Bharathi Ghanashyam

Rajammal Bharathi Ghanashyam

Rajammal is set in pre and immediate post-independence India. It is the story of a child-bride who despite being a part of a societal order that is unyielding, sculpts a world of her choice for herself. She does this with guile, innocence, strength, and character, all of which she uses to build a persona for herself. As the novel progresses, the reader gets a glimpse into her evolution from a childbride to a woman who is driven by a passion for life and a desire to break free from societal strictures. Born to a poor temple priest who is indebted to the village landlord, Rajammal becomes a pawn when her father dies and her mother is left with no option but to give her daughter in marriage to the landlord's son in lieu of her debts. In her husband, more than twice her age, she finds a sensitive, empathetic partner. In her quest for identity, Rajammal often faces moral dilemmas that she solves in a manner that is hers alone, and not drawn from precedents or dependent on norms. Rajammal is peopled by characters who are all strong in themselves, sometimes adversarial to Rajammal the protagonist, sometimes in open support of her. Several smaller stories are built into the larger framework. They create a multi-layered portrait of the times in which Rajammal lived. Rajammal the book is a kaleidoscope of emotions, incidents, stories, human failings, and strengths. It makes no excuses, it offers no judgments - it just seeks to draw the reader into the journey of Rajammal and travel along with the story. It seeks to provide an interesting read for a rainy afternoon or many summer afternoons.