Author: Shashi Deshpande
Publisher: Penguin
Year: 2000-06-01
Language: English
Pages: 324
ISBN/UPC (if available): 0140294872
Description
Now in paper back edition, Shashi Deshpande's latest novel explores the lives of two women, one obsessed with music and the other a passionate believer in Communism, who break away from their families to seek fulfillment in public life.
Savitribai Indorekar, born into an orthodox Hindu family, elopes with her Muslim lover and accompanist, Ghulaam Saab, to pursue a career in music. Gentle, strong-willed Leela, on the other hand, gives her life to the Party, and to working with the factory workers of Bombay.
Fifty years after these events have been set in motion, Madhu, Leela's niece, travels to Bhabvanipur, Savitribai's home in her last years, to write a biography of Bai. Caught in her own despair over the loss of her only son Aditya, Madhu tries to make sense of the lives of Bai and those around her, and in doing so, seeks to find a way out of her own grief.
PRAISE FOR THE BOOK
Small Remedies is a book that should be bought, read and savored. It is as much of a page-turner as a tautly-written thriller. - The Hindustan Times
Small Remedies is a novel of quiet strength. - The Telegraph
With total control over her unwieldy material, Shahi Deshpande weaves a fabric of intricate design in this novel. - The Hindu
THE AUTHOR:
SHASHI DESHPANDE is the author of five novels besides Small Remedies, including That Long Silence which won the Sahitya Akademi Award. Her publications include five collections of short stories, four books for children and two short crime novels. Her works have been translated into various European and Indian languages.