A mother ‘reborn’ through her ‘unborn’ child

Kaberi, a woman belonging to the hills, valleys and tea gardens of Assam, moves into the concrete and mortar space in Richmond Road of Bangalore city after her marriage to Ranjit (Ron). She assimilates (or tries to) into a corporate culture her husband is part of. From picking the right wooden furniture, furnishing the bathroom with branded towels to arranging the living area in the most sophisticated combination of colours, fabrics and flowers on every tabletop, Kaberi finds her days spent under the amlokhi trees, admiring the mighty Brahmaputra River, the smell of the paddy fields and the morning sun atop the Kamakhya temple turning lifeless shadows. Darkness thickens in the form of another bitter truth in the face of Kaberi when her husband walks out on the marriage for another woman. Speaking to her unborn child she laments, "You certainly took your time to show up...your father had given up and was drifting away from me..." It is quite amazing to discern how little respect a man has for his wife. Once Ranjit assures himself of his wife's inability to reproduce a child, he abandons her only to make a selfish return on learning about her pregnancy later.Author Jahnavi Barua explains the psyche of such men in society who easily betray a woman's heart on the pretext of the latter's infertile womb. "Not all men are of Ron's disposition for who the family line is important. The lost regard for his wife resurfaces when she confirms being the bearer of his child," Jahnavi explains.There are significant sub-plots in the novel that contribute to the understanding of Kaberi's transformation from a vulnerable wife to an independent woman who refuses to succumb to her husband's self-centred demands. Joya, her childhood friend is someone who dominates Kaberi's consciousness throughout the novel. It was Joya's unfortunate death at the wake of political turmoil in Assam that left an indelible mark on Kaberi. The days of 'Andolan' (revolutionary marches) against the paramilitary and police authorities, nights of blackouts and inexplicable suffering at the hands of the armed forces leave fresh imprints whenever Kaberi reminisces about her friend's strong will and free opinion. Joya was a big influence on her and her demise, a terrible loss to Kaberi. Ask Jahnavi about her intention in interweaving the political history of Assam in patches and glimpses, she answers, "This is not a novel about politics but about human relationships. The political situation in Assam is touched upon as much as it has a bearing on the story".Marriage and divorce constitute the recurrent themes in the novel that get represented through the lens of betrayal and insensitivity imposed on women by the male characters. The pace of the novel does not meet sudden peaks but progresses gradually to a climax that initially strike the reader as implausible and unpredictable. The conclusion, however, is not unreasonable and with it we see the complete transformation of Kaberi, "Kaberi's transformation is as complete as the reader wants it to be, by the end of the story she has certainly come a long way down this new path she has chosen," informs Jahnavi."Night has somehow taken over day and the day is as dark as the night", reads one of lines that lose its meaning as we slowly reach the novel's closure. Kaberi emerges out of the dark night to behold a day that promises to illumine her road ahead without the need for her to look back, even for once.Author Jahnavi Barua is currently working on her second novel that too, guarantees the readers to encounter and explore strong women characters like Kaberi.