Uma Kulkarni

THIS IS A STORY OF A CITY GIRL WHO GOES TO A SMALL REMOTE VILLAGE IN KONKAN AFTER MARRIAGE, WITH SWEET DREAMS OF A HAPPY MARRIED LIFE. ONCE THERE, SHE GETS VARIOUS EXPERIENCES, FIGHTS AGAINST ALL THE ODDS AND ADVERSE CONDITIONS. MEANWHILE, HER HUSBAND IS MURDERED. NOW SHE FIGHTS ON LEGAL BACKGROUNDS TOO, ASKING, PLEADING, DEMANDING JUSTICE. THIS IS THE THEME OF THE NOVEL KETKAR VAHINI. THIS IS A TRUE STORY OF A WOMAN S LIFE AND HER MENTAL POWER AND COURAGE THAT DEPICT ALL THESE THINGS VERY INTERESTINGLY AND CAPTURE THE READER S MIND. AFTER THE DEATH OF HER HUSBAND, SHE NOT ONLY BRINGS UP HER CHILDREN BUT GIVES THEM HIGHER EDUCATION, SENDING THEM AT BARODA, PUNE, FOR HIGHER EDUCATION. WITH A WILL TO MAKE THEM SELF-RELIANT. THIS WAS A HERCULIAN TASK. BUT SHE DID IT IN THE SAME WAY SHE WINS MOST OF THE CASES IN VARIOUS COURTS, WHICH IS A GREAT ACHIEVEMENT. IN SHORT, THE NOVEL IS QUITE INSPIRING TO THOSE WHO ALWAYS GRUMBLE AGAINST THEIR POVERTY AND ODDS ARISING OUT OF IT

THIS COUNTRY IS WEIRD. IT IS A HUGE AND COLOURFUL COBWEB. THERE ARE JOBS HERE, MACHINES HERE, MECHANISMS HERE, HAPPINESS, TREASURES, DOLLARS, YOU WILL FIND EVERYTHING HERE. OUR PEOPLE FALL PREY TO THE LUXURY. BUT ONCE THEY REACH HERE, THEY ARE UNABLE TO TURN BACK. OUR COUNTRY ALSO HAS NOTHING TO CALL THEM BACK. OUR COUNTRY HAS THOUSANDS OF WINDOWS TO GO OUT, BUT NOT SINGLE DOOR TO CALL THEM BACK THROUGH, TO TAKE THEM IN. YOU WILL NOT BE ABLE TO IMAGINE THE LIFE THERE. ARE THOSE PEOPLE HAPPY WHO END UP BUYING ONLY IN SALES AND WHO KEEP ON MULTIPLYING THE DOLLAR WITH THE CURRENT RATE OF RUPEE? THERE THEY EARN THOUSAND DOLLARS AND WORK IN VERY ORDINARY CIRCUMSTANCES, BUT THEY PRETEND TO EARN 40 THOUSANDS AND TRY TO PROTECT THEIR VANITY. WE GO OVER THERE TO EARN DOLLARS, FOR THAT WE LEAVE EVERYTHING THAT WE ARE A PART OF, OUR PEOPLE, OUR RELATIVES, OUR ORIGIN, WE FACE THE HARSH WEATHER THERE BUT WE NEVER BECOME A PART OF THEIR LIFE. NONE OF THE INDIANS UNDERSTAND HOW COSTLY THIS DOLLAR IS FOR US. WE ARE CAUGHT UP IN THE MARSHY BUSINESS OF DOLLARS. THERE WE GET A MUCH BETTER JOB THAN WE DESERVE. THERE IS NO POLITICS OF LANGUAGE, CASTE ETC. WE CAN WORK IN A HAPPY ENVIRONMENT WITH A CONTENTED MIND. IF I LEAVE EVERYTHING AND COME BACK THEN I WILL BE VERY DEPRESSED.