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By Dr. Ram Sharma Sr. Lecturer in English J.V. (P.G.) College, Baraut, Baghpat (U.P.)
Swami Nem Pal a politician turned poet has to his credit two books (India Malcontent and Pearls of Wisdom). Swami jis third collection shows his untiring effort and indomitable will power. There are twenty five long poems on diverse topics like The creation, The Dawn, A Beggar, Joy, Courage succeeds, The Starry Sky. Besides this there are shorter poems. The poet starts this volume with the poem when Tongue fails to word in which he propounds When tongue fails to word Hearts emotions deepest, Words gush from eyes in tears and roll down the breast.
In the second poem The creation the poet describes the chaos of earth and later on beginning of life upon earth. Thus came in being the vast universe boundless Thereafter began matters transformation. Secret of creation puzzles the human mind. Whichll hardly determine the creations cause.
In the third poem The Dawn, the poet describes nature in words worthian manner. The poet creates pathos by describing the condition of beggar in the poem A Beggar :- He Sighs and begs from door to door With a begging bowl in a trembling hand. The poet calls begging a blot on civilization face. The poet calls barren sand to the life without joy in the poem Joy. He describes natural laws in the poem The Law. In this poem the poet describes the laws of strong person and weak persons. Law had to be enforced on the helpless weak. And powerful mans words were the only laws Who with his sovereign power ruled others.
The poet is warning us against the dangers of moral degradation and selfishness in the poem Dangers over hang the world. In the poem Hear the Shrieks he advises the persons to hear the shrieks of down trodden and other suffering persons. Swami ji presents William Blakes mysticism in Mystery, Life and Childhood. In the poem Mystery, the poet says:- The mysteries of our universe vast no moral knows. Attempt to fathom, they secrets deep. In the poem Life the post utters Life is a mystery unexplained, unsolved puzzle. Swami describes materialistic race in the poem A cry of Lamentation and in another poem Courage succeeds he advises to maintain the courage. Let hails, storms assail, March on dear, Gallantly brave hazards And mortal fear.
Swami describes the beauty and secrets of nature in his poems Tableaus of Night, The Nature Smiles & The Starry Sky In the poem The Starry sky he describes the beauty of sky:- The Stars studded calm and clear sky stirs every eager and the gazing eye. Swami ji presents humanism in the poems Unconscious is Bless, Vicious Circle, Wild ambitions. Advancing go back Entity without, Trifles and the Extremes contraries and He is a man. Swami ji presents worldly wisdom and bless in his shorter poems Who wins the lifes game, Wears the crown of fame * * * Make friends, not foes, To get rid of woes
In the end I can say that Creation and Other Poems by Swami Nem Pal ji is a delightful collection and a must read for everyone who loves poetry. Dr. Shaleen K. Singh ji has also made efforts in its editing. The price of this volume is also reasonable. POET DR. MAHENDRA BHATNAGAR : HIS MIND AND ART
Edited by Dr. Suresh Chandra Dwivedi & Mrs. Shubha Dwivedi, Pub. Vista International Publishing House, V-196, Yamuna Vihar, Delhi, 2007, Rs. 600/-
Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar is the prominent name in the firmament of Hindi and Indian English poetry. His poems have been compiled in nine volumes. This book focusses on Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar as a poet and evaluation of his volumes. There are thirty-six articles compiled. Then there is French section in which there is a evalution of translated poems into French of Dr. Bhatnagar. The optimism in Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagars poetry has been discussed in detail by Dr. Anita Myles in her article Mahendra Bhatnagar : A Prosilient Poet of Optimism and Certitude and in Prof. Laxmi Shankar Sharmas article entitled Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar : The Man and His Works One of the most outstanding qualities of Mahendra Bhatnagars poetry in his unfailing optimism which is conspicuously present from the first volume of poems to the last one (pp. 4) Dr. Maheshweta Chaturvedi highlights the element of faith in Dr. Bhatnagars poetry