|
Book Review
‘A classic entry for liberal feminism’
PREMA NANDAKUMAR
AMBI: Vimala Murthy; Ambasmruti, 304, 6th Cross, I Block, Jayanagar, Bangalore-560011. Rs. 200.
None of the classical heroines seem to have committed suicide (“sati” enforced by a perverted custom is different). Each of them— Savitri, Sita, Damayanti, Devayani, Renuka, Kannaki and the rest — has faced inexplicable fate and man’s cruelty with unflinching will power. These heroines have poured into the consciousness of the Indian female the elements needed to resist inexorable doom and make a future for themselves. C. Amba Bai (1889-1971)
was one of these classical heroines remoulded as a 20th century woman. Not a word is misplaced in the opening paragraph of Vimala Murthy’s admirable and purposive biography of a brave woman: “The ultimate measure of a woman is where she stands at times of challenge and controversy and not where she stands in moments of comfort. If one were to measure C. Amba Bai by these standards, she stood like a giant in her times, remembered as a woman of great courage who defied tradition, overcame challenges and stood tall in a largely patriarchal society.”
Is there anything more to be said about this lady who was widowed at the age of 24 in 1913, one among the hapless thousands consigned to a life worse than death in the India of those days? With the backing of her father, Amba Bai not only survived but managed to stand on her own feet to bring up her three children.
No easy task
It was no easy task, for even an educated girl could not easily unshackle herself from suffocating traditions. Vimala does not forget to record this aspect in detail and the manner in which Amba Bai overcame the problems with dignity. A hard taskmaster who was verily an image of love, she had not allowed her heart to be curdled by her own miseries.
As for others, they came to respect her for her straightforward dealings, childlike enthusiasm, readiness to work hard and take on responsibilities. Never one to brook waste, always meticulous in keeping accounts, a painstaking organiser, an ideal hostess, a fond aunt who enjoyed feeding a legion of nephews and nieces who would call her Ambi, and yet one who would never go a baseless accusation unchallenged.
The war of letters with the headmistress of another school over the expenditure of one rupee shows the high seriousness with which teachers like her approached their calling. Mahasaraswati in action!
Togetherness
But Ambi is not all about her. It is about families, individuals, the glory and good of togetherness, the lasting grace of helping people in distress with pleasant words. It is about the scars that do not heal easily in a child’s psyche, the touch of tears in mortal affairs. It is about our home, the people we have known, the shudders that cleave our hearts, the joy of home life with its attendant clouds. The world-traveller in Vimala has now journeyed into the inner countries of Indian life. The result is a classic entry for liberal feminism.
Printer friendly
page
Send this article to Friends by
E-Mail
Book Review
|
