Mahashweta - Sudha Murty- summary

Mahashweta

 Sudha Murty

 The novel Mahashweta is the story of Anupama, a young, beautiful girl and motherless child from a village who stood against all the odds to stand on her own in her life. The writer highlights the protagonist's psychological trauma due to leukoderma in an unjust society.  Leukoderma (vitiligo) is a skin disease that causes white patches on the body and spreads slowly on the entire body, making it appear ugly. The protagonist faces social stigma due to the discoloration of her skin. A small white patch on her foot brings troubles into her married life and turns her life upside down.

The story begins with the introduction of Dr.Anand in the hospital, reviving a newborn baby's life. The writer gives the readers a hint that the novel is about the subjugation of women through nurse Prabavathi's musings that the female child is stronger than the male baby at birth, but as an adult, the woman will be a sufferer and the man will be an oppressor. Dr. Anand stays in Dr. Desai's guest room for a short time. He hears a voice saying, "Darling, you are handsome and irresistible. You are the very picture of Manmatha. I fell in love with you immediately." He tries to find out the girl who had fallen in love with him at first sight from behind the parijata tree, but his efforts are all in vain. Anand first encounters Anupama at his hospital and is astounded by her exquisite complexion and extraordinary beauty, resembling an apsara. Anand watches the play Kadambari, a Sanskrit play written by 6th-century scholar Bana Bhatta, and he is enthralled by Anupama's performance as Mahashweta. He understands that Anupama is the girl he wanted to find out about during his short stay at Desai’s home. At Anand’s insistence, his mother, Radhakka, accepts Anupama, the daughter of a poor teacher from a village, as her daughter-in-law, though their family statuses are not the same. After a short period of blissful married life, Anand leaves for England for higher studies, promising his wife a beautiful life, saying, “Till death do us part”. Anupama feels herself in a gilded cage, as she has to get her mother-in-law's permission to step outside. On the pretext of meeting her friend, Anupama visits the doctor because she has leukoderma on her feet. As Radhakka knows of Anupama's skin disease, she sends her out to her parents' house, accusing her of tricking Anand by hiding the problem before marriage. She informs Anand about her condition as a last hope, but he never replies to her letters. She finally discovers the real Anand, who loved only her beautiful body but not her. Speaking to her friend Sumitra, Anupama shares her thoughts on marriage. “It is better to have an understanding husband than one who is merely handsome and wealthy. "Marriage is a gamble. The result cannot be predicted beforehand. Finding the right match is a matter of chance. I was unlucky in this. May you be more fortunate” (65). Anupama is ill-treated by her stepmother. She decides to move to Bombay to get a job instead of being a burden to her poor father. Hari, the husband of Sumitra, finds a clerical job for Anupama. She leaves Sumitra’s house after a year of staying there as a guest when Hari tries to molest her. Anupama joins a college as a lecturer and head of  the cultural team, and she gets the admiration of the students soon. Anupama got her leg fractured in an accident and treated by Dr. Vasanth and Dr.Satya for a few days. They become close to her and Vasanth admires her inner quality more than her physical beauty. He makes a marriage proposal to Anupama, since he thinks she is the suitable girl who can join his future health mission in his native village. She rejects Dr. Vasanth’s proposal as she would not be again in the vicious marriage cycle. At last, Dr. Anand realizes his folly and comes to Bombay, searching for Anupama. On meeting her, he asks her to forgive him and requests that she start a new life with him. Anupama rejects him, saying that he had not kept his marriage vows, which he had taken in front of hundreds of people in the presence of Agni. Though his repentance is sincere, she would never forgive him for his betrayal.

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"Marriage is not a bond between two bodies; it is union of two souls".