in her article Voice of Faith in the poetry of Mahednra Bhatnagar. The poet has emerged in a new phase of consciousness, with a sense of courage, will-power and faith, acceptance of his lot and haunting presence of the moments of truth, Faith is a constant presence in most of his poems. (pp. 60) Mrs. Purnima Ray, Mr. Kedar Nath Sharma, Dr. H.C. Gupta and Dr. Gupteshwar Prasad discuss the art of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar, Mrs. Purnima Ray professes : Poet Mahendra Bhatnagar richness of thought, simplicity of style and lucidity of language have marked him as one of the avant-grade Indian poets (pp. 12) Dr. Gupteshwar Prasad calls Dr. Bhatnagar a visionary like Shelley and Iqubal. Most of the cheenk of this volume covers articles on Dr. Bhatnagars volume Passion And Compassion Dr. Anita Myles, Dr. O.P. Mathur, Mrs. Purnima Ray, Dr. Shaleen Kumar Singh, Dr. Narendra Sharma Kusum, Dr. Ram Sharma highlight compassionate passion in his volume Passion And Compassion. This volume also evaluates Dr. Bhatnagars volumes entitled Death-Perception : Life-Perception and Poems : For A Better World Dr. Shubha Dwivedi comments in her article The Poet As Critical Insider, To conclude, Professor Mahendra Bhatnagar occupies an important place in Indian English Poetry. His poetry shows his deeper social, moral and ethical concerns. He belongs to the glorious Progressive Traditions of Hindi Poetry. This volume is successful in presenting before us the total personality of Dr. Mahendra Bhatnagar and his poetic art.
- Dr. Ram Sharma
-------------------------------------------------- AND SECOND PAPER FOR STUDENTS WITH THIS --JANUARY 2008 "TRADITIONAL CONCEPT OF MARRIAGE IN THE NOVELS OF NAYANTARA SAHGAL " By Dr. Ram SharmA According to WIKIPEDIA, Marriage (also called matrimony or wedlock) is a social union or legal contract between people called spouses that establishes rights and obligations between the spouses, between the spouses and their children, and between the spouses and their in-laws.[1] The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but it is usually an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged. When defined broadly, marriage is considered a cultural universal. In many cultures, marriage is formalized via a wedding ceremony. In terms of legal recognition, most sovereign states and other jurisdictions limit marriage to opposite sex couples or two persons of opposite gender in the gender binary, and some of these allow polygynous marriage. Since 2000, several countries and some other jurisdictions have legalized same-sex marriage. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity.
People marry for many reasons, including: legal, social, libidinal, emotional, financial, spiritual, and religious. Marriages can be performed in a secular civil ceremony or in a religious setting. The act of marriage usually creates normative or legal obligations between the individuals involved. Some cultures allow the dissolution of marriage through divorce or annulment. Polygamous marriages may also occur in spite of national laws.
Marriage can be recognized by a state, an organization, a religious authority, a tribal group, a local community or peers. It is often viewed as a contract. Civil marriage is the legal concept of marriage as a governmental institution irrespective of religious affiliation, in accordance with marriage laws of the jurisdiction. Forced marriages are illegal in some jurisdictions.[2]
Marriage (also called matrimony or wedlock) is a social union or legal contract between people called spouses that establishes rights and obligations between the spouses, between the spouses and their children, and between the spouses and their in-laws.[1] The definition of marriage varies according to different cultures, but it is usually an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged. When defined broadly, marriage is considered a cultural universal. In many cultures, marriage is formalized via a wedding ceremony. In terms of legal recognition, most sovereign states and other jurisdictions limit marriage to opposite sex couples or two persons of opposite gender in the gender binary, and some of these allow polygynous marriage. Since 2000, several countries and some other jurisdictions have legalized same-sex marriage. In some cultures, marriage is recommended or compulsory before pursuing any sexual activity.
