Mother-Daughter Relationship in Shashi Deshpande's Small Remedies

Ours is a male-dominated society. Here, things are often judged through a male's point of view. Women's voices made silenced. Relationship is an important aspect of our existence. If we cast a glance at the depiction of human relationship in art and literature, we shall find that emphasis has been laid on parent-son rather than parent-daughter relationship. In most of cultures, the mother-daughter relationship is overlooked. Shashi Deshpande is an Indian novelist writing in English who gives voice to the anguished female psyche through her novels. Relationship forms the crux of writing. She has discussed various aspects of human relationship in her each novel. Mother-daughter relationship is of immense importance to her. Till date, she has authored ten novels and has analysed the issue of the mother-daughter relationship in almost all of her novels. Small Remedies, published in 2000, represents two types of the mother-daughter bond. The first is the relationship between Bai and Munni. Bai is a famous singer of Gwalior Gharana and Munni is her daughter from her illicit relationship with Ghulam Saab, a Muslim colleague to her. The other mother, daughter relationship involves Leela and Madhu. Leela-Madhu relationship represents the healthy aspect of mother-daughter bond. Madhu is a motherless child who was brought up by her father. After her father's sudden demise, Leela acts as her mother. My paper aims at examining various aspects of these two relationships as portrayed in the novel.