See a Problem?
Thanks for telling us about the problem.
Friend Reviews
Community Reviews
This book is based on a very sensitive subject - Vitiligo. It portraits the inner strength of a woman who discovered herself in the best way she could when no one was there to give her a helping hand. There are very few books that make you cry or comp
"Of the thousands of flowers that blossom on a tree, only a few will bear fruit. And out of those few fruits, insects and squirrels will eat some. The tree does not keep anything for itself. Does that mean that the life of the tree is wasted?"This book is based on a very sensitive subject - Vitiligo. It portraits the inner strength of a woman who discovered herself in the best way she could when no one was there to give her a helping hand. There are very few books that make you cry or compel you to think about your stand on certain social issues and taboos - this book is one of them. Though it is a very simplistic and beautifully written novel, it serves as a 'reality check' for us. One tends to get so busy with routine life and family that we forget our basic human emotions like compassion, empathy, unconditional love and friendship.
I have started reading this book wondering whats the meaning of "Mahashweta" is and found that this is a "blink and you may miss it" kind of classics. Here is a pattern I observe in the author's books I've read so far. Though the protagonists are from rural India with high cultural values, they are never shown as dependent or submissive to the male-dominated society. No matter what they go through in this society, they have always taken a stand for themselves and stayed there till the end.
...more
Dr Anand falls head over heels in love with beautiful Anupama when he sees her for the first time and soon marries her. Later Anand flies to England for his higher studies leaving Anu behind, telling her to join him, meanw 'Mahashweta' is based on a very sensitive subject - Vitiligo. The story is poignant and expressed in very simple language by Sudha Murthy. In this story, she clearly explains how insensitively our society behaves towards a person who is suffering from Vitiligo, educated or not!
Dr Anand falls head over heels in love with beautiful Anupama when he sees her for the first time and soon marries her. Later Anand flies to England for his higher studies leaving Anu behind, telling her to join him, meanwhile, Anu is diagnosed with leukoderma/ Vitiligo. All alone with no one to take care of her, she seeks emotional support and soothing words from Anand. Being a doctor himself she has full faith in him, but all she gets in return is his aloofness. Her faith is tested in every step from there on, neither she is allowed to live peacefully in her in-law's place nor her parents. That is when she takes her life into her own hands and decides to live independently without any inhibitions and succeeds in the end.
Though the ending is not 'happy-ever-after nevertheless it is inspiring and uplifting enough.
https://varshasbookshelf.blogspot.com/
...more
This book portraits the inner strength of a woman who discovered herself in the best way she could when no one was there to give her a helping hand, not even her so called husband who was desperate to make her his own for the rest of his life......
After finding that the lady is suffering from leukoderma, he did not give a second thought on thinking to be with her as he should have.....Definitely inspiring, loved every wor Started reading this book wondering whats the meaning of "Mahashweta ".....
This book portraits the inner strength of a woman who discovered herself in the best way she could when no one was there to give her a helping hand, not even her so called husband who was desperate to make her his own for the rest of his life......
After finding that the lady is suffering from leukoderma, he did not give a second thought on thinking to be with her as he should have.....Definitely inspiring, loved every word of this book.
Sudhamurthy continues her journey showcasing every bit of human's realistic characters....Thumbs Up!!! ...more
In Mahashweta, we follow Anupama, described to be one of the most beautiful woman one has laid eyes on, fall in love, get married. and her world falling at her feet when she contracts a skin disease Leukoderma, otherwise known as Vitiligo.
Sudha Murty knows her audience, and she doesn't care about them. She bluntly yet bravely shows them what is wrong with their mindsets and in turn makes us question our morals, our innermost trepidations; all the while making the process as simple as possible.In Mahashweta, we follow Anupama, described to be one of the most beautiful woman one has laid eyes on, fall in love, get married. and her world falling at her feet when she contracts a skin disease Leukoderma, otherwise known as Vitiligo.
