Arranged Marriage - Perjodohan

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Gita Yuliani K. (Translator)

Koleksi cerita pendek Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni kali ini merekam jejak perjalanan para gadis dan perempuan India di Amerika. Perubahan suasana, memulai dari awal, terasa menakutkan sekaligus menjanjikan, ibarat samudra yang memisahkan mereka dari tanah kelahiran. Mulai dari cerita tentang pengantin baru yang mimpinya kandas di California, hingga ke janda paruh baya yang bertekad untuk sukses di San Francisco, untaian kalimat-kalimat indah Divakaruni menciptakan potret sebelas perempuan yang akan mengalami transformasi tak terlupakan.

Genres: Short Stories, Fiction, India, Indian Literature, Literary Fiction, Asia, Contemporary

376 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1995

About the author

Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is an award-winning author and poet. Her themes include the Indian experience, contemporary America, women, immigration, history, myth, and the joys and challenges of living in a multicultural world. Her work is widely known, as she has been published in over 50 magazines, including the Atlantic Monthly and The New Yorker, and her writing has been included in over 50 anthologies. Her works have been translated into 29 languages, including Dutch, Hebrew, Hindi and Japanese. Divakaruni also writes for children and young adults.Her novels One Amazing Thing, Oleander Girl, Sister of My Heart and Palace of Illusions are currently in the process of being made into movies. http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/books.... Her newest novel is Before We Visit the Goddess (about 3 generations of women-- grandmother, mother and daughter-- who each examine the question "what does it mean to be a successful woman.") Simon & Schuster.

She was born in India and lived there until 1976, at which point she left Calcutta and came to the United States. She continued her education in the field of English by receiving a Master’s degree from Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio, and a Ph.D. from the University of California, Berkeley.

To earn money for her education, she held many odd jobs, including babysitting, selling merchandise in an Indian boutique, slicing bread in a bakery, and washing instruments in a science lab. At Berkeley, she lived in the International House and worked in the dining hall. She briefly lived in Illinois and Ohio, but has spent much of her life in Northern California, which she often writes about. She now lives in Texas, which has found its way into her upcoming book, Before We Visit the Goddess.

Chitra currently teaches in the nationally ranked Creative Writing program at the Univ. of Houston. She serves on the Advisory board of Maitri in the San Francisco Bay Area and Daya in Houston. Both these are organizations that help South Asian or South Asian American women who find themselves in abusive or domestic violence situations. She is also closely involved with Pratham, an organization that helps educate children (especially those living in urban slums) in India.

She has judged several prestigious awards, such as the National Book Award and the PEN Faulkner Award.

Two of her books, The Mistress of Spices and Sister of My Heart, have been made into movies by filmmakers Gurinder Chadha and Paul Berges (an English film) and Suhasini Mani Ratnam (a Tamil TV serial) respectively. Her novels One Amazing Thing and Palace of Illusions have currently been optioned for movies. Her book Arranged Marriage has been made into a play and performed in the U.S. and (upcoming, May) in Canada. River of Light, an opera about an Indian woman in a bi-cultural marriage, for which she wrote the libretto, has been performed in Texas and California.

She lives in Houston with her husband Murthy. She has two sons, Anand and Abhay (whose names she has used in her children’s novels).

Chitra loves to connect with readers on her Facebook author page, www.facebook.com/chitradivakaruni, and on Twitter, @cdivakaruni.
For more information about her books, please visit http://www.chitradivakaruni.com/, where you can also sign up for her newsletter.

