The goodness in people
Nausheen Rahman comes across a message of hope
Reading an author's first book is very often a great pleasure. It is even better to find a work by an author you've read and enjoyed. I found Sudha Murty's Mahashweta on my sister's bookshelf and the blurbs appealed to me. The blurbs indicated that the story would be interesting as it was about modern-day society and the stigmas and hypocrisies it continues to be affected by. Moreover, it would be very different from Murty's book of short stories I had earlier read and liked (How I Taught My Grandmother to Read And Other Stories). It was after many years that I finished a book in one sitting. Mahashweta made sitting indoors on a cold, windy day in London, worthwhile. (It also made me hopeful that I would read a number of books during my holiday here). Mahashweta is a very sensitively-written book on a very sensitive issue, leukoderma. This skin disease, in which white patches start appearing on the body, can afflict anyone anywhere, at any time. It is how the victim and other people react to, and deal with it, that the story revolves around. Murty dedicates the book to women in her country who get this disease and wishes them hope and courage. After enjoying the story, I read the writer's 'Postscript' and had a really good feeling as I saw what a strong effect the book had had on a young man. It is very impressive how the writer has presented so many changes, drastic ones, so interestingly and realistically, in only 151 pages. The changes are in the circumstances and the attitudes of various people, especially of the protagonist, a young, beautiful and idealistic girl, Anupama. The entire unfolding of events is related in a riveting way. Anupama loves to act in, and direct plays. She is studying on a scholarship and wants to do a PhD. Her family consists of a father, an unsympathetic stepmother and two jealous step-sisters. She gets married to a rich and handsome doctor who is smitten by her. Her now "near-perfect" life seems to have only one bit of sadness: Anand, her loving husband, would be going away to England and she would not be able to join him for two months. She "felt as tbough she was in the midst of a fairy-tale"; her life "seemed a perennial fountain of joy, love and happiness"; she was "unable to understand how philosophers could describe such pleasures as temporary". Unfortunately, Anupama's life takes a malicious turn. She discovers that she has leukoderma. Some of the consequences of the occurence are predictable, while some are unexpected. Her whole life turns topsy-turvy as she wonders what sin of hers God was punishing her for. Murty gives us a very close view of this girl's emotions as she realizes that she is on her own in her battle against destiny. She gradually learns to accept life's bitter realities; she decides not to let the blemish on her physical beauty mar her inner beauty, or affect her kind and caring nature. Anupama's agony, her helplessness, her having to bear fate's cruel onslaught, are all depicted with deep empathy and insight. The courage and fortitude she cultivates over the ensuing years will undoubtedly give strength and inspiration to others who find themselves in her situation. Tha last few chapters are totally engrossing - as we see how realization comes - in different ways - to the various characters - and how each deals with it. The writer tells us that Anupama seems to have "grown in stature". She has learnt how to appreciate the things that really matter in life - like forbearance and confidence. She says, "My conscience is my guru and it guides me well", and "I neither worry about the past, nor brood over the future, I accept life as it comes and I don't have any regrets". All this wisdom (from a person who had, not long ago, thought of ending her life), projects a strong sense of optimism and a positive belief that goodness still exists in many people. There's a message of hope --- that one can make life satisfying, dignified and meaningful, even against the odds. How one defines contentment, grace, meaning and happiness, depends on the person. The story ends with a sagacious saying, "Life imitates art".
Nausheen Rahman teaches and is a literary critic.
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