Male Waltz over the Cemetery of the Innocent Women in Shashi Deshpande's The Binding Vine

Abstract

Focusing upon Indian Hindu conventional society.The Binding Vinetells the story of suppressed female characters named Mira, mother-in-law of the narrator Urmi, Kalpana, a young raped girl, Shakutai, an unfortunate mother of Kalpana, Sulu, Kalpana's misfortune aunt and unlucky sisters of Kalpana who were suffering too, due to the rape case of their elder sister. The narrator of story is the clever, sharp-tongued Urmi, grieving over the death of her baby daughter and surrounded by, but rebuffing, the case of her mother and her childhood friend, Vanaa. Despite this, shebecomes caught up in the discovery of her long-dead mother-in-law's poetry written when she was a young woman subjected to rape in her marriage and in Kalpana, who was hanging between life and death in a hospital ward, also the victim of rape. The Binding Vinegives a real life like characters and their daily activities especially of females and their feelings who were sufferingfrom so many problems. Although they were active and talentedthey could not cross the boundary which was drawn by the males in male dominated society.In spite of their effortto be autonomous creatures,they failed. Whenever females try to cross the social boundary theyget victimized.After therape of Kalpana by her own relative (uncle), not only she, her entire family members except her father, also were suffering equally. Similarly, Mira was also raped by her husband and got death reward. Females are the victims of the society whereas males are the victimizers. Being an educated lady, the narrator wants to revolt in conventional Indian Hindu society but sheis also tied withthe rope of binding vine from where shecannot escape. Yet in this web of loss and despair are the glimmerings of hope. Shashi Deshpande explores with acuity and compassion the redemptive powers of love.