CHAPTER - II

Shashi Deshpande: Life And Career

Indian - English short story has been enriched by various

talented women writers. The contribution of Shashi Deshpande is
outstanding to short story. She is one of the few writers who write equally
in both forms, the novel and the short story. She has received the Sahitya
Akademi award in 1991 for her novel That Long Silence (1988). Her
another novel Roots And Shadows (1983) was awarded with ‘Thirumathi
Rangmmal Award’ for the best novel written and published in India for
the year 1982 - 83.
Shashi Deshpande was bom in 1938, in Dharwad, Karnataka,
in South India. Sriranga, her father, was a great dramatist, writer and
Sanskrit scholar. There is a major influence of her father on her writing
Her father was a Sanskrit scholar taught Sanskrit in college, he wrote in
Kannada, read English and had married a Marathi wife. Her home was a
harmonious mixture of languages. According to Shashi Deshpande there
are three things in her early life that have shaped her as a writer; her
father was a writer, she was educated exclusively in English and was bom
a female.1 She was educated in Dharwad, Mumbai and Bangalore, taking
degrees in economics and law. In her school days she has read Jane
Austen, the Bronte’s, Hardy, Dickens, and George Eliot. She is familiar
with Kalidas and Bhavbhuti in Sanskrit literature. She also has read Peter
Cheyhey and Agatha Christie which made her to write detective fiction.
She got married to a pathologist and had two children. At the
age of thirty she went to England with her husband and children. Her
husband suggested her to write about her life and experience in England.
She wrote three articles on her England trip. This is the beginning of her

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writing. Shashi Deshpande feels herself lucky because in her childhood
home and in her married home there was full freedom to her to think, to
live and to work her own way.2 After her marriage she has completed a
journalism course from Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan, Mumbai. There after she
took up a job as a journalist in the magazine The Onlooker. She worked
there for two months. It is very significant in her writing career because
she started writing short stories for the magazine. At first she wrote many
short stories in isolation and no one was aware about her writing. But
latter the women’s magazine ‘Femina’ and ‘Eve’s Weekly’ published her
short stories. She got consolation prize for one of her short stories
published in ‘Eve’s Weekly’.
The works of Shashi Deshpande has become famous at national
and international level. There are thirteen novels on her credit, out of
which four are for children. Her contribution also includes five short story
collections, one screenplay Drishtee (1990) and a collection of essays.
1. Novels:
(i) The Dark Holds No Terrors (1980)-
The novel focuses the world of successful doctor, Sarita. Sarita
is economically independent but she is a middle-class wife. Sarita’s
husband Manu feels embarrassed with the success of his wife. The male-
ego and Indian tradition destroy the life of Sarita. Sarita is made
conscious of her gender at her early childhood. Finally Sarita
compromises with her husband, Manu.
“ Sarita in The Dark Holds No
Terrors (1980) is women
reflecting in her (Shashi
Deshpande) small town
upbringing, domineering mother, a
jealous husband and a failing

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 jealous husband and a failing
marriage, waking up to the
realizing knowledge that there is
more to life than dependency on
husband and parents and social
acceptance.”3

The novel depicts the sexual harassment of Sara by Manu.

(ii) IfI Die Today (1982) -

%

This novel is her detective novel. The setting of her novel is

in the campus of medical college and hospital. Guru, a cancer patient,
who is admitted in the hospital, destroys the peaceful life of the doctors.
In the novel there are two murders. The narrator, Manju helps the story to
unfold.

(Hi) Roots And Shadows (1983)-

The protagonist of the novel, Indu is well-educated, modem,
middle-class womqp. The novel picturises the world of Indu. Her
husband, Jayant is a well-educated but a conservative type of man. The
story deals with the agony of Indu in a tradition-bound and male
dominated society. Siddhartha Sharma describes the character of Indu as,

“Feeling smothered in an
oppressive male- dominated and
traditional bound society, she
attempts to explore her inner self
to assert her individuality.”4

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£jv) Cornt Up And Bt 3>tQcl (1385)-
This is another detective fiction by Shashi Despande. The
novel sets in girl’s school. This novel was first published in a magazine in
serials. Kshama is a central character. In the story there are many
mysterious deaths in to girl’s school.

