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INTERVIEW
A Conversation with Amulya Malladi
Indu Sundaresan is the author of
The Twentieth Wife and The Feast of Roses. Born and
raised in India, Indu came to the United States for graduate school.
She lives in the Seattle, Washington area.
Indu Sundaresan:
I can remember 1984 as being a somewhat horrific year too, because
of Indira Gandhi's assassination and the Bhopal gas tragedy, both of
which left the country reeling for a while. I don't know that any
other author has chosen to explore the Bhopal incident in the medium
of fiction…why did you? And why now, after so many years?
Amulya Malladi: I
believe that writers write about what haunts them. It’s the stories
that keep us up at night we want to put down on paper. I am sure you
understand, as it must’ve been a very strong passion for the Indian
Mogul Period, Taj Mahal and Noorjehan that propelled you to write
not one, but two books about those times.
For me the Bhopal gas tragedy is part of my life, my childhood and
its images stay with me even now, after so many years. I was nine
years old when my father, an army officer, was posted to the 3 EME
Center in Bhopal. Indira Gandhi was assassinated first and it
started to dawn on me that people went to war over religion in the
present times. I think I always assumed that it was something of the
past, something for the history books.
And before any of us could recover from the mayhem Indira Gandhi’s
assassination brought, the Bhopal gas tragedy happened. Several
victims found their way to the Military Hospital in the EME Center
and we heard stories from army officers who were doctors. I remember
how everyone who had breathed in the methyl isocyanate gas described
it as chili powder in their lungs. Those images stayed with me.
So this became a story I wanted to tell but I had no idea how to. I
didn’t want to write about the statistical millions, but the one,
the few who were affected. I thought that would make the tragedy
more real than saying' x' number died and 'y' number survived.
IS:
Neither Anjali nor Sandeep was interested in joining the
class-action suit against Union Carbide, despite the fact that Amar
might possibly gain from it.
AM: I always read out
what I write everyday to my husband; he’s my sounding board and I
remember when I read this part out, he asked the same thing. We
didn’t have children then but I wondered what I would do if my
husband was the victim of something like this; and I realized that
my first instinct would be to be with him, to continue to be part of
his life, whatever remains and not chase after lawsuits. I think a
part of their reluctance stems from how lawsuits are perceived in
India. They are not orderly or coherent and cost a lot of money and
time. I think both Anjali and Sandeep knew their first priority was
to be with Amar, not waste time in becoming part of a lawsuit.
IS:
Anjali makes a huge transition from a silly teenager whose mind is
filled with fanciful ideas of love and marriage into a woman with
tremendous strength of character, in the space of just one year. At
what point in the story does she gain the courage to walk away from
the marriage and defy almost every tradition she has hitherto bowed
to?
AM: It is the cliché I
guess, that you almost die and then you take stock of your life and
change it. The same thing happens to Anjali. Until she becomes a
survivor of the Bhopal gas tragedy, she’s not sure how to handle
Prakash’s infidelity and their loveless marriage. But after she sees
people die around her, she realizes that life is ephemeral and she
could spend all of it trying to figure out how to handle Prakash or
she could get out of the marriage and build a new life. In the end
the decision is an easy, almost inevitable, one for her. She has
always knows that the marriage isn’t working; it just takes some
poisonous gas and a near death experience for her to find the
courage to get up and do something about her situation.
IS:
We see these two sides of Sandeep: the calm, self-possessed,
confident and quiet man—the man Anjali sees; and then, when the
narrative switches to his point-of-view, we see a Sandeep fraught
with insecurities. Yet, he does not volunteer his fears to his
wife. I think of this fierce reluctance to reveal oneself, even to
those beloved, as a very 'Indian' cultural affliction (for the lack
of a better description).
AM: Oh, you are
absolutely right. Indians are very private; I am starting to realize
that as I travel abroad and meet people from different cultures. We
are very careful about who sees what about us. But part of it is
also gender. Men, I believe are inherently carrying the burden of
being macho and weeping on your wife’s pallu about your
insecurities hardly fits the manly image.
Sandeep, by and large, is more broad-minded than most Indian men his
generation, yet, he has insecurities and even I was surprised to
discover them. When I first starting writing, only Anjali spoke,
others were silent. Then all of a sudden, Sandeep starting speaking
and then Prakash. I think if I hadn’t delved into their minds, I’d
never have found out what they were feeling; they would never have
willingly volunteered that information.
IS:
You know, it surprised me when Prakash came on scene, but he took on
this third dimension by speaking in his own voice, and that helped
me see him as not just evil. Speaking of villains…Komal too is not
a very attractive character. Did this keep her from remarrying? You
say on page 95 that she was a 'pariah in society.' Is this still
true of modern Indian society? Are widows still treated as
nonentities?
