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Different strokes
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Usha Rajagopalan says her forte lies in telling a story as it is
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The writer fields questions about her book. Photo K. Gajendran
USHA RAJAGOPALAN'S novel holds an appeal that clearly emanates from her rootedness in everyday life. At the Crossword Bookstore where her first novel Amrita, published by Rupa was released by Susie Tharu, professor at CIEFL, the writer shared her feelings and perceptions with astuteness and creativity.
With her uncanny insights into the nature of human relationships and an equally unerring eye for detail, Usha in her novel, ventures into the terrain of the mind, teasing out the nuances and exploding the structure of familial bonds. The reader will be enriched by the story of the deep bond between the mentally challenged Amrita and her mercurial younger sister, Maya. The parents, Raghu and Kamala are resigned to their fate but Maya is determined to bring her hapless sister within the fold of family and society.
Based on belief
Shankar Melkote, the well-known denizen of the twin cities, who introduced both the author and the book said, "Usha writes on the incongruities of the Indian family, more particularly familial relationships which constitute the core theme." Prof. Tharu commented the writer for the unusual theme of the book and said it made her hungry for images. "The challenge lies in relating to Amrita and her family and Usha has done well in mastering the dialogue as narrative."
Usha who read excerpts from the novel said, "Amrita is not autobiographical though most first novels are supposed to be that. It was not written solely to empathise with such families but to sensitise the normal reader."
In this she seems to have succeeded. The tale told through the eyes of all characters is touching for its politically correct language because it isn't a dry intellectual position but an emotional one. In her writing, there is no dearth in the English language to communicate the Indian expression. For those who think of writers as bohemians, this one time editor at IIM (A) says, "It took me four years to complete the book and my research brought me closer to many families with special children. They are the Peter Pans who never grow up. And it is sad that even their normal siblings are denied a childhood."
Amrita is different from the run-of-the-mill stories because Usha has steadfastly refused to write to suit the global market and in an era of verbal acrobatics and pretty packaging, she is starkly real. Her writing is honest and possesses a refreshing lack of self-consciousness. Which is remarkable, for this writer whose demeanour hardly betrays her strong convictions, tells her tale so well.
DEEPA ALEXANDER
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