(v) That Long Silence (1988)-

Jaya is a protagonist of the novel. She is well-educated,
modem woman. She is a writer too.
“That Long Silence is a picture of
** the silence of the modem Indian
housewife. The novel portrays the
conflict between the narrators
split self-the writer and the
housewife.”5

Mohan is an ambitious man. The Indian tradition reflects in the novel that
husband is a centre and main support in the family and without him the
family becomes insecure and unsheltered. According to Shashi
Deshpande,
“A lifetime of introspection went
into this novel, the most
autobiographical of all my writing,
not in the personal details but in
the thinking and ideas.”6

Further she states that with the writing of this novel she became
"7 __
conscious of herself as a feminist. The protagonist, Jaya rebels against
the male-dominated society and denies to play the traditional roles of a
wife and mother.

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 (vi) The Binding Vine (1993)-
The Binding Vine depicts the story of Urmila. Like other
protagonists of Deshpande she is an educated, middle-class wife. With
Urmi the story focuses on
“Mira (Urmi’s mother-in-law) who
is a victim of marital rape and
Shakuntala” (a rape-victim’s
mother)8

Deshpande in this novel comments on the issues like sexual violence,

rape and society and marriage in Indian society. Unlike her other
protagonists Urmi fights not for herself but for other women.

(vii) A Matter of Time (1996)-

Unlike the other protagonist of Shashi Deshpande a male
character is a centre of the story. At the first time she makes a man, Gopal
the protagonist of the novel. Three generations of women of the same
family are presented here. Gopal has abandoned his family. Sumi is in
mental trauma because of his abandonment. After that she takes up a job
for herself and for her daughters. She has coped with the tragedy with
remarkable stoicism. The society gives worst punishment to Sumi
because she is a rejected woman by her husband.

(viii) Small Remedies (2000)-

The novel narrates the tragic story of a famous classical singer
Savitribai Indorker, doyenne of the Gwalior Gharana. Madhu Saptarishi
is writing a biography on Savitribai Indorkar. Both Madhu and Savitribai
experience suffering in marriage. Both are the victims of the double
standards of society.

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 (ix) Mooving On (2004)-
The latest novel by Shashi Deshpande is about the families. It
picturises the moving of life besides all the difficulties and problems. The
novel moves in between past and present. Mooving On is about Manjari
or Jiji Ahuja who is a complex character mingling between the
conflicting demands and roles of her life. The novel also portrays the
lives of other characters like Narayan or Baba, his wife Vasu or Mai and
Malvika (Malu).
The novels of Shashi Deshpande depict the women’s search
for self, a vivid picture of female psyche, relationships of protagonist and
place of female in the society. She puts forth the problems which a
woman faces in day-to-day life. Her experiences and observations are
reflected in her novels. The novels The Dark Holds No Terror, Roots and
Shadows, That Long Silence, The Binding Vine, A Matter of Time, Small
Remedies depict the domestic life of an individual. The novels If I Die
Today and Come Up And Be Dead are detective novels. There is an
influence of Agatha Christie on the detective fiction of Shashi
Deshpande.

2. Children’s Fiction -
Shashi Deshpande has written four children’s novels for her two
young sons and later published them. 3 Novels is a collection of three
novels. A Summer Adventure, Hidden Treasure, The only Witness.

(i) A Summer Adventure (1986)-

This is the first story in the collection. Polly, Dinu, Minu, live in
a small town and waiting for cousin, Ravi. He comes from Bombay to
spend his holidays with Polly, Dinu and Minu. The story deals with the

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spent' holidays with Polly, Dinu and Minu. The story deals with the
attempts of children to solve the mystery of robbery. At the end the whole
mystery is revealed.

(ii) The Hidden Treasure (1980)-

The story takes place in a village, on kaka’s farmhouse. The
children get involved in finding the treasure and this makes their Diwali
vacation memorable. The elements like mystery, adventure, action, child
life and humor are used effectively by Shashi Deshpande. She very
beautifully portrays the world of children in the story. Ravi, Dinu, Minu
and Polly are the main characters in the novel. The novel ends happily.
Children solve the riddle finally and they become successful in finding
out the treasure.