AM:
Things are different these days. Don’t you agree? Our generation
deals with divorce, widowhood, remarriage in a completely different
light. I was talking to an old classmate about other old classmates
and was shocked to know that two of the girls I went to high school
with are now divorced. The India I left eight years ago; appears to
be different from the India today, at least for my generation.
Now my mother and grandmother’s generation look at divorce and
widowhood very differently. Anjali is more my mother’s generation
than mine and so is Komal. But in Komal’s case I can’t help but feel
that she is a pariah in society because she believes that is her
fate, her destiny. I remember my grandmother (who I barely knew)
always shaved her hair off as demanded by tradition of widows. I was
quite young when I tried to convince her that maybe she didn’t have
to do it anymore and I realized that this was not about me and my
convictions, it was about my grandmother’s belief that this was her
duty, her obligation.
IS:
What about that other unspoken rule in Indian society that a woman
must be dependant only on her son, not her daughter? Anjali's
mother talks of this briefly when she worries about the possible
consequences of her father's heart attack. What typically happens
to women who have only daughters?
AM: In Telugu we say
“adapilla” for girl; where “ada” means theirs and “pilla” means
girl. In defining a girl, the language-makers set the standard. The
girl never belongs to her parents, always to her in-laws. Several
parents and daughters I know would scoff at this unsaid rule, but I
know many tradionalists who would think it wrong to rely on a
daughter for financial support of any kind.
Women who have only daughters find themselves alone or they find a
home with a brother or some other male relative. I also know several
older women who make a home with their daughters and son-in-laws.
But Anjali’s parents are quite conservative and would stick to the
old traditions and not feel comfortable living with her in their old
age.
Did you feel that this was too much like a Hindi movie? Or does this
fit with your image of India as well?
IS: (laughs)
Well, yes, like a Hindi movie, but that's just an over-dramatization
of real life, isn't it? I think this is true, still true for many
people.
For me, one of the most uplifting
moments in the book was on page 174 when Anjali and Indira meet in
the bazaar. Why does Indira think it necessary to apologize for her
husband's behavior? And why does Anjali respond to this apology?
AM: I'm so glad you
liked that scene. It's my favorite scene as well, but before you no
one seemed to notice it specifically.
Indira is a little rattled after hearing her husband’s confession.
He’s a cheat and he did Anjali wrong. And when Indira sees Anjali,
she feels the need to wipe away some of Prakash’s sins and is
compelled to apologize. As a woman she also feels terrible for what
Anjali went through and wants to show that she understands.
That apology leaves Anjali happy. Not because she’s been waiting for
her first husband’s second wife to apologize to her; but because it
makes it clear to her that divorcing Prakash despite social pressure
was the right thing to do. From the first time she sees Prakash and
Indira, she wonders if Indira is living the life promised to Anjali.
But after the meeting in the bazaar, Anjali realizes she doesn’t
want Indira’s life; she doesn’t want a husband who she needs to
apologize for.
IS:
Who is your favorite character in the book, and why? (I know
authors get asked this question and it's very difficult to choose,
but I'd still like to know! Mine is Indira; I think for all her
flaws, she is endearing, for she knows how to forgive.)
AM:
Hard to say, I do like all of them; everyone, including Komal and
Anjali’s parents. They are all doing what they believe in and living
their lives as prescribed by society to them. But…since you ask, I
think I have to go with Indira and Harjot. I like it that Indira has
balls, so to speak, and she knows her mind. Harjot appeals to me
because she’s such a budding feminist and I like seeing that in
Indian women.
IS:
I know that there's no magic formula to creating a novel and that
every writer works at her own pace, in her own voice and style and
obeys her own discipline. And yet, it gives a struggling, fledgling
writer heart to know how an established writer works…so what is your
typical writing day like? Do you write everyday or only when you
are working on a novel?
AM:
I have no ground rules; I go against all the books there are about
writing everyday at the same time in a disciplined fashion. I write
when I need to and that makes every writing day unique. Sometimes I
write during the day when my son is away at daycare; other days I
write at night after everyone goes to sleep. On some weekends I kick
my husband and son out of the house and get a few hours. For me it
is all about: how badly do I need to write today? Some days the need
is very intense and other days I’d rather read a book or worse, sit
and watch television. If I didn’t have the writing demon sitting on
my head at all times, I probably would never finish a book. |
I
held the edge of my sari to my nose, hoping to dissipate some of the
spice in the air, but nothing would make the air clean.
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