Dipankar Mitra

Windows of Joy, Panes of Pain Dipankar Mitra

The story of Malini, an educated upper-middle-class woman from a Kolkata family, could be the story of any other Indian woman of similar background. But what set Malini apart was her overpowering desire to get married and bear children. For this she was not only ready to compromise on all other pleasures of life, she was, uncharacteristically, willing even to adopt devious means treading the narrow gray path between legality and morality. What is significant in this tale, being a woman of mediocre intellect, Malini, nevertheless surpassed herself with the help of her intelligence and skillful manipulation of her position, to achieve her ends, without ensnaring herself in the morass of social retribution. Under certain circumstances, though some of Malini's actions are apparently not founded on the bedrock of ethics, her sharp sense of justice saves her from all untowardness. This indeed is remarkable considering the limited flexibility of her position. What started as a very natural ask of her married life, how it became the bone of contention between the husband and the wife, is what this story is all about...