Anupama is the daughter of a poor schoolmaster. Anand is a rich doctor. Their match was made in the heavens. But heaven rots to hell for both of them when Anupama discovers her disease. Her rich mother-in-law sends her away to save face, and so does her stepmother. Lost, Anupama heads to Bombay, where she makes a living for herself.
Coming to term with the climax of life, and accepting oneself form a major part of the story, along with moving on from a treacherous past.
THOUGHTS
I have no idea what to think of this book. The message is important and the story is one to behold. Sudha Murty impeccably manages to question yourself and the way of life. The way she has managed to capture the shallow mindset of Indian villagers is new to me. Not many Indian writers try to write out so honestly about their culture and way of life. That is another reason, why this book might appeal more, only to Indian readers. The characters of Anupama and Anand teach us a lesson or two. The character development that takes place within these 150 pages is amazing. And the topic of Vitiligo was handled well, but I do feel, the 'untold' story of the rest of the characters should also have been assessed. In the midst of it all, Sudha Murty herself profusely displays her 'standard' Indian nature, with the descriptions of beauty and wealth as a domineering aspect of one's life. Quite hypocritical actually.
Either way, this wasn't a remarkable book, neither am I going to remember the characters for much long. But this was an important read. I would definitely want to try more of Sudha Murty's works.
...more
Past day I read her most book, titled "Mahashweta" I was curious when I started the book as I knew author not only writes fiction but somewhere she strengthens the personality of readers via her characters. And that what's the real teachers do. They teach you life's most important lessons which enveloped into stories, giving us examples how one reacts in particular situaltion. And I'm announcing happily Surdha Murthy Ji is incomparable into that.
If we talk about the basic story line, actually it is a thought provoking novella, in which the protagonist was a girl, named Anupama. Her family was not financially strong but her beauty and her prominent character directed her to world of art, she started doing theatre where she met her hero, Dr. Anand. They got married but somehow Fate played a cruel role and the person her husband who convinced anupama that he would love her the most…come what may, left her in the middle of world. Then story revolved around her struggle how she enabled herself to cope up all this obstacles. At last when her husband come to her but…. Hey You …Read the novel. Don't let me spoil the whole story.
It is example of good literary fiction. I'm bit late though it is Highly Recommended!
Blog Link: https://soundingwords.blogspot.com/20...
...more
In the simplest of the words she always conveys the message to lead a meaningful life.
Through this book, Author narrates the story of a very beautiful Woman named Anupama who is from a middle class family. A wealthy doctor named Anand gets attracted to her because of her beauty and theatre skills. They eventually got married. Anand went to abroad for further study. One fine day Anupama saw an unfortunate white spot on his skin on
Simplicity has always been a speciality of Sudha Murthy's writings.In the simplest of the words she always conveys the message to lead a meaningful life.
Through this book, Author narrates the story of a very beautiful Woman named Anupama who is from a middle class family. A wealthy doctor named Anand gets attracted to her because of her beauty and theatre skills. They eventually got married. Anand went to abroad for further study. One fine day Anupama saw an unfortunate white spot on his skin on her leg, eventually such spots starts showing up on her hands and other body parts. Anand's mother made Anupama's life hell by her tantrums and her nastiest behaviour because of her disease and eventually Anupama's father took her back to his home in the village.
Not able to withstand the circumstances of helplessness, Anupama decided to lead her life in a meaningful way and moved to Mumbai.
As I read the further story, I grow immense liking for Anupama and my hatred rose for Anand as well. The way Anupama transformed her life was truly commendable. Hats off to her spirit and her way of leading a eloquent life after going through such tragic past. One must read this book to know about the rest.
A highly recommended inspiring read for every reader.
...more
I was Awe-struck by the character of the protagonist and though the book looks simple in its language and story, the values it indented, Phew!! The book is not about Modern Women, Urban Life, its not about rustic people rather its about Everything in Life. I read this books only for three hours and this would definetly stick to my heart for ages.
