Q. What
are the major themes of the novel “Dollar Bahu”?
Ans. Sudha Murthy is a voluminous Indian
woman writer. “Dollar Bahu” is one of her popular novels. It is originally
written in Kannada language. It was published in 2005. Sudha Murthy herself has
translated the novel into English. It is divided into 27 chapters. Every
chapter can be read as a separate story. “Dollar Bahu” is a story of a middle
class Indian family. It deals with the following themes:
1. The
Dehumanizing Effect of Globalization on the Traditional Indian Psyche :
In the wake of Globalisation, the process
of brain-drain became fast. The novelist Sudha Murthy has been closely related
to the professionals in IT industry through her company Infosys. She minutely
observed the changes in the bahaviour of the young male and female employees of
the IT sector. Her first-hand knowledge of the people in the industry is
reflected in the novel “Dollar Bahu”. The last decade of the twentieth century
witnessed amazing boom in the IT sector of the Indian industries. Thousands of
boys and girls preferred to take engineering degree in IT because it opened new
opportunities within and outside India for them. It also provided them with an
opportunity to go abroad, particularly to America, and earn dollars in
thousands. Growth and development in IT and their positive economic
implications enchanted Indians though the other side of this boom was gloomily
dark. It eroded the personal relations not only in Indian society but also
within the family. Sudha Murty has dealt with this phenomenon in Dollar Bahu.
Gauramma wants her sons become engineers and earn money in terms of dollars.
Her elder son fulfils her desire. But it makes a very bad impact on the
behaviour of her daughter-in-law.
2. Greed for
Money:
Gauramma is one of the major characters in
the novel. Gowramma has a tremendous greed for money. Therefore, she desires
costly clothes and jewellery . She feels envy of other women who are rich. She
is a wife of a common school teacher Shamanna. Shamanna has a meager salary.
Gouramma cannot fulfill her desire for costly clothes and jewellery . She wants
her children do high-profile jobs and thereby earn money so that she can
satisfy her desire for money, costly clothes and jewellery. Har elder son
Chandru fulfills her desire. He becomes an engineer and goes to America. He
earns a salary in dollars. In this way, Gauramma is overjoyed. Afterward,
Chandru marriage to Jamuna. Jamuna knows about Gauramma’s greed for money.
Jamuna’s parents are also rich. She becomes a wife of an engineer earning a
salary in Dollars in America. Therefore, Jamuna is paid more respect than her
younger sister-in-law Vinutha by Gauramma and Surabhi. Jamuna deceives Gauramma
and Surabhi by giving them used sarees and jewellery. When Gauramma goes to
America and is ill-treated by Jamuna, Gauramma realises significance of Vinutha
who is loving, caring and docile daughter-in-law. In this way, greed for money
and its bad consequences are highlighted by the novelist in the form of
Gauramma Jamuna and Vinutha.
3. The
Crumbling Domestic Relations in India and Indians:
No doubt, growth in industrialisation and
Globalisation have prosperity in the middle-class families. But it led the
families to money-mindedness. Due to it, the relationship among the members of
the families started spoiling to certain extent. It is appropriately highlighted
by the novelist Sudha Murthy in “Dollar Bahu”.
Jamuna is respected by Gauramma, whereas
Vinutha is ill-treated by her. The simple reason is that Jamuna’s husband earns
a salary in dollars and Vinutha’s husband does not. Again, Jamuna’s parents are
rich and Vinutha’s parents are not. In fact, Vinutha is modest, simple and
docile and Jamuna is a little bit arrogant, deceptive and showy. But human
values lose significance and money gains importance. It indicates that money is
more important than human values like love, affection, sympathy and care.
4. East-West
Confrontation :
East-West Confrontation is a common theme
dealt with by most of the Indian novelsits. Sudha Murthy has explored it in
“Dollar Bahu”. When Gauramma goes to America for Jamuna’s delivery, she first
finds America amazing. But as she spends some time there, she realises how
illusory is the Western world. She pays visit to many Indian families living in
America and comes to know about their sad stories. After listening to them all,
Gauramma’s desire to go back to India arises. She realises the significance of
her motherland and living in a joint family.
Thus, The Dehumanizing Effect of
Globalization on the Traditional Indian Psyche, Greed for money, The Crumbling
Domestic Relations in India and Indians, and East-West Confrontation are the
major themes in the novel “Dollar Bahu”.