Anthropologists have proposed several competing definitions of marriage so as to encompass the wide variety of marital practices observed across cultures.[4] In his book The History of Human Marriage (1921), Edvard Westermarck defined marriage as "a more or less durable connection between male and female lasting beyond the mere act of propagation till after the birth of the offspring."[5] In The Future of Marriage in Western Civilization (1936), he rejected his earlier definition, instead provisionally defining marriage as "a relation of one or more men to one or more women that is recognized by custom or law".[6]
The anthropological handbook Notes and Queries (1951) defined marriage as "a union between a man and a woman such that children born to the woman are the recognized legitimate offspring of both partners."[7] In recognition of a practice by the Nuer of Sudan allowing women to act as a husband in certain circumstances, Kathleen Gough suggested modifying this to "a woman and one or more other persons."[8]
Edmund Leach criticized Gough's definition for being too restrictive in terms of recognized legitimate offspring and suggested that marriage be viewed in terms of the different types of rights it serves to establish. Leach expanded the definition and proposed that "Marriage is a relationship established between a woman and one or more other persons, which provides that a child born to the woman under circumstances not prohibited by the rules of the relationship, is accorded full birth-status rights common to normal members of his society or social stratum"[9] Leach argued that no one definition of marriage applied to all cultures. He offered a list of ten rights associated with marriage, including sexual monopoly and rights with respect to children, with specific rights differing across cultures.[10]
Duran Bell also criticized the legitimacy-based definition on the basis that some societies do not require marriage for legitimacy, arguing that in societies where illegitimacy means only that the mother is unmarried and has no other legal implications, a legitimacy-based definition of marriage is circular. He proposed defining marriage in terms of sexual access rights.[4] Nayantara Sahgal points out : "Our society conditions young girls to believe that Real Life consists of getting married having children, promoting one's husband's career by planning huge, endless meals for overfed people, buying the latest model of this and that and so-forth."1 Thus, Sahgal delineates the helplessness of Indian women and indifference of society to their plight in marriage. Judith Butler in Gender Trouble points out : "The woman in marriage qualifies not as an identity but only as a relational term that both distinguishes and binds the various clans to a common but internally differentiated matrilineal identity."2 Ironically, women do help in creating ethnic and racial boundaries by giving them names and identities but their own identities remain suspect, anonymous and insignificant to men. In a traditional society where girls have no freedom of their own choice marriage proves to be another trap and woman feels like a caged animal. Making enormous sacrifices a woman begins to understand gradually that marriage obstructs her growth as an individual. She sees her marriage only in terms of the dark rooms where terror awaits her. She feels as though - "She had exchanged one pair of pinching torturing shoes for another."3 Simon de Beauvoir observation is valid : "Marriage subjugates and enslaves woman and it leads her to "aimless days indefinitely repeated, life that slips away gently toward death without questioning its purpose."4 Women pay for their happiness at the cost of their freedom and De Beavoir emphasises that such a sacrifice on the part of a woman is too high for anyone because the kind of self-contentment, serenity and security that marriage offers woman drains her soul of its capacity for greatness. "She shuts behind her the doors of her new home, when she was a girl, the whole countryside was her homeland : the forests were hers. Now she is confined to a restricted space....".5 The role of a wife restricts and circumscribes women's self-development. regarding a woman's role playing Rosemarie Tong observes : "Sometimes women play their roles not so much because they want to, as because they have to in order to survive economically and/ or psychologically Virtually all women engage in the feminine role-playing."6 Marriage in a traditional society is a continual self-sacrifice for a woman, a danial of even her selfhood as a person. Whatever she does, she actually does for her husband to please him as her master. Tong further observes : "A woman may say that she diets, exercises and dresses for herself, but in reality she is probably shaping and adorning her flesh for men. A woman little or no say about when, where how or by