“Gently falls the Bakula” is a beautiful story of two different individuals- Srikant and Shrimati Deshpande, where both approach life very differently from each other. Srikant is a very ambitious guy from the very beginning who falls in love with the very intelligent yet simple girl Shrimati for whom nothing is more important than Srikant’s companionship and his happiness. This simple story turns into a complex one, when Srikant starts loving his career more than Shrimati and when she starts realizing that her life is going no where apart from revolving around her husband and his needs. Though here we sympathize with Shrimati a lot than Srikant, I felt somewhere she is also responsible for his change in behavior. I felt She was too submissive than needed. Submissive to some extent is fine in any relationship but if it goes beyond necessary then obviously that person is taken for granted and that’s what happened here too. The open ending is quite appropriate here, but still I would like to assume that at one point of time they again met and lived with each other happily!!

Though the language is very simple which Sudha Murthy has used, yet I think that brings a lot more beauty to this story. The connection with the story for me started instantly from the very first page as the background and religious practices which Sudha Murthy has explained here, I know it and have seen very closely too. Somehow I feel if I would have read this in Kannada (the original language which this was written in), I would have definelty enjoyed even more!

my book journal ( )

A simple but riveting story of a well educated and well to-do couple, where post marriage the husband takes the center stage while the wife fades in the background. ( )

I have always been very fond of keeping plants at home. They are so easy to get but if I don’t care for them for more than 2 days they die and getting them back to their days of glory & health is a formidable task. Relationships are also the same way, easy to get into, but difficult to nurture. A bit of perseverance, selflessness, patience, time & care is all what it needs to grow.                    This   book talks about a husband wife relationship and how the single minded ambition of one partner can spoil a beautifully nurtured relationship.   It’s the story of Shrikant & Shrimati Deshpande.   Classmates, brilliant students & neighbors. Always pitched against each other in school, they don’t realize how & when they become good friends & fall in love eventually. Love blossoms under the controversial Bakula tree at their home and against the wish of their ever fighting families who are involved in an age old feud & rivalry. Shrikant joins IIT Mumbai, does well for himself and lands up with a job in an IT company. Amidst family protest the two get married and shift to Mumbai. Shrimati, a brilliant student dedicates her life to her husband & his family.   A family, where she is never welcomed by her scheming mother-in-law & sister-in-law.   The book charts the journey of the couple.   The turning point of the otherwise settled life & and easy going book is when Shrimati realizes, how easily she has made her husband’s ambition as her ambition and in the process has lost not only her identity but her self respect too.   What does she do with the self realization?She decides to reason with her husband? Or will she give her marriage another chance Or she decides to live the life she has been living… Or will she break free… You need to read the book to know more and trust me there is more to the book than I have written.   The book delves into the very much relevant issue of relationships taking a backstage vis-à-vis ambition, power & self-interest. It talks about how we let the relationships bleed at the cost reaching the top and once you reach at the top nothing else matters not even your family.  Sudha Murthy, a lady of few words, her books always cater to some or the other socially relevant issue. A lady of few words and in this book too not even a word is wasted. Her style of writing is simplistic & yet makes an impact. TYes, her books are always women centric.This was her debut novel written three decades ago. But is so much relevant in today’s time that you’ll feel it is a contemporary novel. The subject material is such that it reuqires sensitive handling and the author excels at that. She isn’t judgmental about the characters, it is upto you to decide who is right, who is wrong; and the characters are etched so well that there will be no dilemma deciding who is right or who is wrong. This light book with a lovely message will leave you pondering. It might even make you introspect your relationships. Very relevant in today’s jet set times when people don’t have time for themselves :-)   ( )