CHENNAI: Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an embodiment of two lands — in her mien and through her words. At the launch of her recent book, Independence, at Taj Coromandel’s Rendezvous at The Chambers, the author is dressed in an intricately embroidered black kantha sari, and fragrant mallipoo adorns her hair.
The author’s constant smiling face adds to the overall ensemble. The sari is a nod to a running theme in the book — an intricate stitch that the women of Independence made when India, at the brink of independence, was being torn apart.
Chitra was in conversation with author and translator Nandini Krishnan, who begins the chat by pointing out that Chitra was among the first authors to write about the immigrant experience, where a lot of her female characters have immigrated for studies, and not after marriage.
“In my earlier stories, like Arranged Marriage, there are some women who are going there as wives. But some women are going there to study, or for other reasons. And some women are living alone. We have to face both the adventure and challenge of being in a country that they don’t know and dealing with it. I wanted to bring that experience to light because that was my experience, to a great extent,” Chitra shares.
In a milestone year
In India’s 75th year, Chitra thought it apt to present a story celebrating India’s victory, albeit with a price. “I wanted to write this book because I had just written The Last Queen, which ended at a very sad point in Indian history; the British were so strong, they had subdued the whole nation. I didn’t want to end the literary journey there. I wanted to write a book where India triumphs and the British are thrown out. Yes, there is a price, but at least India is free. That was very important,” she shares on the sidelines of the event with CE.
Independence also honours her grandfather and mother — glimpses of whom are seen in the characters Nabakumar Ganguly and Priya in the book — and the stories of partition they shared with her. “My grandfather and mother had lived through that period. The 75th year was a good time to relive those stories because most of the people who lived at that time are passing away or have passed away but we must not forget,” she says.
Elaborating on this during the chat, Chitra says, “They were very keen to pass on that point of our history to me. Although I have to confess that being a young person at that time, I was not very mature about this. And I would often shrug off their stories. Now that they have passed away, I recognise the value of these stories. And especially in our 75th year, many of the people who lived through this period have passed away, and we need to value their stories, present their stories, and learn from their mistakes.”
Chitra reveals that her mother was in Calcutta during Direct Action Day — a day that changes the course of the story and the lives of the characters. Why did Chitra’s mother feel it to be important to relive that trauma and share the stories?, asks Nandini.
“My mother wanted to tell me because she thought it was an important part of our history. And that if she didn’t tell me, I would just not know, not ever know. As a child born into a free India, I took independence for granted. And I think a lot of us were born into free India. That’s all we know. So she wanted to explain to me, she wanted me to understand, a lot of people gave up a lot of things, including many times in their lives, to gain this freedom. So don’t take it for granted. Do the best you can and appreciate independence for what it is, both in a national sense that also in my own life. I think she was trying to give me that message,” she responds.
Character sketch
The characters in Chitra’s books are nuanced. They make mistakes, they learn and they emerge strong. In a world where women are still being rated as second gender and questioned on their opinions and dreams, when CE points out that the women in Chitra’s books are so strong that they give you hope, she says, “If you look at the women in Independence, they are ordinary women. It is when they are put in situations of great difficulty that they rise to their strength. I believe that women have that capacity, that potential. In all of my (works), it is not like women are born strong. None of us is born strong and able to stand up to trouble. We learn it slowly; that’s what I want to show. While finding their strengths women also find their enemies or ill-wishers in other women. Be it in reality or fiction. Chitra concurs.
“Women do pull down women; sometimes with good intentions. For instance, (in the book) the mother, Bina, kind of does not want Priya to have her dream. She is very against Deepa, though her life could have been made a bit easier if her mother had accepted her love. I think women do often pull down other women, that’s just a fact of life. We have to deal with it and move on despite that and hopefully, the other person will also change.”
Though Chitra’s women are oft-discussed, Nandini notes that the men in her book are equally beautiful. In Independence, two fathers are the pillars of support for the women, and two young men are righteous. Chitra laughingly admits that the two young men Raza and Amit were her imagination; Nabakumar was based, to a certain extent, on her grandfather, who was a doctor in the village and had a clinic in Calcutta.
Another character who makes a prominent presence is Sarojini Naidu. Expressing her admiration for the freedom fighter, also because she is a poet and a Bengali, Chitra tells CE, “She too is a largely forgotten figure. Sarojini Naidu did a lot for the independence battle. She marched, was jailed, and injured, she went to England to fight for the cause, she was a major follower of Gandhiji, she was an important woman and I think she inspired other women to fight as she inspires the girls in the book.”
Calling Independence one of the most musical of her books, as there are verses of Rabindra Sangeet and Nazrul Geeti, Chitra reflects on how Tagore’s verses and Nazrul’s songs kept people going. Nandini called for the end of the session playing the famous Ekla Chalo Re. Leaving the hall, one did not walk alone as the song suggested, but sure we pondered — are we ever truly independent?