Book Review: Love and Life Behind the Purdah – Cornelia Sorabji

A mother whipped to death for the sin of touching her daughter’s corpse; a vivacious girl-widow condemned to her husband’s pyre; a childless wife banishing herself so that her husband might marry another- all these and other issues surrounding orthodox India are dealt with to striking effect by Cornelia Sorabji in this collection of short fiction. The narratives contain a considerable amount of social realism and deal with important issues regarding women, some of which figured prominently in socio-religious reformist discourse of the nineteenth century. What sets these narratives apart from other historical accounts is a refreshingly new point of view. The book is novel on two counts. It provides one of the earliest illustrations of colonial response to British rule in India. Additionally, it provides a fresh perspective on the beginnings of Indian writing in English.

 

The daughter of a Parsee who converted to Christianity, three streams of cultural influences- British, Parsee and Indian- converged to shape Cornelia’s identity. While retaining the essence of their own heritage and living companionably with all races in India, the Sorabjis identified and aligned with the British colonialists, their perceptions of India and their mission to civilize it. Both these features are revealed in the present compilation.

 

Cornelia was the first woman student to graduate from Bombay University as well as pass the Bachelor of Civil Law examination from Oxford University, England. On her return to India she was appointed to represent under sanads, the purdahnashins (mostly royalty), who were wards of the British Government, thus gaining one-to-one contact with the life fictionalized in Love and Life….

 

‘Pestilence at Noonday’, the first story of the collection, presents a keen look at orthodox village life. Sorabji gives a graphic account of the ‘wise’ government’s efforts to control the plague which sweeps the village, despite severe orthodox opposition. This was due to the unshakeable faith in traditional cures, and the Brahmin belief that physical contact with foreigners meant pollution and loss of caste. In the story, these elements add up to a tragic- and avoidable- conclusion.

 

In ‘Love and Life’ Sorabji fictionalizes the unhappy marital experience of the purdahnashin Piari, the adolescent fourth wife of a Raja. Here the author challenges the custom of purdah as retarding women’s intellectual, emotional and physical growth. Piari is the traditional pativrata, conditioned from birth that her mission in life is to worship her lord and await his pleasure. She happily does so- till the Raja marries yet again; the new wife projects a sophisticated, westernized personality. The Raja is fascinated by this ‘new’ woman: Piari’s space is usurped, her budding passion and potential cruelly nipped, and she is left to pine her life away in silent grief.

 

In ‘Behind the Purdah’ Sorabji gives the reader a cynical insight into the Indian Zenana through the voice of Miss Rebecca, a strait-laced British spinster and doctor. Miss Rebecca visits the royal zenana to treat a Rani allegedly poisoned by an old ex- Rani of the same zenana. However, the doctor discovers that the old Rani has actually been framed by the younger women who, resentful of her interference in their lives, attempt to rid the zenana of her presence.

 

 ‘Greater Love’ is a poignant tale, conveying the cruel reception a barren wife receives from orthodox society. Matha Shri is the accursed barren wife whose very look is deemed inauspicious. Psychologically conditioned to submit to the dictates of religion and culture, she decides to make the supreme sacrifice- eliminate herself so that her husband might marry another. Matha Shri’s agonizing conflict is between the intensely private desire to cling to the husband so beloved of her, and traditional ideologies which require her to release him. ‘A Living Sacrifice’ deals with the barbaric practice of sati. The story depicts two child-wives and twins, Tani and Dwarki. Tani delights in life, and when unexpectedly widowed, protests vehemently against the imposition of sati. She is saved by her identical twin Dwarki, who masquerades as her sister and submits to the ritual. Through her, this uniquely Hindu ideal and the ways in which it was traditionally conducted are described in stark detail.

 

‘Love and Death’ deals with the catastrophic consequences of child-marriage. A couple, married and separated in infancy, meet and fall in love much later, not knowing the ironic reality and cursing their childhood rituals that bind them, as they imagine, to a loathed unknown. By the time the young man learns the truth, it is too late. ‘Urmi’ renders the impassioned monologue of a lovely young purdahnashin on her deathbed; she is doomed for being literate, for interacting with her husband on an equal footing, and it is her purdahnashin companions who have condemned her. ‘Achtar’ reiterates the colonialist stereotype of the Indian woman as ‘ half-devil, half-child’, either an innocent victim of the patriarchy, or a criminal capable of all kinds of primitive violence.

 

‘The Fire is Quenched’ fictionalizes the fatal punishment meted out to a devotee of Zoroastrian faith who has been ‘contaminated’ by physical contact with the corpse of her little daughter. The story provides a hazy, lyrical look into the domestic lifestyle of Zoroastrian priesthood, and explores the dark realities behind the tranquil front. ‘Malappa’ and ‘Pundit-je’ are vignettes of a faqir and an ascetic Hindu scholar. Both attempt to expose Hinduism as a melting pot of the ancient Sanskrit texts, superstition and paganism.

 

All the stories carry one similar strain- the portrayal of the Indian man as irresponsible, chauvinistic and indifferent to the plight of their women. Apart from tackling socials issues, the narratives are also skillfully crafted short stories that can be read purely for a pleasurable experience. However, it is to be noted that Sorabji’s own prejudices constantly intrude on her objectivity. Her purpose, evidently, is to align with the British by sharing with them their own prejudices against India and Indians as foolish, heathen and uncivilized, in desperate need of ‘civilized’ western reform.

#corneliasorabji #Writingaboutwomen #purdah #sati