Moving On

by Shashi Deshpande

A father who delights in the human body, its mysteries, its passion, and the knowledge that it contains and conceals. A mother who wields the power of her love mercilessly. A sister separated in childhood. An uncle who plays games of life and death as a member of the Bombay underworld. A passionate love affair that tears the family apart. And a young woman left to make sense of the world and of her own sexuality. Shashi Deshpande's novel is about the secret lives of men and women who love, hate, plot and debate with an intensity that will absorb every reader.
It is a story that begins, conventionally enough, with a woman's discovery of her father's diary. As Manjari unlocks the past through its pages, rescuing old memories and recasting events and responses, the present makes its own demands: a rebellious daughter, devious property sharks and a lover who threatens to throw her life out of gear again. The ensuing struggle to reconcile nostalgia with reality and the fire of the body with the desire for companionship races to an unexpected resolution, twisting and turning through complex emotional landscapes.
In 'Moving On' Shashi Deshpande explodes the stereotypes of familial bonds with an uncanny insight into the nature of human relationships and an equally unerring eye for detail.

352 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Novelist and short story writer, Shashi Deshpande began her career with short stories and has by now authored nine short story collections, twelve novels and four books for children. Three of her novels have received awards, including the Sahitya Akademi award for `That Long Silence'. Some of her other novels are `The Dark Holds No Terrors', `A Matter of Time', `Small Remedies', `Moving On', `In The Country of Deceit' and `Ships that Pass'. Her latest novel is `Shadow Play'.Many of her short stories and novels have been translated into a number of Indian as well as European languages. She has translated two plays by her father, Adya Rangacharya, (Shriranga), as well as his memoirs, from Kannada into English, and a novel by Gauri Deshpande from Marathi into English.
Apart from fiction, she has written a number of articles on various subjects - literature, language, Indian writing in English, feminism and women's writing - which have now been put together in a collection `Writing from the Margin.' She has been invited to participate in various literary conferences and festivals, as well as to lecture in Universities, both in India and abroad.

She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2008.

List of books by Shashi Deshpande

Dark Holds No Terrors (1982)
That Long Silence (1989)
A Matter of Time
Moving On
Small Remedies
Shadow Play (2013)
The Narayanpur Incident
If I Die Today
In the Country of Deceit
The Binding Vine
Ships That Pass (2012)
The Intrusion And Other Stories
3 Novels : A Summer Adventure, The Hidden Treasure, The Only Witness
Come Up & Be Dead
Collected Stories (Volume - 1)
Collected Stories (Volume - 2)
Writing from the Margin: And Other Essays

Reviews

[Himani Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked the book, but thought it was not one of her best works. The story is about an approximately 40 year old woman, Manjari, who is at an inflexion point in her life. ThManjari has a normal middle class upbringing in Mumbai with a father who is a medical professor, a mother who is a housewife and (secret) writer of romance fiction, a younger sister. The family is very close to her father's friends (two brothers and their families) who live in Bangalore and summer holidays are spent together in bangalore. She falls in love passionately with an "unsuitable" man at 18 and abandons her studies to get married despite her families opposition. She is widowed at 21, but remains cut off from her family and works hard to maintain her independence and support her children. The illness and subsequent death of her father has brought her back to the family house. She now has some financial security and is also being wooed by Raja, the son of her father's closest friend whom she has also known from childhood. Manjari is reading her father's diaries and also reminscing about her childhood and reflecting on the people and events that have shaped her life. As she tries to get a direction of her life in future, she has to face property thugs who are persecuting her to get hold of the house and also work through her feelings for Raja.

Some of the things i liked about the book include:
- the characterisation of manjari's parents and baba' friends - BK, RK and their respective wives. We can imagine what they were like.
- the author's perspective on marriages - she shows different types of marriages from the perspective of the relationship between husband and wife. In the early stages of marriage, all appear to be happy - but without mutual affection and respect, the relationships break down when faced with a major stress.
-manjari's character - one can empathise with her and feel for her as she finds a way to live life on her own terms.

what i didnt like - the drama in the book comes from the vicissitudes faced by the protagonists - mostly unexpected deaths. Somehow it feels forced - RK, raja's wife, Manjari's husband, manjari's sister - all dying early???
Also one of the key trauma's Manjari has faced - her sister sleeping with her husband and bearing him a child - is not given a proper context. Neither her husband's nor her sister's character is dilineated enough for us to get a sense of why this would have happened.

[Preetam Chatterjee · Rating 4 out of 5]

#Second Post-Grad Era [2005] – My time with Deshpande:

This novel focusses on the quotidian of life of the average Indian as it seeks to portray the interior world of uncles, aunts, cousins, in-laws et al. It presents a congregation of characters and an extensive range of relationships interwoven in an intricate pattern. Deshpande delves deep into tie recesses of the human mind to explore the nuances and the structures of familial bonds and the diverse relationships characters share with each other: Baba-Mai, Gayatri-R.K., Manjari Shyam, Laxman-Mangal, Raja-Rukku, Bharat-Medha, etc. The novel is primarily autobiographical in nature as the she comes from a large extended family. The narrator Jiji (Manjari) is a widow, looking after her indisposed father. She discovers her father’s diary after his death and sets out to appraise her life with the benefit of hindsight. While her past appears near-perfect, her present is riddled with uncertainty. She keeps deliberating the different roles she can adopt for asserting her individuality and keeping herself busy after her husband’s death…. Give this novel a try. One of Deshpande’s best.

[Vibha · Rating 4 out of 5]

First two chapters were confusing as it took me time to realize that there are two threads in the story, Baba's diary where baba is telling his story and one where Manjari is telling her story. I kept getting confused till I reach third chapter and theme in the book became clear to me. Also in the beginning I felt so many people in the story were dead as soon as they were introduced. I hardly learnt about Gayatri, RK, Shyam and they were dead.

But after the initial confusion and disappointment story unfolded brilliantly, small incidents of every day life were described so vividly that I felt I was living in Bangalore with them. All the characters were described with shades of good and bad qualities specially Manjari's mother. I specially liked the small mysteries in the story which kept me glued till the end.

[Rakhi Anil · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very thought provoking book. Though it has been some days since I finished the book, some thoughts still linger around in my mind. All the characters feel so real that you feel as if you are reading somebody's autobiography and you are left wanting to know more about the person and their life.

[Shyam · Rating 3 out of 5]

Visits enigma of dying/death. And continuation of life as well. Many parts very thought provoking, with the story/events interesting to keep you glued till the end.

[S · Rating 3 out of 5]

A thought provoking read! The structure of this book is different: felt challenging at times to follow the story line. A great read for a sunny afternoon on the beach.