Reviews

[Punit Soni · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is not one Indian male character who is shown in a positive light in this book. Well maybe one, but that's pretty much it. However there is a reason for this and I must say it is rightly so. We regularly tend to assume that times have changed for women in India and we are making progress. However, for most of us, our idea of these changing times dwells from the narrow view of the upper middle class society that we live in. For most of the small town and rural women (which is where most people still live in India), the tyranny of a life bound by the constraints placed by the males around them is real and exists.
Arranged Marriage poignantly highlights many of these situations and frustations that Indian women live through. It talks about things which are so rampant, even the most enlightend, educated Indian would call them cliches. But cliches they are not. The truth is that there are overt and subtle forms of roles cast on women as soon as they are born, that is if they are allowed to be born at all. Since the book is a collection of stories, it is definitely an easy read. There are a few stories which do not work but most tug at one's heart.
There are many which I could connect with immensely as an immigrant who has been exposed to a different, maybe more liberated kind of environment, one in which premium is given to decision made on the basis of pure choice and not necessarily necessity. Chitra Divakaruni writes with passion. There is a pain in her stories which seem to be borne out of experience. The stories are based in the San Francisco Bay Area and this makes it even more closer to my heart. The nooks and crannies of this place, the grocery stores, the parks, the apartment complexes are the stage for these episodes and I can visualize myself there, thinking similar thoughts. In particular, there were a few stories which mirrored my life to the tee and hence, provided an outlet to my internal dilemmas.
This is an easy read. I finished this in the half the flight time from Chicago to San Francisco leaving me wondering what to do with the rest of the time. However it is worth reading for every ignorant Indian man living the blubber of his self-created chauvanism. It is also a good read for every conscious Indian (man or woman) who looks around at his/her family/surroundings and thinks that things are getting better. There is a lot to be done and assuming progress is not helping.
Finally it is a book for the immigrants. Because not only are we a much maligned people, but also most misunderstood. The situations we place ourselves in and the choices we made in our lives places us in a unique situation where we are forced to contend with enormous complications. But inherent in these complications is an opportunity to grow and expand beyond mere stuckup cultural norms and live a confusing yet highly fulfilling life.

[ExistenGuy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another derivative piece of literature from another unoriginal South Asian (female) author. Frankly, I wasn't really surprised by the unoriginality of the writing and the stories. You can smell the plot from miles away. Mostly they are about the oh-so oppressed females, hailing from traditional Indian backgrounds, stuck/duped/coaxed/forced in loveless arranged marriages (because that's what good Indian women do, as Mrs. Divakaruni repeats incessantly).

And then the stereotypes pour in: the nostalgia of India, the mention of curries, the cold and misogynist Indian husbands (read: males), the charming knight in shining armor (read: Caucasian male) who "save" them from their cold and misogynist Indian husbands (The repeat was intentional...I just wanted convey my feeling of reading the stories in the book), the use of Hindi/Bengali words sprinkled in the sentences to evoke "exoticness" (Why the hell write "girgitis" instead of the simpler substitute "lizards"?) As I read these books, I sometimes wonder if these writers know each other and perhaps vowed at one point to churn out trite and predictable novels one after another? I would skip "Arranged Marriage: Stories" entirely and focus on good South Asian writers...Rohinton Mistry comes to mind.

[Noor · Rating 5 out of 5]

The words “arranged marriage” conjure images of brides with their faces covered, tyrannical husbands and oppressively large families. Chitra Banerjee-Divakaruni in her book, Arranged Marriage, portrays this entity within India or Indian Diaspora in a variety of manifestations that build and then destroy these stereotypes. Like Indian marriages the stories in this collection are tied on many levels. Throughout her book, Divakaruni weaves themes of family honor and woman in bad relationships.
The collection starts with Bats; this story attempts to de-mystify the universal question of why women continue to live in bad marriages (or situations). The child narrator’s mother is a gullible woman who continually goes back to her abusive husband. In her own defense the mother blames, “…the stares and whispers of the women, down in the marketplace. The loneliness of being without him,”. The question, however, is left hanging when the story ends with an image of the narrator and her mother running away once more, wounded and frantic, to escape her abusive father. Similarly in Affair, Ashok mocked his wife, Abha’s beliefs and did not value her strengths. However, towards the end of the story she realizes that, “The old rules aren’t always right. Not here, not even in India,” (Divakaruni, 270). Bats helps the reader understand, early on, that the question this story grapples with has no simple answers. It also provides context for stories that follow, the reader understands the significance of a female protagonists fighting against cultural norms like Abha does in Affair.
Clothes fleshes out the theme that often the burden of family honor is placed on the females members of the family. This is exemplified through Mother and Father Sen’s expectation of their daughter in law Sumita. She is not allowed to go to her husband’s store, must dress in traditional attire and “like a good Indian wife” must never address her husband by his name (Divakaruni 25-26). These references imply that a woman’s inappropriate behavior will lead to her family losing face in society and give context to other stories where Divakaruni doesn’t explicitly mention this idea.
Divakaruni’s syntactical choices pull the reader into the world of her stories. Her trademark use of italicized Bengali expressions and folk songs is perfect; they create a context that stirs the memories of her South-Asian readers and yet doesn’t alienate a western audience. Divakaruni aptly captures her characters’ voices through her generous use of Indian English and Bengali expressions throughout this book.
Divakaruni’s stories leave her readers with more questions than answers. Through the use of simple prose she sets up complicated situations that force the reader to question his/her beliefs about arranged marriages and Indian women. The question of why Indian women continue to live in bad marriages is not completely answered by the end of the book. However, the reader has reached an understanding that this question cannot be written in clear strokes of black and white. It is a question that has fuzzy handwriting and the color of ash.

