Author: Lakshmi Narayan
Publisher: Lead Start Publishing, Jufic Books
Pages: 296
"I am nothing but a Bonsai Kitten!"- Divya in Lakshmi Narayan's 'Bonsai Kitten'
The author chooses an interesting phrase to describe the condition of the 'modern' Indian woman in a society that still feels a bit uneasy to imagine her as an individual of independent thinking and free spirit. Lakshmi Narayan's debut novel tells us the story of Divya, a representative of all women whose aspirations are mowed down by the wheels of patriarchy before they can turn into reality.
Bonsai Kitten: A metaphor
Like the Bonsai, nothing but an artistic 'representation' of nature that puts miniature or dwarfed plants of different species together to create an impression of a 'stunted tree' and placed like an ornamental object somewhere in the living room; the woman of the house too is believed or rather compelled to redesign herself in a manner vis-a-vis the demands of the husband or what they call 'The Lord'. The metaphor, however, finds its source in a satirical website called bonsaikitten.com which claims to give you a set of instructions on how to grow a kitten in a jar. The process, similar to how a bonsai is given shape involves moulding of the bones of the kitten encased in a jar. What followed was a series of petitions by animal rights organisations and the website was soon shut down. Coming to the book, the protagonist Divya situates herself in a position much like the 'bonsai kitten' as far as her family or society at large is concerned.
Tam-Brahms and prejudices
Ramesh Swaminathan, "an engineer with the superaddition of an MBA...was personable in a typically lean-tall-fair-bespectacled-coconut oil-haired-Tam-Brahm way" was finalised upon as the most suitable groom to an Arts graduate, Divya. The author lets us in into the dynamics of a marriage proposal in a South Indian Brahmin family that weighs upon and debates on a lot considerations before dispensing a nod of approval to a union of two individuals. The grounds on which Divya's other suitors are dismissed are many including, "contempt for the merchant class" that "makes poppadams for a living," that businessman who looks more like a "suspected TB patient" to the lecturer in English at Annamalai University who is Divya's first cousin and uncle. On the one hand they try to categorise themselves as the "progressive" Brahmins who are critical of age-old "consanguineous unions" but at the same time wish to compensate for their daughter's "dusky complexion" termed a "tragedy" with a "cash settlement" to the groom's family at the time of marriage. All prejudices, stereotypes and conservatism that many families thrive on or live to justify are unapologetically discussed in Narayan's debut where the narrative follows the vein of a social satire.
Delhi-Mumbai-Singapore-Delhi
Divya's journey from Delhi to Mumbai to Singapore and the uneven transition in timelines apparent in the non-linear narrative style points to the discovery of a new self in the protagonist. When Ramesh would be busy with official tours overseas, Divya would either find solace in her daughter Latika or seek refuge in writing books for children (that would later go on to becoming widely read and appreciated literary work). Oblivious of his wife's loneliness and her desire to be with a family that does not have the husband missing from the frame always, Ramesh falls for a Chinese woman in Singapore. After her daughter Latika's death, the cruelty with which she is thrown out of a marital life she had all along struggled to make peace with shatters Divya to pieces. Her resilience is however commendable, she is on the verge of a massive emotional breakdown but she refuses to fall. She returns to writing, becomes a regular member of the book clubs in Singapore, makes a few friends and begins everything on a fresh note.
All's well that ends well
All seems to be going fine when one day Divya's chance encounter with her husband tugs at her past she had not been able to fully bury. Ramesh held the hand of his pregnant partner in a way that made Divya's heart wrench in uncomfortable pain. She complained in her mind, "...when I was pregnant with Latika, you never once looked at me like that." Warmth, care and respect never really topped Ramesh's priority list for Divya as much as belittling her for her dark complexion, ranting at her or hating her Indian clothes did.
However, Divya does meet that someone special who understands her the way Ramesh could not. With Wayne, an Australian vet she befriends during one of the book club meetings; Divya sets to walk on the road to romance, a path less travelled with her husband.
Marriage is not a one-sided affair, and nor is it an arrangement customised according to convenience. Ramesh and Divya were not on the same page from the beginning and therefore it had to end. To believe that the Chinese damsel was the only reason that things fell apart would be a limiting perception, for the bricks of the institution always came crumbling down every time Divya tried building them together.
Divya is definitely not a Bonsai Kitten; she learns to grow, battle odds, stand tall and of course regain her belief in love and probably marriage.
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