Complexities in private life

It is indeed the private life of a middle class woman, a wife, daughter-in-law and mother who doubles up as house keeper and a career woman. Renuka works as a receptionist in the office of a doctor, where she also does secretarial work to earn her living and meet family expenses.

She takes care of her family consisting of in-laws and a teenage son and her husband works in Dubai and is busy saving money for a better tomorrow. And as many of her ilk do, she dreams of air-conditioned malls, high-salary jobs and her son getting into a professional course and earning well. Life goes on in a predictable way until she meets the unassuming Vineet, who works at a hotel.

A chance meeting turns into an acquaintance leading to intimacy that in a way fills up the insecurities and loneliness of life that Mrs Sharma experiences, and comes to accept as way of life. And in order to cope with the way life has changed for her, she keeps reminding herself of the traditional upbringing and the values that she believes in.

Ratika Kapur weaves a story of Renuka Sharma and tells it in a simple narrative style that reads like a personal diary and is as basic as it gets at the first glance. At times in order to make it so, the author probably refers to things like Vadilal and Kwality Ice cream and the Shah Rukh Khan’s television serial, ‘Fauji’ to categorise a certain class and in contrast refers to the Shopper’s Stop, hotels and bathrooms with RO filtered water to identify with the privileged class.

Even as one found this a bit clichéd, the central theme – that of the clash of tradition with pressures of modern day is engaging. Yet, one is disappointed with the way the book ends. But, again, does the end need to justify the rest of the book…? In reality of life, it definitely doesn’t need to.

By:Rajeshwari Kalyanam