(Hi) The Only Witness (1980) -

In this story Polly, Dinu, Minu visit to Bombay to spend their
holidays with Ravi. Children try to find out bank robbers. At the end
Sanju is found and the mystery is revealed.

(iv) The Narayanpur Incident (1982) -

This is a story of children who participate in Indian freedom
struggle. There are Appa, Amma, their children Mohan (eighteen year
old), Babu (fourteen year old), and Manju in the story. All have strong
faith on Gandhi and want to fight for freedom. In the story there is a
beautiful portrayal of town life and village life in the story. The story
ends on the happy note. All members unite, Appa is released from the jail
and Mohan comes out of hiding. The Narayanpura Incident is a different
novel from other three novels of Shashi Deshpande.

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 The world of children, their excitements, curiosity, and innocence
are beautifully pictured by Shashi Deshpande. Every novel has an
optimist end. Adventure is a common theme in all the novels. Deshpande
uses very simple language, as it is children fiction. Deshpande shows that
how society, neighbors affect the children’s mind.

3. Short Story Collections -

There are five short story collections on her credit. The Legacy and
other Stories (1978), It Was Dark (1986), The Miracle and other Stories
(1986), It Was Nightingale (1986) and The Intrusion and other Stories
(1994). Shashi Deshpande has written more than ninety short stories and
those significant are published in two volumes, Collected Stories, Volume
1 and 2.
There is also a collection of essays written by Shashi Deshpande
entitled Writing from the Margins. This is her non-fiction writing. Her
essays in this collection have universal appeal. The essays are written in
Indian context in the social realities of the everyday life.
The short stories of Shashi Deshpande are about familial
relationships, social as well as psychological problems. The themes of
mother-daughter relationship, man-woman relationship, woman’s search
for self-identity not only as woman but also as human being are seen in
her short stories. Her concern shows that she wants to talk about the
familial as well as social problems through her stories. Usha Bande
observes that,
“Shashi Deshpande’s stories show
frankness and boldness nor found
so far in Indo-English short fiction.
Her women tend to be the
architects of their own fate. Hers

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 are the authentic, poignant tales of
the middle-class, educated women
and their exploitation in a
conventional, male-dominated
society.”9

Primary focus of the works of Shashi Deshpande is woman, her

emotional loss, woman bereft of love, understanding and companionship.
She wants to talk about how traditional customs are outdated and
irrelevant in today’s world, how the women in Indian society are opposed
by various social norms. According to Geetha T. N.,
“Shashi Deshpande’s chief thematic
concern with women’s struggle, in
the context of contemporary Indian
society, to find and preserve her
identity as wife, mother and most
of all as human being.”10

In the novels and short stories of Deshpande there is a portrayal

of woman in various roles. Her protagonists are mother, daughter, wife,
grandmother, sister, daughter-in-law, and mother-in-law and so on. In her
works Deshpande deals with the problems of woman like woman’s search
for love, quest for self-identity beyond the traditional roles, and
psychological, sexual, emotional problems. Though her women are
caught between various conflicts like conflict between tradition and
modernity, they are optimistic. She puts forth the life as it is.
In the most of the works of Deshpande there is an emotional
loss. The woman bereft of love, understanding and companionship is the
centre of her works. Her novels show her genuine concern for women. A
scholar of Shashi Deshpande’s writing Siddhartha Sharma points out,
“Her protagonists are acutely aware
of their smothered and fettered
existence in an orthodox male
dominated society. Caught
between tradition and modernity,
her protagonists search for their
identity within marriage.”11

The theme of rape within the marriage is discussed by

Deshpande in her fiction. This subject is not frankly discussed by society
even today
‘Deshpande’s work has helped to
break the silence on some
women’s issues which were not
discussed in the past and to raise
people’s awareness.”12

The female characters of Shashi Deshpande are middle class

women. They are well educated, brilliant, career oriented. They are,
according to Sondkar,
“tied in the shackles of norms,
taboos, culture, tradition and
behavioral patterns.”13

