Through her words, patriarchy and sympathy seem to materialize on the pages. In the book “Under the Mango Tree”, Bina Pillai lets her language take shape through characters as strong as Diya, or through mastery of diction and her storytelling prowess.
When Diya is married off against her will to an orthodox family, she hopes to start afresh. Although she wins the heart of most of the people around, her relationship with her husband Rajagopal turns sourer and sourer day by day. Diya’s mind keeps taking her back to the love of her life, Aditya and the promise of togetherness they had made, while plating the solitary mango sapling in her garden. Days pass and Diya is soon blessed with two beautiful kids, and Rajagopal relentlessly goes on turning abusive. When Diya tries to save her dying marriage, what aspects of her past hold her back? Will she ever allow the love in her heart blossom like the luscious mango tree? How will she get her life back on track?
Bina Pillai’s writing serves as a direct reflection of the social stigmas, and the plot explores the various adversities of love and compromise. Be it Diya’s optimistic spirit or her unconditional affection for Aditya, Pillai makes sure her characters have enough space to grow and evolve, and imbibe the flavour of the traditional Indian society. The book hovers between the past and the present, and makes a dash to incorporate several unsaid nuances of our existence, that have stayed the same over the ages. While emanating a strange homely vibe, this book captures the toxic frame of vicious patriarchy like never before. The author makes the mango tree serve a metaphorical implication, to showcase the blooming feelings of compassion in our hearts, and the perennial crevices of it. On a much larger perspective, it transcends to become an essential treatise on self-sustenance and resilience.
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Thank you for your awesome review. You have written it beautifully.Love this one.
ReplyDeleteGlad you liked my effort (:
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