whom her body will be used."7 The situation is supported by what Indu says in Deshpande's Roots and Shadows : "It's a trap ................. that's what marriage is. A trap? Or a cage? .......... with two trapped animals glaring hatred at each other. ................. isn't so wroing after all. And it's not a joke, but a tragedy. But what animal would cage itself?"8 Marriage, after all is an agreement between man and woman to live together-emotionally and physically, recognized by the society and approved in the Form of "Marriage". After recognizing the couple association, responsibility of the society is over the rest is on the shoulders of the couple to manage. Ironically enough marriage is eulogized as fortune and that explains the pompous and elaborate ceremonies of the occasion. Every man or woman has a dream and anticipation for his/her future partner that he/she should look like this and that etc. So the institution of marriage is of unrivalled significance in the life of a young person. For boys marriage comes along the only way while for girls it is the way. Education, health, career and other satisfying thoughts all exist against the certainty of marriage. In the life of an Indian woman all exist against the certainty of marriage. In the life of an Indian woman it marks a point of maturing and signifies the flowering of life. "Marriage" says Simone de Beauvoir, "is the destiny traditionally offered by society."9 The fact however remains that marriage is no more than one event in a man's life, but the only important event in a woman's life. The concept of marriage that is related to a delicate union of two different minds has not been properly realized in traditional bound Indian male dominated families. Woman's individual identity has not been positively and open-mindedly realized in her marriage. Woman has never been accepted as a full human being or an equal partner to man in marriage. She is taken for granted on number of fronts. This casual attitude causes her consistent suffering and miserable life. In Indian the Indian parents try to arrange the marriage of their daughters as it is taken as an obligatory responsibility on them. In this marriage a girl is given off to a groom completely unknown to her. She is taken to the marriage pandal like an embellished and attired goat taken to a deity for sacrifice. She marries a man to whom she has never met and her approval is taken for granted and she moves to a land with her groom which she has never seen and for goes all individual rights. As it is considered indecency on the part of girl to tell her parents of her choice in marriage. That's why these decent girls obey their parents and silently bow down before them without questioning about their marriage or their groom. In this ritualized marriage the life of a married woman is clearly defined: "Having taken seven steps with me, be my friend; be my inseparable companion. On the darkest nights let our common path be lit our lustrous love. Come let our walk together, with this guiding lamp between us. Let us unite our minds with the same thoughts and vows I am the word and you are melody; I am the melody and you are the world. I am heaven you are earth. I am the seed and you are the bearer. I am the thought you are the word. Let me lead you, so that we may bear a son."10 Again we get a glimpse of this marriage as "The hand that holds yours tightly as you walk around the fire receive like a gift. You can't do anything about it, when you marry it goes to him and you can never get it back."11 "The path a woman must walk to reach heaven is a clear, well-lit one. The woman has no independent sacrifice to perform, no vow, no fasting; by serving her husband, she is honoured in the heavens. On the death of her husband, the chaste wife established in continence, reaches heaven even if childless, like students who have practiced self-control."12 And again "The house wife should be always joyous, adept at domestic work, neat in her domestic works and restrained in expenses. Controlled in mind, word, and body, she who does not transgress her lord, attains heaven even as her lord does."13 So in this marriage these women follow this mantra in their married life. Pathi swarga, pathi dhara, pathi paramaantapa "Pithri pritheema panne, printhe sarva devata"14 (Husband is heaven, husband is religion. The gods are please by pleasing the husband). These women who accept these marriage as their fate or destiny or consider it a religious act are the blind worshippers of their husbands and to them husband is almost like God and disobedience to husband is considered a great sin. And they teach this thing to their daughter the lesson of feminine inferiority and submission. The most note worthy thing in this traditional marriage is that it is more related to procreation than anything else [Putrarthe kriyate bharya.] In this relation the individual