R. K. Jaishree Karthiga

Women Liberators in Ambai’s “A Kitchen in the Corner of the House” and “Gifts”

C.S.Lakshmi, born in 1944 in Tamil Nadu, is a distinguished fiction writer in Tamil.She writes under the pseudonym Ambai. Her serious writing began with the long short story, ‘Siragugal Muriyum’, translated as ‘Wings’, which she wrote in 1967. Most of her stories are about relationships and they contain brilliant observations about contemporary life. Exploration of space and the importance of communication are the recurring themes in her works.

Ambai’s A Purple Sea is a collection of seventeen stories. Her women characters are made of flesh and blood and they express all their desires and fantasies without any qualm. Most of the short stories of Ambai take the readers by surprise. The awareness shown in her stories is almost entirely from the woman’s point of view. The Indian woman has realized that the role of “Cinderella” does not suit real life. She has learned to keep her eyes open to fight against the social injustices towards her. Though Ambai presents her women characters as ‘unpaid servants’ and ‘submissive wives’, most of the characters show a new will and strength as they are no longer content with their roles as ‘little angels.’

The passive feminine has ceased to exist. In her place, we have the highly intelligent sensitive woman who questions ceaselessly. She looks around and refuses to accept the myths created and nourished by a male ordained society. She reacts against the curious combination of passion and romance, custom and convenience and other trade offs to meet dependency needs that have drawn and held men and women in the past. She is sensitive enough to react violently and her reaction which is abrupt and unexpected earns her name.

“A Kitchen in the Corner of the House” is an outstanding story that concentrates on the experiences of women. It highlights diverse abstract themes such as liberation of women, position of women in the past and the present, symbols of freedom and renaissance of women. In “A Kitchen in the Corner of the House”, the tradition that a woman should never advice a man is broken by Minakshi, the daughter-in-law of Papaji. When others do not care about the kitchen, Minakshi daringly asks Papaji to extend the kitchen.

‘Papaji, why don’t you extend the verandah outside the kitchen? If you widen it, we could have some chairs out there. If you then build a wash place to the left, you could have a really wide basin for cleaning the vessels. And then beyond that, you could put up some aluminium wire for drying the clothes’. (A Purple Sea 234)

All the others in the family are amazed and they stand like statues. Radha Bhabhiji stares fixedly at her. Kusuma straightens her veil to hide her agitation. Nobody dares to support her view. Minakshi wants to overcome all the traditional roles that humiliate women.

Some centuries ago, women were treated very badly by the men folk. They did not give freedom to their wives. At that time, women had no uniqueness of their own. They were confined to the kitchen. They were treated as machines and producer of babies. They were expected to be calm and unspoken throughout their lives.

Papaji, the man of the past has this same kind of thinking. He expects women to be meek and submissive. That’s why he murmurs at her advice. Though the state of the kitchen remains untouched, Papaji murmurs: “Dark skinned woman, you who refuse to cover your head, you who talk too much, you who have enticed my son….”  (A Purple Sea 235)

He also teases his son, Kishan for helping his wife in cooking. We also come to know their way of selecting a bride. When Minakshi asks Jiji what kind of daughter-in-law she prefers for her son, she replies that she is looking for a fair-skinned, educated and a quite woman. In the past, no one liked the dark-skinned woman. Kishan’s concept is entirely different from Papaji’s concept of woman. His notion shows the current status of women. At present, women are treated equally with men. They have freedom of speech and exercise other rights. Now, they are playing significant roles in all fields. It is only Kishan who supports his wife’s idea of expanding the kitchen. When his wife cooks a Mysore style meal, it is he who slices onion and chilly for her.

In today’s fast-moving competitive world, both husband and wife are going to work. So, they both have to share the household duties. Mostly, women are expected to fulfill the needs of a man. But in this story, we see Kishan making tea for his wife!

In this story, Ambai uses certain symbols that echo liberty and emancipation of women. In the first part of the story, we find images of beautiful green mountains and a temple. Unfortunately, such a beautiful sight is hidden by the clothes line. Here, mountain is used as a symbol of liberation.