[Tejaswini · Rating 2 out of 5]

Arranged Marriage: Stories by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Sometimes it so happens that when you read too many books from the same author, you begin to easily feel too comfortable with the theme and you can end up even predicting the end and can easily sniff what is happening after having just read a few pages. I had the same feeling with this book. After having read atleast four books prior to reading Arranged Marriage, I was not quite impressed with the theme and emotions as there was nothing new and fresh and it was the same glorified versions of tyrannical husbands holding captive of women, women trying hard to struggle after having left India as immigrants, women confined to the kitchen trying to bail out Indian curries reminiscing their hay days when they would have delicious Indian cuisine at their hometown Calcutta. I badly need to read something different from authors like Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, Amulya Malladi and Jhumpa Lahiri. Am I asking for more?

Arranged Marriage is a collection of short stories written to speak the conditions of Indian women who have been married off in an arranged manner by their parents and who are trying really hard to adapt to the new family conditions or even immigrant experiences(Yes, a million times you see them reminiscing the curries and Bengalicuisine memories) and their whole life depends on tending to their husband’s and childrens’ needs. I believe these experiences of traditional tyrannical husbands and conventional suffering housewives may have happened around 50s and 60s and they don’t seem real at all. We have progressed and gone farther upto the Mars It is actually hard to digest the fact that the person who wrote The Palace Of Illusions has not tried to cover the nice things about arranged marriages like adapting to the other side of culture, the bonding between strangers who become partners. This book could have been much better had it not been for cliches in the stories.
I would like to highlight the fact that there are two-three stories with strong women characters but what happens to them later is left for the readers to imagine. I liked the two stories particularly-one of the woman whose husband runs a supermarket and the other is that of a girl wanting to adopt a son. They were different. Also there is a story here is ditto as the book by the same author Sisters Of My Heartand this part is exactly annoying that the story also ends on the same lines. For a new reader of Divakaruni’s may find it gripping and a page turner, but for me it was a very sore book. And for the same reason I may probably not pick up another book by her for the next one year atleast.
I will give it a generous two out of five stars for the writing. If you really want to read a book of this author, my hands up to The Palace Of Illusions. It is far far away from that gem

[Brazil2009 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Explanation of Rating: A captivating and emotional book of, at times funny, at times sad, but always profound. Composed of short stories, where no two are alike but together give an incredible sense of harmony and leaves every reader with a deep impression. With all these short stories Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni wants especially Indian women to be strong and conscious of the values each and every one of them has and wants to evoke the possibility of change, of starting anew.