to individual relationship, sharing of experiences and understanding and accepting each other independent entities is hardly there. In this marriage what is intriguing to note is that woman has no subjectivity, she is an absence, a dark continent, victim of the gaze, a phallic activity that represents an anal desire for sadistic mastery of the husband. Irigaray adds a mystic aspect claiming that since woman cannot be represented, she falls beyond the specular image into the realm of the mystic-beyond subject/object opposition. Once bound in marriage, woman has little room for escape and running away is a disgrace not only to her family but also to the whole of the society and its tradition. That's why woman never dares to come out from her marriage. Therefore, inspite of suffering she remains in marriage, and she never tries to give up her relationship with her husband. So this concept of marriage limits a woman to breeding children and looking after the home-affairs. They are expected to conform the traditional Indian concept of womanhood [Sati, Savitri] a stereotyped woman. Nayantara Shagal has dealt with the traditional marriage with all its traits in all of her novels. Her descriptions are so graphic realistic to.... with so much of compassion understanding and details that Nayantara Sahgal conveys her conviction that Indian women woes are very much caused by the way women take their very personal matter in a very impersonal way. i.e. why everyone of her novels contain some marriage. In the Rich Like Us the marriage of Bimmie with its full description is narrated by Sonali and the description is the best example of traditional marriage in Indian society. Bimmie, who is a girl of sixteen years old, is going for wedlock. One almost forgets that this is construction of a bride stereotype. Bimmie is younger than Sonali and Kiran and still she is going to marry. She even doesn't know the meaning of marriage except that she will get good clothes, heavy ornaments, jewelleries and a good house. She doesn't know her groom, he is completely unknown to her. She has only romantic ideas about her marriage and can't see the underlying suffering behind it. Therefore, she is unaware of her tragedy and is happy in her new role as a bride. In these marriage a girl accepts very easily the stereotyped role of woman and adjusts herself within the parameters of marriage and feels satisfaction in her role as a wife, and a mother. The description of Bimmie as a bride shows her ignorance about marriage. It makes only a show to people. The situation of Bimmie in her marriage makes Sonali sad. She feels restless. She bewails at her marriage rather than enjoying it. She feels pity for Bimmie. One note worthy thing is that what Sonali feels fro Bimmie in a sensitive way is never felt by her parents. They are blind to the fact of Bimmie young age. That the early marriage may cause a great suffering to Bimmie never comes to their mind. But it is a tragedy for Bimmie that her own parents can't think her good, and on the other, Sonali, who is not Bimmie's own person feels great sympathy for her. Like Bimmie's, traditional marriage we also get another traditional marriage of Pinky in A Situation in New Delhi. Her marriage is also arranged by her parents. Like Bimmie she is marrying to a boy whom she has never met but still she is very happy at her wedding. She also conforms to the stereotyped role of woman in society by accepting marriage as her destiny. Pinky is the daughter of a close friend of Devi, the central character, who has become the minister of education after the death of her brother, Prime Minister Shivraj. Pinky's marriage shows the vulgar display of wealth, and the glorification of a son-in-law which is an essential part of marriage among the rich business community. However, Rishad, the son of Devi like 'Sonali in Rich Like Us' resents this traditional marriage of Pinky and doesn't approve it. When Devi asks Rishad to attend Pinky's engagement party he says refusing it : "What in the world will I do there" Besides, that kind of marriage is just organized rape.' One way or another the hideous word kept figuring in her day. 