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Book Review
Social issues
ARTHA NAREESHWARUDU: Hindi original by Vishnu Prabhakar, Telugu translation by C. Vasantha; Sahitya Akademi, Ravindra Bhavan, 35, Feroz Shah Road, New Delhi-110001. Rs. 250.
THE BOOK under notice is a Telugu translation of Vishnu Prabhakar's Hindi novel Arthanareeshwar, which won the Sahitya Akademi award.
Drawing inspiration from celebrated thinkers and philosophers like Mahatma Gandhi, Aurobindo, Marx and Ambedkar, the author makes an intrepid experiment in this fascinating novel of around 600 pages, rape being the dominant theme. Also discussed in three chapters are inter-personal relations between man and woman both within and outside marriage, as well as the dynamics of divorce.
Along with problems, the author offers solutions also. The victim should treat this as another crime; she needs sympathy but not revulsion. The rapist should never be allowed to go scot-free.
The envisaged total revolution will usher in a new society with freedom of religion and a common civil code. However, viewed in retrospect, most of the predictions of the author still remain a pipedream.
The narration is gripping and thought-provoking. Conversations create a sense of déjà vu. Bitter experiences of various women who underwent traumatic experiences are unfolded in swift gaits making the reader spellbound. The translation is competent. A brief write-up on the translator should have been helpful.
P.V.L.N. RAO
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