Daughters: A Story of Five Generations

by Bharati Ray (Translator)

A chronicle of the lives of five generations of women in the authors family, this fascinating story spans over a hundred years in its narrative sweep, from the late nineteenth century to the early years of the twenty-first. It mirrors and critiques the progress of a nation, its society and its women, seamlessly blending biography with social history. Sundar-ma, Bharati Rays great-grandmother, was married into a conservative household at twelve. Self-educated, because formal education was out of her reach, she was an intelligent, deeply thoughtful woman who witnessed some of the most tumultuous times in Indias history and actively participated in Indias freedom struggle. Ushabala, the authors grandmother, was the proud wife of a college lecturer and a consummate homemaker, while Kalyani, Bharati Rays Ma, was the first woman in the family to get a college degree, but she gave up her studies and career to raise her children. Ma is lovingly described as feisty and irrepressible, a keen traveller and always ready for adventure. Kalyanis academic successes heralded the authors own remarkable achievements, first as a lecturer in Calcutta University, then as its first woman provice-chancellor and later as a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. Bharati Rays daughters, Khuku and Tista, both extremely bright, lead busy, fulfilling lives as academics. Translated from the Bengali bestseller Ekaal Sekaal, this is a candid, personal and immensely readable account of five generations of remarkable women.

Genres: Nonfiction, India

334 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2011

Reviews

[Parikhit · Rating 2 out of 5]

When I came across this book at 'Blossoms', I knew I had to read it. A tale of a family that spans five generations, this book had to be read. Little did I know it would be a chronological account beginning with the author's maternal great-grandmother and ending with her daughters. It felt extremely plain and the author chose to tread carefully as though being blatant would make it offensive to a few whom she cites in the book. I guess I can justify the careful narrative because it turns out the author was a member of the Rajya Sabha and being politically correct seemed the right thing to do! It is not a work of fiction, yet everyone and everything seems angelic in the author's family and extended family making it unbelievable many a times. The saving grace in the book has to be authors nostalgic description of her home, Bangladesh, the several towns she grew up in. Otherwise it falls flat and I had to make an effort to finish the book. 'Daughters' could have been so much better! There is 'A Toss of a Lemon' that spans generations and is one book I swear by, where non-fiction is written in the form of an amazing story.

A note on the translation from Bengali to English; there are other words one may use for a small town than 'mofussil'! It appears a zillion times in the book!

[Niki · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book had so much potential: i love the concept of exploring five generations of women and writing about it. However, the book was very underwhelming. The author could have traced personal history and interwoven it with socio-cultural and contextual aspects. All that was written were biographical data of extended families and relative, with nothing being explored even at the surface. DNF-ed when I reached the author's mother.

[Anuradha HR · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was a good read. Like what she starts off with, it is just a record of lives of 5 women. It was, for me, not something that grabbed my full attanetion. I had to put some effort to keep the interest. I did not complete the chapter from where she becomes an MP.After reading a few pages of that chapter, I statred to feel that there was an attempt to sound politically correct. I found the book a bit academic. As I like books which are much frank and ouspoken I got a bit bored.

But I did enjoy reading about the lifestyles of people and their relationships.