Recommendation: First of all, this book should be read by every Indian woman who has confronted or will confront the traditional obstacles in the life on an Indian woman. In this book they will find great encouragement not to give up and to hang in there. Some women will hopefully even be able to come out of this bad condition of life where stereotypes and boundaries still represent a huge barrier for the free development of their individuality. Next, the book should be read by all other women of different backgrounds, communities, and ages, who have similar barriers in life. Finally, I recommend this book for all the other people who can relate to issues such issues as racism, interracial relationships, economic disparity, abortion, and divorce because although not you are not necessarily being hit by the problems an Indian woman faces her whole life, it is very important not to be completely oblivious of how hard a life of an oppressed woman can be.

Summary: In "The Bats," a young girl struggles to understand both her abusive father and a mother who remains with him despite the pain he causes both of them. "Clothes" tells the story of Sumita, a young woman whose marriage to an Indian man in America has been arranged. She travels to the United States, and discovers a whole new way of life when her husband dies and she faces the decision of staying in America or going back to India to live with her in-laws. Another moving story in the book is "The Ultrasound," in which a young woman in India is forced to have an abortion because an ultrasound indicates that her first-born child will be a daughter. And again another story, “Doors,” the character Preeti, after moving to the United States, has come to love the western idea of privacy. She faces a dilemma when her husband’s cousin wants to come live with them. She wants to fight against her husband’s view of a traditional Indian wife.

[Sunil · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had been wanting to read this book for ages, but when Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni engaged in conversation with Geoffrey Chaucer on Twitter, I knew It Was Time. Chaucer appears nowhere in this short story collection, though.

As the title implies, the stories revolve around arranged marriage, an issue I have been dealing with since puberty. The stories resonated with me deeply, not only because of their portrayal of Indian culture but also because they deal with the particular challenges of growing up as an Indian-American, trying to reconcile the traditions and norms of your culture with an environment that makes you perceive them as wrong. The only other short story collection about Indians I've read before was Interpreter of Maladies , and while the stories are more varied in topic, they're not as consistently affecting; I saw myself so much more in Arranged Marriage, despite the fact that the main characters were almost always women (the heartbreaking first story, "The Bats," stars a child, and the Gone Girl-esque "The Disappearance" focuses on the husband).

The stories are variations on a theme, but no two stories are alike, and each one grabs you from the get-go and tugs at your emotions. I must admit that the dominant theme became wearying, however, in that in nearly every story, the husband was kind of a dick, leading to an unhappy marriage full of regret. (One of them even had my name, which made things slightly awkward.) The husbands are neglectful, dismissive, disrespectful, traditional, and the wives are lonely, oppressed, melancholy, traditional. The characters aren't interchangeable, and each story has a unique voice, but I knew what I was in for each time.

Arranged Marriage is an important work, giving voices to Indian-American women, be they in arranged marriages or love-marriages. The prose is accessible with moments of poetry, allowing mainstream America a glimpse into another culture and Indian America a chance to see themselves in literary fiction.

[Book Concierge · Rating 4 out of 5]

In her debut collection of short stories, Divakaruni explores the ways in which women raised with traditional values try to balance the realities of a new existence in America.

I love short stories and there are some really great ones in this collection. Most deal with the push/pull a woman experiences when she feels honor bound to long-held traditional beliefs, yet tempted to break free in a new country with very different rules. The women in these stories struggle to find their place, sometimes suffering great loss while breaking free from the restraints of centuries of tradition. They range from college students living with relatives, to young brides, to single professional women, to long-married middle-aged wives and mothers.

The women may be different from one another, and very different from me, but I was able to connect to each and every one of them. We share the struggle between living up to others’ expectations and following our own dreams.

[Arghavan]

این کتابو بدون هیچ پیش زمینه ای و خیلی یهویی از قفسه ی کتابخونه ی عمومی برداشتم، و اصلا فکر نمیکردم انقد به دلم بشینه، عنوان کتاب در ترجمه با ملاقات مرینالی تغییر پیدا کرده، و شامل چند داستان کوتاه از زنان هندی ساکن امریکا و دغدغه هاشونه، و به همه ی کساییکه عاشق خوندن درباره ی زنان و دنیای زنانگی و دغدغه هاشونن بشدت توصیه میکنم، یکم منو یاد قلم جومپالاهیری هم مینداخت.

