FICTION
Battles at home
R. KRITHIKA
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Vachani weaves diverse strands together to form a fairly engrossing story. HomeSpun, Nilita Vachani, Penguin, Rs.295.
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`A TALE of war and peace', says the blurb of Nilita Vachani's HomeSpun. Well, the book does refer to the freedom struggle and the Indo-Pak war but the phrase seems to have more to do with the battles fought within the four walls of a home.
A Gandhian freedom fighter, Mr. Mehta, has a wife who does not care for his ideals and makes her aversion very clear. Given the times they live in, they stay married and produce two daughters. Law-abiding sub-inspector Kalra, in a moment of weakness, allows his five-year-old son, Ranjit, to become a film star. As the boy's brief reign of glory comes to an end, he slams the brakes and gets back to his old dream of getting the boy into the armed forces. The boy is given a choice — "In an unusual display of democracy, he asked `Army, Navy or Air Force?' `Air Force,' said Ronu... " The only brief interlude in Ranjit Kalra's "Get into the Air Force" mission is a love affair with Anamika. The social disparity between the two ensures that the love affair is doomed. And Ranjit marries Mr. Mehta's daughter in deference to his parents' wishes — "Inspector Kalra tapped his pen on paper and, not unlike an earlier application, asked his son, `Sunaina, Preeti or Neena?' `Neena,' Ronu replied."
Many strands
The story is narrated by their daughter, Sweta, who tries to make sense of her grandparents' uneasy marriage; her own relationship with her mother and later with Anamika; her father's death during the 1965 Indo-Pak war and its repercussions on the family. Also woven in is the story of a young girl growing to adulthood amid these storms.
Vachani weaves these diverse strands together to form a fairly engrossing story. Initially the book has a very jumpy feel as it moves back and forth between the past and the present and between the Mehtas and Kalras but picks up its pace. Anamika's research into Ranjit's death is a bit long-winded. Also her transformation from a not-interested-in-anything divorcee to an active war correspondent is too sudden.
The most interesting aspect of the book is Sweta's relationship with her grandfather. Initially very sympathetic towards the man whose ideals are shattered by his wife, the tenor changes after she catches him flagrante delicto with the maidservant. But Vachani does not let things end so tamely. The grandfather commits suicide and it is Sweta's mother who puts things into perspective for her daughter.
Despite some portions that drag, the book holds one's attention. HomeSpun is Vachani's first novel.
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