Ms.Murthy Mill This a Must Read Book for Everyone.I Started this book as a leisure read, but as pages passed,i realised this,was not just a pageturner.
I was Awe-struck by the character of the protagonist and though the book looks simple in its language and story, the values it indented, Phew!! The book is not about Modern Women, Urban Life, its not about rustic people rather its about Everything in Life. I read this books only for three hours and this would definetly stick to my heart for ages.
Ms.Murthy Million hats off to you.
Please add to your Cart, If you Haven't yet.
...more
Sweet-cute-super-gorgeous but poor Anupama and handsome - WellToDo Back-grounded doctor Anand ends up starting their life in a fairy-tale marriage. Anand leaves to England for higher studies while Anupama discovers white patches on her leg. She finds out that she has been affected by Leukoderma or Vitiligo. Cure for this disease varies from person to person and she's seriously affected. Abondaned by her husband & in-laws disheartened Anupama leaves to h A 1000 episode'd mega-serial kind of story.
Sweet-cute-super-gorgeous but poor Anupama and handsome - WellToDo Back-grounded doctor Anand ends up starting their life in a fairy-tale marriage. Anand leaves to England for higher studies while Anupama discovers white patches on her leg. She finds out that she has been affected by Leukoderma or Vitiligo. Cure for this disease varies from person to person and she's seriously affected. Abondaned by her husband & in-laws disheartened Anupama leaves to her village. Nobody is supportive to her there at her village. She meets curses and rumours about her ownself everyday. She leaves to Mumbai to her friend Sumithra's home & stabilizes herself with a job. Her good heart and quick wit earns the love of people to her. She meets with an accident and there at the hospital she befriends sensible Dr. Vasanth. All goes well and Vasanth proposes her to marry him. She understands that Vasanth's love is born out of the sympathy towards her. At the same time, Anand finds her and convinces her to join him. Once, her world revolved around Anand. But its all different now. She bravely disagrees. She walks out of all emotional strings and continues to maintain a healthy but kinda secluded relationship with people.
I've heard a lot about Sudha murthy's works but I'm really disappointed with this book. This novel, being the first read for me from Sudha Murthy's writings, I had lot of expectations. The story dragged here and there with pages filled with dramatic scenes. Yes, the informations about sanskrit plays were interesting. But it was an usual story-line with no twists and turns. Bores the reader with monotonic phase :(
...more
This is my first Sudha Murthy book! I had been meaning to read her for a long time. I picked up 'Mahashweta' at the airport recently after really liking the synopsis. I thought it would be an empowering story about a woman realising her true worth, and it turned out to be exactly that. I loved the character development that the protagonist, Anupama, went through in just 150 pages. Her journey left me feeling good and empowered.
Mrs. Muthy's writing is lucid and gripping. I finished the book
3.5/5This is my first Sudha Murthy book! I had been meaning to read her for a long time. I picked up 'Mahashweta' at the airport recently after really liking the synopsis. I thought it would be an empowering story about a woman realising her true worth, and it turned out to be exactly that. I loved the character development that the protagonist, Anupama, went through in just 150 pages. Her journey left me feeling good and empowered.
Mrs. Muthy's writing is lucid and gripping. I finished the book in a few hours.
The story, however, is like a fairytale - predictable and sometimes 'extreme'. It was full of familiar tropes, and I didn't like how everyone, including Anupama herself, considered Anupama to be morally superior because she was "pure" before marriage. It is probably just a generational thing, so it may not bother every reader.
I would still consider 'Mahashweta' a good introduction to Sudha Murthy's literature in my mid-20s. Her simplistic, feel-good stories are a welcome change from the difficulties of life. I am curious to read more of her books.
...more
Mahasweta, even if it is a fictional story of a woman who affected with Luekoderma, it actually tells the real story o Racism, the term we used to hear from the westerners, who hates the ones who were darker than them. But this term exists all over the world in a different name and feature. In India, people with dirty mindset who thinks some disease as curse of god and isolates people, this is also dangerous than Racism. India is unfortunately the birth place of people with this kind of mindset.
