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A review by ayatichoudhary
Gently Falls the Bakula by Sudha Murty
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.