[okyrhoe · Rating 1 out of 5]

Very readable selection of stories, but overall I don't feel that they touched me in a lasting way.
I can't quite pinpoint what's lacking here, except by attempting a comparison between this collection and Jhumpa Lahiri's "Interpreter of Maladies." The subject matter is identical, and yet these two writers have different approaches. Divakaruni's writing is more literal, as if she is reciting stories to an audience. Lahiri's style is more cerebral, the stories are to be read for hidden nuances insinuated between the words. I'd have to say that maybe Divakaruni is closer to 'home' in her narratives, as if her intended audience is Indian or displaced Indian. Lahiri on the other hand crafts her fiction in the manner of the Anglo/European literary genre. I'm not saying one is better than the other; certainly though I've been 'trained' to read (rather than listen) in a particular way, so that it's easy for me to say that I find something absent in Divakaruni's stories.
"A Maidservant's Story" is the standout, probably because it creatively makes use of the oral tradition, by placing a recited story within a story. Even though the first person is used in most of the segments, I always felt that the voice is narrating rather than reflecting, so that there was a lack of complexity in the other stories. In "A Maidservant's Story" there are two voices, and two stories, peaking at the point where the two narratives become one.

[Uci · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beberapa waktu lalu saya menonton salah satu episode My Grandmother's Ravioli, acara kuliner yang menampilkan resep-resep tradisional dari para nenek dan kakek dari berbagai negara yang tinggal di Amerika. Dalam episode tersebut, giliran dua nenek dari India yang didatangi Mo, host acara tersebut.

Seperti kisah-kisah dalam kumcer Arranged Marriage, dua wanita berusia 60-an ini juga diboyong ke Amerika setelah dijodohkan dengan pria yang sudah lebih dulu tinggal di sana. Sebagai wanita muda yang tiba-tiba harus pindah ke negeri asing, dengan bahasa yang tidak mereka kuasai dan tanpa satu pun sanak saudara, kedua wanita itu langsung bersabahat karib dan menemukan kekuatan pada satu sama lain.

Memang, berbeda dengan perempuan-perempuan dalam Arranged Marriage, dua wanita itu kelihatannya hidup bahagia dengan suami yang dijodohkan untuk mereka. Dan ada satu hal yang terngiang-ngiang setelah saya selesai menonton acara tersebut. Sewaktu Mo bertanya, apa sih sisi positif perjodohan? Apa untungnya? Kedua oma itu menjawab dengan yakin, "You've got to love your husband just the way he is."

Masuk akal. Karena mereka sama sekali belum pernah bertemu sebelum hari pernikahan, sama sekali tidak tahu seperti apa sifat calon suami mereka, seperti apa wajahnya, seperti apa gaya hidupnya. Jadi begitu harus tinggal bersama, pilihannya ya mencintai lelaki itu apa adanya. Setelah itu, hanya takdir yang bisa menentukan apakah mereka akan bahagia atau sengsara...

[Simona · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ho iniziato a leggere questo libro su consiglio della mia bibliotecaria che mi ha detto: "Leggilo, è molto bello, ti piacerà". L'ho letto e devo ammettere che è carino, ma non mi ha regalato particolari emozioni.
"Matrimonio combinato" è una serie di racconti, per la precisione, 11, in cui le protagoniste sono donne che dall'India, dominata dalle leggi patriarcali sperano di trovare il loro posto al sole, la loro "Eldorado" in California. Sono donne che lottano con una legge fondata sugli uomini, che trasgrediscono le leggi, che decidono di indossare abiti occidentali, rompendo i ponti con la tradizione indiana. Sono donne che non accettano di vivere secondo quello che gli altri hanno stabilito per loro, come Abha, protagonista de "La relazione" (il racconto più bello, a mio avviso) che decide di abbandonare il tetto coniugale, perché si rende conto di essere prima di tutto donna, persona, poi moglie, madre, amante, ecc...
Sono donne che con forza, intelligenza cercano di ricostruire la propria identità, lottando, spesso con dolore, ma mai arrendendosi.

