Maai

The story of a family living in a large veranda in a small town in Uttar Pradesh. Grandfather commands outside, and Grandmother rules inside. Babu, Grandmothers favorite and grandfathers scornful. Mother, like a shadow, oversees everyones well-being. Occasionally, Aunt visits her parents home with her husband. A new generation is growing up in this family: an elder sister and a younger brother. The brother, during his studies, travels to a big city and then abroad, bringing the sister out into the world beyond the veranda. Both sister and brother love Mother to the point of neurosis, wanting to free her from the grip of the veranda. Written with utmost simplicity, this story reveals the middle-class life that thrives under colonial values even after independence, its joys and sorrows, and most of all, the life of a woman. Without any self-pity. In fact, Mother begins with a doubt about what she sees and understands. In their quest to free Mai, the sister and brother fail to see her in her true form and context. To themin their new generations thinkingMai is merely a helpless being. They fail to see her inner rage, her strength, her idealsher fire. Now that the sister has begun to understand this, it becomes necessary for her to become Mais narrator.