Mahasweta, even if it is a fictional story of a woman who affected with Luekoderma, it actually tells the real story of 1000s of individuals with Luekoderma or similar conditions.
Sudha Murty beautifully portraits the life of a girl and how her life changes drastically with a mere pigment change in her skin. For a female, marriage and giving birth is not the ultimate objective. She needs to be independent without the help of men. Anupama, despite of all her setbacks she tried to be Optimistic and lives a life which inspires many. ...more
What happens next is a lesson must be learned for the conservative minds who can not look a person beyond their appearance.
Simply and powerfully narrated.
Sudha Murty was one author whose works I had shunned for so long due to this same prejudice. I thought of her as someone who was making hay as the sun shined – hogging limelight more for her being the spouse of Narayanamurty, the legendary founder of Infosys, than for her own literary prowess. This book proved me wrong completely. This book is a flowing tale of a female protagonist, who gets shunned by all and sundry, including the man who 'loved' and married her, for the only reason that she has started developing white patches on her skin.
Anupama is your quintessential Indian heroine, her beauty sans pareil, her intelligence of highest order, everything about her good and lovely. The only defect about her is her poverty. Anand is an equally charming, equally brilliant, but abundantly rich hero, who falls in love at first sight with our heroine. Then come the typical step-mother and the equally typically incapable father of Anupama. On Anand's side are his mother, who is bent on flaunting her social status, and an arrogant sister. When Anand from high-society falls in love with Anupama, they get married without any trouble. While everything seems to be going in Anupama's favor, she develops 'leukoderma', which results in her developing white patches on skin. As could be expected, she gets shunned by her in-laws, with her husband proving to be utterly uncaring. Returning to her maternal home, she gets ill-treated by her step-mother as could be expected. While on the verge of killing herself, she has her epiphany and decides to take charge of her life. Was she able to rebuild her life? Did she find the overcome the 'stigma' of skin deformity in a society obsessed with mere external beauty? The book answers these questions.
The tale is written in a simple, flowing, interesting manner. But nothing about the book feels original. The events all remind you of those sad Indian movies of 1950s and 60s. The end is, again, not much convincing or, as modern-day 'feminists' might say, 'ground-breaking'. Also the claim that there is a similar novel with the same name, written by Marathi author Sumati Kshetramade, leaves a not-so-pleasant taste in the mouth.
This book is a nice read, but nothing much can be taken from this.
Mahashweta – mixed emotions!
...more
~
"Of the thousands of flowers that blossom on a tree only a few will bear fruit. And out of those few fruits, insects and squirrels will eat some. The tree does not keep anything for itself. Does that mean that the life of the tree is wasted?" - Sudha Murty.
~
I cannot get enough of Sudha Murty's books and I have my reasons for it. Her writing is enthralling not because she's writing about something new and unheard of but for the fact that she addresses the existing social stigmas. Maha Mahashweta.
~
"Of the thousands of flowers that blossom on a tree only a few will bear fruit. And out of those few fruits, insects and squirrels will eat some. The tree does not keep anything for itself. Does that mean that the life of the tree is wasted?" - Sudha Murty.
~
I cannot get enough of Sudha Murty's books and I have my reasons for it. Her writing is enthralling not because she's writing about something new and unheard of but for the fact that she addresses the existing social stigmas. Mahashweta is a very educative read not in the academic sense but on the front of morality and humanity. This is the story of Anupama who has always been an ethereal beauty but leukoderma changes her once happy World into a nightmare. Anupama and Anand get married after falling in love inspite of the differences in their social statuses. Soon after their wedding Anand leaves for England to study masters in medicine and Anupama is left behind with a mother-in-law and a sister-in-law who detest her. Anupama wakes up one day to find a white patch on her skin and as she feared, is diagnosed with Leukoderma.