'Pinky hasn't been allowed to put her nose out of the house without her mother's permission. And now they'r handing her over like a pudding to that nitwit who hasn't put his nose out of his househis mental nose any way."15 The marriage of Pinky is also traditional in a sense that she blindly and unthinkingly accepts her role as a wife. She is very enthusiastic about her marriage and obediently consents to her parent's choice. "Girls like Pinky lives as their mother and grand mothers had."16 She doesn't know anything about sex or countraceptives. Her mother thinks "It's rubbish, this modern business about knowing everything before you marry."17 She probably forgets that due to lack of sex education, Pinky would be soon drifting into motherhood as she is drifting into marriage. Pinky is the unthinking type of character who has no regrets and willingly accepts the traditional role. Pinky is very much conscious of her looks and figure and visits "Beauty Parlours" to "get her, arms and legs done, leaving her skin with a polished look, not a hair in sight."18 At home also she find no other pastime than to care for her elbows and eye brows. Pinky's desire to look beautiful represents her submission to the patriarchal values according to which women are "to be mere' dolls for men."19 Men mostly prefer doll-like beautiful girls as their wives who should always give them pleasure and never question any of their ideas or actions. Girls like Pinky help in perpetuating patriarchal setup. Like, Pinky, her friends Tazi and Reba are also equally immature and very enthusiastic about the idea of marriage. Their conception of marriage is that one can live one's "own life, away from prying supervision."20 Ironically, these girls believe that "marriage was a change. At least you got out from under your parents."21 For them marriage is an escape from the control of parents. These immature girls see marriage in terms of gaudy clothes, outings and lot of fun. They have no idea that marriage means only changing the master-first parents were there, now there will be husband. Girls like Pinky, Tazi and Reba cherish a rosy picture of marriage and are not at all aware of the obligations involved in this relationship. These purely "feminine women" to use a phrase from Sheila Rowbotham, are unlike other intelligent and sensitive women of Sahgal. Discussing "feminine women". Pinky and other girls are as carefree as birds are, unaware of the other side of life, which is full of complex problems-problems of understanding, adjustment, etc. in marriage. Society, however, considers such girls an excellent species for making wives and these girls find a comfortable place in it. The traditional concept of marriage in patriarchal society makes a woman a helpless creature, a deprived soul, unaware of her own existence, her own desires. It does greater damage to the emotional life of married woman who as a victim of wrong marriage continues to be subjects to persistent of male tyranny and ego. Due to onslaught of loneliness with the continual haunting of this unpleasant situation make her position more vulnerable. These type of females are beautifully portrayed by Nayantara Sahgal in all her novels and even the so called liberated woman submit to it when the time of decision comes as in the case of Nita in This Time of Morning. Here again, the traditional concept of marriage works out in the marriage of Nita. As in our traditional society a girl is brought up with this notion as being 'parayadhan', i.e. another person's possession at her parent's home. Conforming to this tradition, in Indian society the efforts of most of the parents are to find a suitable match of their choice for their daughters. Even well educated parents in modern age have these views in their minds about their girls. It shows the primitive and rustic face of parents in our society. Nita's parents also want to settle down their daughter Nita in marriage and wash their hands off her. It shows that inspite of modernity, Narangs have traditional views about girls and their marriage. That's why they keep their daughter Nita secure in the four walls of their house till she is handed over to her husband. Though Nita is the young beautiful daughter of Dr. Narang who is a queer blend of Eastern and Western culture. While western life style drinks, dance and bridge is a part of his culture, when it comes to his daughter, he would act in the most traditional manner, imposing severe restrictions on the movement of his ambitious daughter. Though Nita is 23 years old but Narangs never sends her to their parties unescorted; as Mrs. Narang puts it : "We do not allow Nita to go out alone. Her father would not hear of it. The Narangs' concern for the safety and protection of their daughter exemplifies their conformity to traditional values."22 Nita also follows the traditional concept of marriage by accepting the boy of her parents' choice in spite of her unwillingness. In spite of unwillingness in marriage with a boy of their parents choice they accept it as they don't want to give trouble to their parents. The same is with Nita, in her extremely shyness for her marriage she can not cross her parents. But internally she feels uneasy when Rakesh talks her about her marriage she sees it is an indication of her impending calamity. She requests Rakesh to influence her parents in the matter. "I do not want to marry at all just yet. Now you are back, Rakesh, do persude Mummy and Daddy I should have a job."23 But her parents being quite traditional, don't give any importance to the wishes of their daughter and force her to