Kyani's post

The Maa as an individual

The maa is torn between the demands of the family (which involves keeping an eye on baa’s covert operations aimed at luring Usha, rebuking Barki’s infatuation with boyfriends and telling her to focus on her studies, and looking after Cheeku) and the demands of her self. In a way, the family is representative of the national where she, as the mother of the three children, is the secular figure while baa, the father, similar to Kekbaad, is in a position to do whatever he wants to. This thought can better be illustrated in the passage where she is drying her hair in the sun and thinking about the body and the soul, when Cheeku immediately throws up and gets sick. Even though she has just dressed up after washing her hair and donning a fresh saari, she holds her son in her lap and cuddles him, least concerned about anything but his health, in contrast to baa who merely manages to pass an idle comment on the whole scenario. Soon after, baa realizes that this is an opportunity that he cannot afford to miss. He manages to twist the whole affair to his advantage after mumbling pathetically about how they are running low on groceries, squeezing in Usha into the picture and fantasizing about spending time with her alone in the woods while Barki takes care of Kikli. When the group leaves the villa, maa, after crying over baa’s infidelity and managing to put Cheeku to bed, starts thinking about herself, and her needs. The narrator’s voice opines: “…use apne zaati muamlaat behtar banane ki kam az kam kuch koshish karni chahiye thee. Jab ke use zaati halaat ka kaafi gham tha”. The voice seems to be sympathizing with maa and her worries. At the same time, it is also urging her to start thinking about herself, to live her own life.