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readsndrants's review
5.0
How long can you allow someone who is your first priority, to not make you a priority? How long can you sacrifice to only get negligence? How long can you love someone else more than you love yourself?
It is a simple and engaging story of an ambitious husband, a devoted wife, and the toll that time and neglect takes on their love. It starts as a breezy read but quickly becomes an emotional whirlwind.
It also tells the tales of multiple women characters, all having very different marriages but for each, the everlasting love remains elusive. These women come from all backgrounds, Kamala is a sole bread winner but lives with her husband's laziness and mother-in-laws taunts, Gangakka the matriarch who is okay with tricking her son to inflict pain on the daughter-in-law, Rama dependant on “status” to win over her in-laws, and Shrimati, who does everything under the sun but doesn't land the love and attention of her in-laws or later, her husband. The entire story depicts deeply patriarchal society where women, for generations, have been taught to put the needs of men first. Even young, dynamic, academic, and earning women, because of the pressures of the society or because of their upbringing, see a virtue an honour in suffering silently, letting go of their dreams, and in sacrifice for love and family.
The shackles break slowly and not with the dramatic bang you would like. I was at times frustrated with Shrimati. Why despite being so smart and capable did she chooses to go through all the pain and insult? But she was young and optimistically in love. The problem is never one big fight. It is incidents that might not seem to big at the time, but pile up. By the time she sees the trap, the problem, her unhappiness, it was probably too late to fix.
Despite being the "devoted housewife", Murthy’s rendition of Shrimati is that of a strong woman who knows herself. She has clear thinking, lot of patience, and remarkable intelligence. She gives her husband, and their relationship many chances, but at a point when she realises that the relationship is not salvageable anymore, she also has the courage to walk out, to start afresh, and to pursue her dreams. You might not agree with her choices, but Shrimati touches your heart.
This story is both cautionary and inspiring, to women, but also to everyone in so many ways. In a fast paced world as today, forgetting relationships and taking loved ones for granted is very easy. Priorities and habits in early career have a huge ripple effect in personal life in the long run. This book made me, a headstrong career ambitious woman, give a serious thought about valuing relationships and not forgetting family as I set out to achieve dreams.
It is a simple and engaging story of an ambitious husband, a devoted wife, and the toll that time and neglect takes on their love. It starts as a breezy read but quickly becomes an emotional whirlwind.
It also tells the tales of multiple women characters, all having very different marriages but for each, the everlasting love remains elusive. These women come from all backgrounds, Kamala is a sole bread winner but lives with her husband's laziness and mother-in-laws taunts, Gangakka the matriarch who is okay with tricking her son to inflict pain on the daughter-in-law, Rama dependant on “status” to win over her in-laws, and Shrimati, who does everything under the sun but doesn't land the love and attention of her in-laws or later, her husband. The entire story depicts deeply patriarchal society where women, for generations, have been taught to put the needs of men first. Even young, dynamic, academic, and earning women, because of the pressures of the society or because of their upbringing, see a virtue an honour in suffering silently, letting go of their dreams, and in sacrifice for love and family.
The shackles break slowly and not with the dramatic bang you would like. I was at times frustrated with Shrimati. Why despite being so smart and capable did she chooses to go through all the pain and insult? But she was young and optimistically in love. The problem is never one big fight. It is incidents that might not seem to big at the time, but pile up. By the time she sees the trap, the problem, her unhappiness, it was probably too late to fix.
Despite being the "devoted housewife", Murthy’s rendition of Shrimati is that of a strong woman who knows herself. She has clear thinking, lot of patience, and remarkable intelligence. She gives her husband, and their relationship many chances, but at a point when she realises that the relationship is not salvageable anymore, she also has the courage to walk out, to start afresh, and to pursue her dreams. You might not agree with her choices, but Shrimati touches your heart.