marry the man of their choice whom she neither loves nor admires. Nita's suitor is an eligible bachelor, rich and pleasant mannered and "she had nothing against him only she did not want to marry him"24 because she can not reconcile herself to the fact that Vijay is a stranger - "with whom she would spend her life name and children she would bear."25 However she fails to assert herself in refusing to marry a man of her parent's choice. At a party in Rakesh's house Nita dances with her fiancee Vijay. Rakesh glancing at the pair says to Saira, "She does not look very happy"26 to which she replies sarcastically : She says she does not know him very well. The American girl from U.S.I.S. looked at them puzzled. She does not? why is marrying him? she will know him better after they are married said Saira.27 The situation of Nita confirms the view of Sahgal where she focuses the helplessness of woman or a girl in the traditional marriage. She shows through Nita that a girl has no choice but to bow down to social conventions, traditions and moral obligations despite her unwillingness. In order to bring home her conviction reached after close observation Sehgal against portrays a traditional marriage in the Mistaken Identity where the Rani of Vijaygarh, the mother of Bhushan had got a traditional marriage at an early age with a man, who did not belong to her world of dreams. She is shown as a victim of wrong marriage as her husband is portrayed by Sahgal as a callous man with no consideration for her as a person. She was married to him at a time when she couldn't get the meaning of marriage. That is why the narrator Bhushan, her son, who says 'no one has asked mother her opinions and preferences regarding marriages. "The child had been pledged at five. Her fingers had to be pried loose from, her mother's neck when it was time to say good bye."28 All through the years of marriage she "saw the world through the silt between her carriage curtains when she went out ...... [or] through barred windows."29 Mother observed and followed social customs conscientiously never able to effectively rebel against the social customs that had got her married at the age of five and kept her isolated in her zenana. By dealing with this aspect of marriage in the Mistaken Identity Nayantara Sahgal beautifully portrays how women are groomed for subordinate roles and how their personality are conditioned into secondary roles along the sexist lines right from their childhood in Indian traditional society. In traditional concept of marriage the role of mother also works out very prominently for accepting marriage as an auspicious thing in a girl's life. Marriage is considered by mothers as the be all and end all in a girl's life. They want to mould their girls according to their desires. In this way these mothers appear as authority figures stifling the daughters in the name of conforming to traditional values. Sahgal has beautifully portrayed these traditional mothers in her novels. Nita's mother, in This Time of Morning, and also the mother of Rashmi in this novel and the mother of Sonali in Rich Like Us confirm Sehgal's hypothesis. Sehgal present the image of traditional mothers in the above two novels they want their daughters to be a "good" girl and "properly married". Simone de Beauvoir says that a "generous mother who sincerely seeks her child's welfare, will as a rule think it is wiser to make a true woman of her since society will more readily accept her if this done."30 That is why the mother of Nita Mrs. Narang, mother of Rashmi, Mira and also the mother of Sonali try to fulfill their duties as mothers by brining up their daughters as models of grace. Desirous of their welfare they do not want that society should raise a finger at them. They want to bring them up as graceful dignified young girls who would be in high demand in the marriage market although their girls resent the maternal authority. As Mrs. Narang plays the traditional role of the mother and proves to be an authority when she compels her daughter to marry "one of those men they introduced her at parties".31 Likewise the mother of Sonali also confirms to the role of a traditional mother when she compels Sonali for marriage rather than allowing her to study. Sonali narrates the persuasion of her mother to enter into marriage. "My mother told papa, don't go ruining it now, when I hung around his neck and muttered."32 Again in the novel we get her mother's authority on Sonali when she makes the plan of Sonali's marriage. Though, Sonali doesn't fulfill her mother's dream of her settlement in marriage with Ravi Kachru. She leaves India and goes out abroad for higher studies in this way she rejects this traditional marriage, chosen by her mother. But on the other hand her sister Kiran approves her mother's desire to be settled in marriage. Kiran, married to the rich Neel, with a beautifully