~
Her mother-in-law abandons her and shuns from the house while Anand is disgusted by his wife's disease. Anupama then leads a life of loneliness and falls into depression until one day she decides to start afresh. She moves to Bombay and finds a job to support herself with the help of a friend. She regains her lost confidence and embraces her condition. What follows next is her journey through life with its ups and downs. The story inspite of being quite predictable has been wonderfully written. Any person trying to seek courage and strength will find solace in this book. The writing is simple yet very intimate. A small read which can be finished in a single sitting.
~
Rating -3.8/5. #mahashweta ...more
The final chapter/Prologue was the best part of this book where the write shares a true incident that occured with her after the novel was published. There are some very well written and meaningful quotes throughout the book. Overall it was a fantastic read and somewhat an eye opener.
...more
It teaches to be the writer of our life. We must love ourselves the way we are; only then we can overcome any difficult situations with courage and resilience.
Like her other books it is also a women centric story and focuses on indian family drama of class, cast ,culture and religion.
It's a story of a girl suffering from leukoderma and how the disease impacted her married life.Even her eductaed and insensitive husband did not come in support for her and how she manages to rebuild her life and be financially independent.
Sudha Murty tried to show the apathy of society towards the people suffering from the diesease but s Easy read can finish it in a day.
Like her other books it is also a women centric story and focuses on indian family drama of class, cast ,culture and religion.
It's a story of a girl suffering from leukoderma and how the disease impacted her married life.Even her eductaed and insensitive husband did not come in support for her and how she manages to rebuild her life and be financially independent.
Sudha Murty tried to show the apathy of society towards the people suffering from the diesease but somehow the connect factor was missing. It did not touch my heart and I did not grieve or rejoice with the characters. ...more
I have become a true fan of Mrs Murty's writing. I love the subjects she choses to write about. I love her work, both on and off paper. I wish I get the opportunity to meet her one day. About Mahashweta, what a magnificent story. Sad reality, but love Anupama's courage and belief in herself. I love how compassionate she is towards everyone, inspite of the things she had to go through. I understand where she comes from, to have a blemished skin can be a curse. But I have come to believe with expe
I have become a true fan of Mrs Murty's writing. I love the subjects she choses to write about. I love her work, both on and off paper. I wish I get the opportunity to meet her one day. About Mahashweta, what a magnificent story. Sad reality, but love Anupama's courage and belief in herself. I love how compassionate she is towards everyone, inspite of the things she had to go through. I understand where she comes from, to have a blemished skin can be a curse. But I have come to believe with experience, there ARE people in this world who look much beyond those acne marks! (or leukoderma, in Anu's case) Those are the people one should hold on to, and let go of all those who are just immature. People who pass comments forget that, if given a choice, everyone would have opted for a flawless beautiful face! But unfortunately some things are not in our control. These skin imperfections are why dermatologists are earrning their living. ;) So let's be happy for them! And those who isolate people with skin problems, and judge solely on physical appearances, well... y'all need to get a life. lol. All said and done, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. I especially love the ending, and the message Mrs Murty has tried to convey through this story. Just like some of us wait after the credits have rolled, at the end of the movie, for a sneak peek in to what happened to the characters & story of the movie, do not miss out Mrs Murty's experience story in real life, at the end of the book. That story alone says a lot about the book. A good read in my opinion.
...moreHer books have been translated int
Sudha Murty was born in 1950 in Shiggaon in north Karnataka. She did her MTech in computer science, and is now the chairperson of the Infosys Foundation. A prolific writer in English and Kannada, she has written nine novels, four technical books, three travelogues, one collection of short stories, three collections of non-fiction pieces and two books for children.Her books have been translated into all the major Indian languages and have sold over three lakh copies around the country. She was the recipient of the R.K. Narayan's Award for Literature and the Padma Shri in 2006.
...moreNews & Interviews
Welcome back. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account.
Source: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/2107696.Mahashweta
Posted by: iselavanlaeree06819.blogspot.com