Her protagonists’ revolt against man made stereotype roles. But they do
not disturb their family and relationships. Deshpande’s women suffer a
mental trauma and emotional conflict. They do not turn their back to

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problems. They face bravely every problem and become successful to
solve the problems.
Most of her characters are common men and women. One can
identify himself with her character. It makes the reader one with the
work.
As the writing of Deshpande is women centered many
interviewers ask her as to what extent does she consider herself a
feminist? Shashi Deshpande answers,
“I now have no doubts at all in
saying that I am a feminist. In my
own life, I mean. But not
consciously, as a novelist. I must
also say that my feminism has
come to me very slowly, very
gradually and mainly out of my
own thinking and experiences and
feelings. I started writing first and
only then discovered my feminism.
And it was much later that I
actually read books about it.”14

But she denies to apply western feminist theories to her works.

Deshpande uses very simple English language. There is no
artificiality in her language. She uses an average, middle class English
language. Her language reflects the Indian middle class life. Siddhartha
Sharma points out,
“she writes about the middle class
people and the language used is
also middle class English,
 sometimes a little incorrect by the
British standereds.”15

Shashi Deshpande mostly uses the combination of the first

person and third person narrative technique. She also employs the
flashback technique effectively. In all her works Deshpande’s
protagonists go back into the past memories and compare their present to
past.
Many of her short stories are based on Hindu mythologies
like Mahabharata. According to Dr. Hemang Desai,
“In the short stories Shashi
Deshpande has breathed in life in
the mythical women characters
and has made them retell their
tales of agony and privation. In
these stories she tries to analyze
what myths mean to women and
how they affect their lives.”16

Shashi Deshpande began her writing with short stories. So

short stories play very important role in her writing career. She has used
many of her short stories to develop her novels. The three themes-
mother-daughter relationship, theme of man-woman relationship and the
theme of woman’s search for self identity are often found in her short
stories. Many researchers have dealt with her literary works; however,
most of the research done is related to her novels. Many have tried to
probe into her short stories from different angles. The present research
attempts to do the thematic study of her selected short stories. The stories

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probe into the inner psyche of woman. Shashi Deshpande, in her short
stories, deals with the life of Indian women in the modem period and
some of her short stories deal with the life of women depicted in the epic
of ‘The Mahabharata’,
There are about ninety short stories on her credit, out of which
forty' eight short stories are published in two volumes by Penguin Books.
The present study deals with the selected short stories from these two
volumes.

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 References

1. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/womenwriters/des
hpande_life.html.
2. http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/arts/features/womenwriters/des
hpande_life.html.
3. http://www.sawmet.org/books/authors.php?Deshpande+Shashi.
4. Sharma, Siddhartha, “Shashi Deshpande’s Novels A Feminist
Study”, New Delhi: Atlantic Publishers, 2005 P-17.
5. Ibid, P-38.
6. http://www.ch.8m.com.
7. http://www.google.co.in=biography+of+Shashi+Deshpande.
8. Sharma, Siddhartha,“Shashi Deshpande’s Novels A Feminist
Study”, op.cit, P-47.
9. Bande Usha Atma Ram, “Contemporary Indian Short Story”,
Women in Indian Short Story Feminist Perspective.
10. Geetha, T.N., “The Short Story of Shashi Deshpande”, The Indian
Women Novelist (ed) Dhawan R.K. Set III, Volume 4, New Delhi:
Prestige Books, 1995, P-171.
11.Sharma, Siddhartha, “Shashi Deshpande’s Novels: A Feminist
Study”, op.cit, P-15.
12.http://www.sawnet.org/books/authors.php?Deshpande+Shashi.
13.Sondkar, M.D.,“The Fiction of Shashi Deshpande: A Study”,
A Ph.D.Thesis submitted to Shivaji University Kolhapur,2007,P-20.
14.Sharma, Siddhartha, “Shashi Deshpande’s Novels: A Feminist
Study”, op.cit, P-16.
15.Ibid, P-74.
16. http:// www.authorsden.com

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