Anita by
Renuka Guru is a contemporary fiction with a cross-cultural narrative and with
philosophical heaviness. The novel has contemporized the shuttling between two
cultures. No one can have a life devoid of cultures, no matter how
transgressive is one, in the end everyone needs a semblance of culture to lead
somewhat a purposeful and peaceful life.
It would be
wrong to say that the novel is totally based on Anita. She is some sort of a lead
character, but she does not overshadow the auxiliary characters falling under
her periphery. Anita hails from a Scottish family. When she was just
three-months-old, the cruelty of fate rendered her orphan, and soon she was
picked up by an Indian family living in Edinburgh.
The Indian
family of Ramaa and Gopalan has only one child: Hari, a boy. They are good at
heart, but conservative, but still manage to find meaning love and purpose in
their lives despite the cold weather and the dull treatment from the white natives
in a foreign place like Edinburgh.
There should
be substantial reason for the adoption of a Scottish girl in their family. Well
the Indian family was seeking for a companion for their only child Hari. This
act is mix of both: merit and selfishness. It portrays how a society works in
the favour of a laddie.
Another
startling aspect that you may find in the book is that since the very
beginning, Anita (sometimes lovingly referred as Ani) is forcefully imposed and
left in the lurch in the heat of cross-cultural differences. Since her early
days, she has been kept informed that she is an adopted child. Hari’s
grandparents are skeptical, as they hold a hunch that this girl may do
something inauspicious in the future. Gopalan is taken for granted, he is naïve
of his own type, and Ramaa is forbearing but vapid, she cares for Anita, but
that is not enough. As a reader, you might dig to sympathize with the little
child.
Transgressive
feminism tried to surface in the novel in snatches, but it could never get into
the mainstream narration like the works of Anita Desai and Shobha De. The best
suppressed example is of Bert – the piano teacher – who slyly exploited and molested
the little girls in his classes.
Chugging
ahead, we see the author tried to balance the childhood days of Anita by giving
her some solace in the company of Hari and Katie, a girl from neighborhood. Her
days at Edinburgh are good, but she, on the other hand, remains super excited and
open about India. A few initial chapters throw assumptions that the novel is
more about a child’s coping up with the people whom she love and hate. But it
is a coming-of-an-age novel, both children Hari and Anita grow, go to school,
do some bullying, get ready for college and beyond. That pace of events was
fast, and probably not needed, because once the children grew beyond teenage,
romance and affairs add up in the story. From a family drama, the novel turns into
romantic heists. The author portrayed the right type of feelings at that age;
however, by doing that the novel loses focus.
After family
drama, gender discrimination, romance, and cross-cultural differences; towards
the end, the novel surrounds itself in tragedy. Hari moves to the USA for
higher studies, Gopalan with Ramaa and Anita move back to India for some
reasons and here Anita explores new aspects about life. Unfortunately, things
didn’t turn out as per her tenacity – she could not differentiate life in India
is not as cool as in the UK. Trapped in the overtures of some rich Indian guys,
she meets her fate: she suffers beyond irreparable. At this point, the novel
gains utmost intensity and the overall mood of the narration change into some
sort of melancholy. You might feel as how’s that possible, is India such a vile
place for a naïve foreigner girl. The character of parents in India is very
lame – probably they didn’t care, thinking Anita is not their real child.
Things turn out utterly sour for the entire family. Shame and privation!
Talking about some reality, Anita behaved too modern and bold, forgetting her
limits, or say she ignored the societal norms and morals. She got trapped,
drugged, and what not…
Strange the
family could do nothing to alleviate her pain. When she secretly moves back to
Edinburgh, things didn’t turn right there as well. She is finally dragged into
the dark arena where a woman is considered only an object for pleasure. Her
fate changes drastically…she sounded like cursed and doomed.
In a short
novel, with 218 pages, a lot of events happen that seems like stories within a story.
Do you think it is good? Maybe, if one is a racy reader. Overall, the story is
spiced up, like a movie. But in the end if you brood deeply, it comes out that
cross-cultural lives aren’t meant to be simple, there are sacrifices to be made.
Too much experiment with life, at times, brings untoward consequences.
Probably, that’s why some people are afraid of change, like the parents-in-law
of Ramaa. The reading experience is good, but the effects that the novel leaves
are tragic as someone caught in the smoky twister.
Too many
themes may look crammed up in one, but the author tried to justify all with a
benign panache. Renuka as an author shines, her narration and language usage and
other aspects are simply superb. Also, her days spent in the UK are evident in
the novel. The description of two backdrops (the UK and India) is incredibly
imagery. By all means, the novel is not shallow. There may be pitfalls but it
is worth a read.
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