decorated house entertaining other such 'leaders' of society fulfills her mother's aspiration. This traditional concept we also find in Mira, Rashmi's mother. She is a patriotic leader's devoted wife and expects the same from her daughter. When Rashmi announces her failure in marriage, Mira gets shocked. Mira is a typical Indian woman who "knows of no acceptable alternative role for herself than that of "wife mother", and for her the "mark" of her success as a person is in her living, thriving children."33 Ironically, it is only Rashmi's father who understands her agony and protects her. He supports his daughter to lead a life of her own a life of self-fulfilment and self-sufficiency. In the traditional marriage the notion of beautiful girl works out very prominently. As men prefer beautiful girls in their marriage, so if a girl is beautiful it is considered that she will be married to a wealthy groom, which is a symbol of her complete happiness. It shows is our traditional society the male biasness in marriage so unabashedly as in the fact that the girl should be beautiful to look at, that she should on no account be given a crooked noise, uneven teeth or a double chin. In other words, she has no freedom to appear as she is. Desire for self-beautification, is a massive concession to what a man dreams and longs for. There is a tremendous preoccupation with physical appearance which works with a girl as well as her groom and his family. We find this notion working in Dev's marriage in Rich Like Us arranged by Mona his mother. She prefers a snow fair complexion girl to her son Dev for his marriage. The selection of a girl by Mona to her son's marriage is beautifully portrayed by Mrs. Sahgal in this passage. It shows her deep insight into traditional marriage, the attitude of society and its men. At last she selects Nishi for Dev because she is a fair skinned girl. By choosing Nishi she thinks that she will be a suitable girl to cure Dev as she would bind Dev by her beauty so that he will remain with her in his marriage. "A marriage joined from top to bottom by caste, community and background"34 works also in traditional marriage. In our Indian society a traditional marriage cannot take place, if the caste of both man and woman is not the same. In the case of Shaila and Raj this concept works mainly. Inspite of their love to each other they couldn't get married. Raj is a converted Christian and Shaila just cannot marry a Christian because it would be a stigma on the head of her parents. It shows that traditional marriage is based on caste and not on love in Indian society. Therefore, she pretends before Raj that he didn't know her well, even after her four years courtship with him. But Raj knows the reality of Shaila's refusal of not marrying with him. The refusal of Shaila shows the prejudice of the traditional society. Because it is a prejudice in our society that marriage must take place in the same caste and girls should not do any interfere with this social norm. Therefore, she bows down before the parents inspite of her unwillingness to marry a boy of her parents' choice in her own caste. The state of Shaila shows that traditional marriage is an embodiment of a woman's absolute servility to patriarchal society, where a girl has no place for her feelings and sentiments and she sacrifices herself on the alter of marriage. Again, this concept of marriage is further carried by Mona, the wife of Ram in Rich Like Us and Prabha Mathur, the wife of Harilal Mathur in A Time to be Happy as both women have been a blind follower of their husbands inspite of their second marriage to another woman before theirs' eyes in the novel. Both these women accept the traditional stereotyped image ungrudgingly, adhering to the ideals of 'Pativarta dharam' and they bear all shades of experiences silently as a portrait of art in an art gallery. As Prahba lives a miserable life, though she has evolved her own philosphy of life to bear with the cruelities and callousness of the system; she uses occasional happiness as a mask to show to the outer world that all is well. Prabha is less fortunate to have a taste of the feast which life has procured : "She was not a woman to sip at life's offerings. She was one to take deep draughts and, as likely as not bring up a hearty belch or two on satisfying herself."35 She never questions the ways of Harilal's world and willingly submits her individuality as a human being to his male pride. In the same ways Mona also approves Ram's second marriage with Rose, as she never unties the marriage knot with Ram. She remains with Ram in her marriage inspite of his indifference and fulfills all her household duties and does prayers, keeps fasting for the long life of Ram. The state of Mona in her marriage shows the manifestation of Pativarta Nari in traditional marriage where a woman is a modest and kind hearted being