This story is both cautionary and inspiring, to women, but also to everyone in so many ways. In a fast paced world as today, forgetting relationships and taking loved ones for granted is very easy. Priorities and habits in early career have a huge ripple effect in personal life in the long run. This book made me, a headstrong career ambitious woman, give a serious thought about valuing relationships and not forgetting family as I set out to achieve dreams.
rudralaya's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
mina__cc's review
4.0
reading_gives_serotonin's review
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
booktrovert_babe's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
dobby_182's review
emotional
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
bookishray's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
ayatichoudhary's review
5.0
Is career more important, or marriage? For many years women are sacrificing everything for their husbands. The career of men are given more importance than the career of women. A woman is, by default, thought of as a housewife, caregiver and uncomplaining shadow of her husband. Her desires, dreams, ambitions and freedom are not given utmost importance, as compared to men's. Isn't this the harsh truth? Women are told to leave their career midway because there's no demand for ambitious women in the marriage market.
This novel was first written in Kannada and it was the very first novel of Sudha Murthy in the Kannada language.
Gently Falls The Bakula is the story of Shrikant and Shrimati. The story begins from the time when Shrikant and Shrimati were in 10th standard. Both were brilliant students, no doubt and were each other's rivals in the class. As the years pass, a simple friendship between them develops into love. For generations, their families are each other's sworn enemies and Shrikant and Shrimati were able to get married only after endlessly persuading their family members. Even after marriage, Shrimati's in-laws are harsh towards her and are hell-bent on not accepting her as a part of the family. Shrimati is always the centre of the taunts of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. As a young married couple, Shrikant and Shrimati move to Bombay and there, Shrikant starts climbing the corporate ladder, whereas Shrimati, very passionate about history, leaves her career to be the uncomplaining shadow of her husband. But as the years pass, Shrikant gains power and money, while Shrimati, being the uncomplaining shadow of her husband, starts feeling lonely among this corporate lifestyle.
I really liked the character of Shrimati, her resilience and strength. I particularly loved the decision she makes in the end. The writing style, as usual, is simple, but nonetheless brilliant. The story is set in the North Karnataka of 1980s. The society is extremely patriarchal and highly discriminative between different castes and sects. The Indian match-making is portrayed in its true sense, with all the buzz about horoscope, caste, sect, wealth and how Indian women are believed to be – submissive, docile and selfless. Shrikant is the typical Indian man, who will never appreciate his wife but will talk endlessly about his mother's sacrifices. There are endless talks about history, our protagonist being a history buff.
Recommended to Sudha Murthy fans, those looking for short reads and those looking for books with strong female protagonist.
This novel was first written in Kannada and it was the very first novel of Sudha Murthy in the Kannada language.
Gently Falls The Bakula is the story of Shrikant and Shrimati. The story begins from the time when Shrikant and Shrimati were in 10th standard. Both were brilliant students, no doubt and were each other's rivals in the class. As the years pass, a simple friendship between them develops into love. For generations, their families are each other's sworn enemies and Shrikant and Shrimati were able to get married only after endlessly persuading their family members. Even after marriage, Shrimati's in-laws are harsh towards her and are hell-bent on not accepting her as a part of the family. Shrimati is always the centre of the taunts of her mother-in-law and sister-in-law. As a young married couple, Shrikant and Shrimati move to Bombay and there, Shrikant starts climbing the corporate ladder, whereas Shrimati, very passionate about history, leaves her career to be the uncomplaining shadow of her husband. But as the years pass, Shrikant gains power and money, while Shrimati, being the uncomplaining shadow of her husband, starts feeling lonely among this corporate lifestyle.
I really liked the character of Shrimati, her resilience and strength. I particularly loved the decision she makes in the end. The writing style, as usual, is simple, but nonetheless brilliant. The story is set in the North Karnataka of 1980s. The society is extremely patriarchal and highly discriminative between different castes and sects. The Indian match-making is portrayed in its true sense, with all the buzz about horoscope, caste, sect, wealth and how Indian women are believed to be – submissive, docile and selfless. Shrikant is the typical Indian man, who will never appreciate his wife but will talk endlessly about his mother's sacrifices. There are endless talks about history, our protagonist being a history buff.
Recommended to Sudha Murthy fans, those looking for short reads and those looking for books with strong female protagonist.
hardkaapi's review
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0