughts.

I am not going in detail on the story line of the novel in this review. The re adaptation of the original story of  Yayati from Mahabharatha, has been made interesting with writer’s imagination and profound thoughts. In this novel, even the minor character has their own significance as Alaka (depiction of re birth and pure love), Madhavan (true friendship), Vrishaparvavu (a considerate ruler), Mandaran (depiction of fake sages) etc.

The novel progress as Yayati tells his life story from childhood to old age for the sake of humanity, so as to keep them away from his mistakes. The story is substituted also through the thoughts of his wives Devayani and Sharmishta. I felt that the technique is also an attempt to show that how two people’s perceptions on the same event can be different from one another.

Over all, you won’t be the same person who had started reading the book, after turning the last page. I missed this novel in my adolescence but keeps in my mind that I’ll take this book for re reading in my old age.

More about the book:

V.S. Khandekar had originally written Yayati in Marathi in . The book has won so many accolades, the major among them are Gyanpeeth Award (1974),  Sahitya Academy Award (1960 ) and Maharashtra State Award (1960). I read the Malayalam translation of the work done by Prof.P. Madhavan Pillai. The English translation of the book is available online

Book: Yayati

Price:  150

Writer: V.S. Khandekar

Translator: Prof.P. Madhavan Pillai

Publishers: D. C. Books