There were green mountains outside the window that looked eastward from the kitchen. Somewhere on top of them there was a white dot of a temple. A temple to Ganesha. The cooking beneath this very window. The green mountains might have made one forget one’s chapped heels. But since the clothes line was directly beyond this window, trousers, shirts, pajamas, saris, and petticoats spread out to obscure the view. (A Purple Sea 231)
In the last pages of the story, Jiji gets heart-attack. When she is relieved from pain, Minakshi goes and helps her to change her dress. At that time, she starts a conversation with Minakshi about her past life. Jiji tells her that she was under the control of Papaji. Hearing that, Minakshi asks her to come out of all the bonds of society.

Jiji, no strength comes to you from that kitchen; nor from that necklace nor bangle nor headband nor forehead jewel.
Authority cannot come to you from these things.
That authority is Papaji’s.
From all that
Be free
Be free
Be free. (A Purple Sea 250)
Minakshi helps her realize the real meaning of emancipation and freedom:
When you touch bottom you will reach the universal waters. You will connect yourself with the world that surrounds you.

Your womb and your breasts will fall away from you. The smell of cooking will vanish away. The sparkle of jewellery will disappear. And there will be you. Not trapped nor diminished by gender, but freed. (A Purple Sea 252)

In “Gifts”, the image of a purple sea symbolizes the emancipation of women. The narrator herself yearns over a painting of a purple sea. This comes back to haunt her in the shape of the purple sari of a dominated, housebound woman who is her generous hostess. Even as a little girl, the narrator craves to see the sea. She longs for freedom. She wishes to create an identity of her own.

There was a book in our house, when I was a small child. It had many photographs. Of the sea. With waves, covered in foam. In some photos the sea was still as a mirror. But I’ve seen the sea at Tiruchendur. Once when I was very ill I kept calling for the sea in my delirium. (A Purple Sea 10)

In western countries, the problem of women is identity crisis, job inequality and sexual roles. But in India, the condition of women is quite different. It is a case of stark existence and she has to be in constant struggle with social mores and tradition. The woman seeks to be an emancipated self. The aim is to be a whole human being regardless of difference in sex.

Woman is idealized as the paragon of virtue and chastity, but she is no longer the passive prisoner. Today, she is the symbol of imagination and sensibility who questions the forces affecting humanity. She is now a symbol of growth, purity and development. She has become the means to take a glimpse into the unknown aspect of Indian social life. She seems to have emerged from the dark recesses of dark ‘haveli’ and from her ‘purdah.’ Ashokamitran, a critic remarks:

Generally speaking, Ambai’s stories consistently present woman as a thinking, analyzing person placed in a variety of situations. Whether within the four walls of her home or outside them, she is a woman who isn’t used to submitting. In one story where that happens – ‘Wings; - it is without loss of integrity. The woman plays the game as well as the partisan rules will allow her to. The men in the stories appear as shadows, sometimes as ominous ones, but that vision is the author’s prerogative.

Ambai’s stories in the collection make one undergo a necessarily disorienting but ultimately immensely rewarding course in humanity and decency. A Purple Sea deserves to be treasured for it gives an unambiguous view of the situation of women in India. It not only produces an understanding of the various tribulations faced by women but also provides the essential strength to fight against the social discrimination.

 

 

Works Cited

Ambai. A Purple Sea. Trans. Lakshmi Holmstrom. Chennai: Affiliated East -West Press, 1992.

Anantharaman, Latha. Rev. of A Purple Sea, by Ambai. The India Magazine of Her People and Culture Dec. 1997: 66.

Ashokamitran. “Thinking Changes too”. Indian Review of Books Sept. – Oct. 1997: 35.
Jaidev. “Against ‘So What’s “. Indian Review of Books Nov. – Dec. 1997: 48 – 50.

Nandakumar, Prema. “A Soul on Fire”. Rev. of A Purple Sea, by Ambai. Indian Book Chronicle   4 May. 1995: 46.