Representation of Women in Laxman Mane's Upara
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Representation of Women in Laxman Mane’s Upara Tryambak Wahane Assistant Professor Jagadamba Mahavidyalaya Achalpur Abstract: Upara is a Sahitya Akademi Award winning autobiography written in Marathi by Laxman Mane. Born and brought up in a poor Kaikadi family, a nomadic tribe in Maharashtra, he rose to prominence after the publication of his autobiography. It was published in 1980 and awarded with Sahitya Akademi in 1981. It was translated into English by A. K. Kamat as Upara: An Outsider. He was honoured with India’s fourth highest civilian honour Padma Shri in 2009. He was also a Member of Maharashtra’s Legislative Council. Upara is considered as a path breaking literary work that depicts the struggles of its protagonist and unfortunate nomadic people. It records the life of Laxman Mane from his childhood to his youth, till his marriage. It narrates the story of extraordinary resilience and enterprise of its protagonist to study and lead a better life. His awakened self aspires for a respectable life. Besides his life story, Mane also documents the hardships in the lives of nomadic women. The present paper focuses on the representation of women in Upara. Introduction : Upara tells the life story of its protagonist who had to suffer severely because of his caste. His caste was placed at the lowest rung by the Chaturvarna System. They were looked down and treated as criminals by the upper caste people. Most of the year, they kept roaming from place to place in search of work. Their traditional occupation was to weave cane baskets and in wedding season they play bands. His father‟s insistence to educate him started this eventful journey. If he wouldn‟t have got this opportunity, he too would have perished unnoticed, roaming place to place, weaving baskets, playing drums in weddings, leaving on 582 the periphery near village cemetery or defecation ground, surviving on the leftovers and wearing tattered clothes. His education and contact with the outside world shaped his personality, gave direction to his life and added meaning to it. It sharpened his understandings and sensibilities and awakened him. It dawned upon him that he too has a right to better life like upper caste people. He realized that his caste was his biggest enemy and greatest hindrance in the way of his as well as his community‟s life. Mane‟s life had tested him on every step, but he didn‟t give up. His story is mostly a story of rejection. Despite all the obstacles in his path, he succeeded in completing his graduation. He was probably the first graduate from his community. It was a great accomplishment as none of his forefathers had ever set foot in school. He managed to marry a girl of his choice and his stay in Kolhapur for education brought him in touch with intellectual people who shaped his thought processes. While commenting on Upara Lalita Goswami rightly observes, “The whole book can be summarized as an insignificant man‟s graphic tale of how he tries to get education, marry a girl of his choice and earn a decent livelihood, while facing every kind of negation, rejection and denial.” (Goswami 130) Brought up in a surrounding of depravity, he had to put up fight with hunger and humiliation. Mane describes how his family used to survive mostly on leftovers received in alms or in exchange of baskets or mending old ones. He recalls how his mother would have to go hungry for days during rainy seasons. Upara is definitely an important literary work that brings to light the condition of Kaikadi community but it is also a very significant document that silently protests the treatment given to women. Upara records the pathetic condition of nomadic women. The story obviously revolves around Mane‟s struggles, but it also captures the struggles of many nomadic women. Mane describes their day to day struggle for survival. Despite sharing the burden of the family in equal measures with their counterparts, they contribution is hardly acknowledged. Along with sharing the load of work with their husbands, these women also used to fulfill their familial duties. In a way their contribution was more than their husbands. They all did this without any complaint. Mane‟s mother, Joshi‟s wife and Kergea‟s wife Tani are the best examples of this. They all share the same luck. The wife beating was a common practice. They always have to bear the frustration of their men. Mane recalls the brutality of his father, “Without a word, he picked 583 up a couple of green canes and tied them together. Mother was facing the other side. He went up to her quietly. With one hand he caught her by the hair and with the other started lashing her with the canes. Mother began howling loudly.” (Mane 21) Mane was extremely pained to see the wails on his mother‟s body. The crime she committed was that she had taken side of her son. When he ran away from home to avoid marriage he stayed with the family of one Kerea Vadari. The condition of his wife was no better. Mane writes about the brutality with which Kerea beat his wife. The scene took place when they went to fetch mud from river. As soon as they reached the river, Kerea went away and didn‟t return for a long time. All the while his wife Tani was working alone. No longer able to work further she stopped for a while to rest. Kerea came and saw his wife sitting, without waiting for a minute he started abusing her. When she retaliated as she too was angry, he brutally thrashed her with the baton of pickaxe because his male ego was hurt as she had insulted him in front of a Kaikadi boy. Such was their condition. Even after sharing the load of the family they received this treatment at the hands of their husbands. Actually her husband was at fault who went to drink country liquor as soon as he reached the river bed and she was the one who was working all the while. But she had to bear the brunt as she was a weaker and subordinate sex and the patriarchal social set up had bestowed every right on the husband to treat his wife the way he wanted. They both have been conditioned this way, one as the doer of the violence and the other as meek receiver. The wives have always been abused verbally. Big whores, sluts, bitch, adulteress these were the words with which they have been often addressed by their husband when they got angry. These women have to bear all the frustration of their men. Mane recalls how one of his neighbors in Satara demanded his wife to bring and cook meat for him in the night and when she told him that at this time of the night she couldn‟t arrange it, he started abusing her in foul words accusing her of having affair with other men. Mane also writes about one Pingla Joshi who was a fortune teller belonging to Nath Sect. He too would often accuse his wife of committing adultery and call her names. He describes how one day he refused to take his wife in his hut as she failed to return home before sunset. But the poor woman had gone to bring herbal medicine for him as prescribed by Mane‟s father for her husband as he was having high temperature. But he abused her without sparing thoughts for her good 584 intention and even refused to take medicine brought by her. He yelled at her, “Bloody whore! You brazen bitch! I‟ll get your mother screwed by a donkey. Sleeping around weren‟t you? (Mane 86) He didn‟t stop there. He asked her to get out of his sight as he didn‟t want to keep any relationship with her. The woman tells Mane‟s mother that in her community a woman must return home before sunset. With heavy heart she tells Mane‟s mother, “I spent all my life with this man. Each bone of my body has been worn out in his service. And seeing him in this condition I couldn‟t possibly let him die” (Mane 87) Despite such a dedication towards her husband and family the women had to suffer mental agonies. But she comes across as a strong woman. When no longer able to bear his accusations, she decided to walk away with her four children. She was not dependent on her husband to look after her children. She told Mane‟s mother that she was capable of taking care of her children. When finally he realized that his wife was leaving him her husband came back to senses and stopped her from leaving him. Mane reveals that there were same restrictions imposed on Kaikadi woman as well. The caste rules prescribed for women dictated that a Kaikadi woman should return home before sunset. If she failed to do so, she wouldn‟t be taken into the house. Even nobody was allowed to give her shelter. She had no other option but to go back to her father who would have to take her to Panchayat and the Panchayat‟s verdict in this matter was considered as final. Mane notes many such incidents where women had to suffer terribly both at home and outside as well. He recalls how a village mob humiliated his mother by tearing her sari and blouse. She had to cover herself with his father‟s shirt to save her honour.