One and a half wife
By
Meghna Pant, Westland Ltd. 2012, 296 pp, Rs. 250/-
Meghna
Pant’s debut novel is interesting and deals with social and marital issues that
the middle class face, but shy away from.
It traces the story of Amara Malhotra, who arrives in US and tries to
live her mother’s version of American dream (posh and polished lifestyle yet
Indian in values). Her efforts to
impress others by living someone else’s life always meet with failure, and her
‘Indianness’ makes her the bride of an ivy-educated millionaire, being his
mother’s choice. Then follows a life of
Jekyll & Hyde – trying to be her Indian self from within and seeming to
lead the husband-friendly lifestyle from without. She forces herself to compromise on her likes
and dislikes and tries to adjust to her husband. She ends up with a double whammy – failing to
rise up to his expectations as well as being herself. All her efforts to ‘save’ the marriage prove
futile, because her husband never wanted her in first place. The truth of the failed marriage is something
she has to come to terms with and at the same time, face the adversity of her
parents and the ostracism of the Indian American community.