[Gorab · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 rounded up to 3.
A collection of 11 short stories. Most all of them about an Indian bride's arranged marriage to a native US guy or guy settled in US.
Hence the name for the collection. Light and readable, with a gloomy and depressing undertone, but only a couple of stories that touched my heart (The Maid Servant's story, Doors and Meeting Mrinal)

[Shipra Tyagi · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book is easy to read and difficult to put down. The characters are real and face common struggles, yet they emerge hopeful and strong, which makes the stories a pleasure to read.

Arranged Marriage is a collection of 11 short stories based on marriage and relationships. ‘The Maid Servant’s Story’, though not exactly based on marriage, is my personal favorite. The story is about a woman who treats her maid servant with respect and dignity unlike her family members who ill-treat her. Despite her best intentions, to intervene and effect change, she could not stop her becoming a sex worker. So are the marital limitations in our culture.

Another personal favorite is ‘Meeting Mrinal’ which is about a newly divorced lady dealing with changes in this changed life who meets her childhood friend who is single and career oriented. The story is about the stark contrast in their lives yet in the end they realize that every life has its struggle.

And then is ‘The Ultrasound’, it’s about two cousins pregnant at the same time one living in India and one in US. Ultrasound reveals that the one living in India is carrying a girl child and her family wants her to abort the child though she doesn’t. US friend then advises her to go to her mother’s house and later wants to sponsor her to USA. Read somewhere that it is an abridged version of Sister of my Hearts (Another book by the same author, which I haven’t read).

Other eight stories are also very touching and true to life.

What I didn’t like about the book is that after reading this book, you are bound to think that is there only one type of Indian man - a heartless, emotionally zero male who views their wives as their property rather than soul mates. There is not even one Indian male character that is shown as a good supportive husband in this book. (OK… I think there is one)

On the same note, all the women who are married are fat, wore sarees, had kids, did not work and the ones who are career oriented, they are not married or had no kids, are slim and westernized.
All the stories are quite repetitive and have same roots.

My take on the book - Despite all the repetitiveness, each story has a freshness and unique twist on the cultural clash between ours and that of US. Each story is complete in it, irresistible to read, has a natural flow & leaves a deep impression on the mind. Author’s lucid writing captures the intimate sentiments of the characters and her vivid description makes it easy to relate with them. Her fluent style of writing effortlessly takes you from one story to another.

It will surely appeal to all female reader, so a must read even for male readers who want to have a peek in other side of the relationship.

[Janelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love short stories and the stories in Chitra Divakaruni’s Arranged Marriage were perfect. They were short, but not too short and didn’t end too abruptly, leaving me wondering what happened.

I came across this book after I read another one of Divakaruni’s books, One Amazing Thing, a novel of connected short stories (I really liked this book also. I highly recommend!) while searching GoodReads for some of her other works I found Arranged Marriage.

Each story except for one was narrated by a female telling her experience with an arranged marriage. In “The Bats” the narrator is a young girl innocently observing her parents abusive, arranged marriage. In “Meeting Mrinal” the narrator tells of a reunion with a childhood friend. She compares her arranged marriage – which recently came to an end – to her friend’s life, which doesn’t include marriage, arranged or otherwise.

While I liked each story, my favorites were “Affair” and “The Disappearance.”

“Affair” tells the story of two strangely matched couples. The couples are friends and in each pair there is a vibrant, outgoing spouse and one that lives in their shadow. An affair in one marriage strangely impacts another.

In “The Disappearance” a man goes through the different emotions of being abandoned by his wife who was chosen for him. He goes from thinking she was abducted or harmed to realizing she left him and their son.

The stories not only shine a light on arranged marriages but also the experience of Indians making a life in America while preserving (or avoiding) their customs.

Divakaruni does an awesome job in making the personality of the different narrators shine through in each story. Each truly sounded like it was being told by a different person with a different experience. She has said the stories were influenced by her imagination and others’ experiences, which I find really interesting. These stories satisfied my curiosity in other people’s culture and customs. Not one story left me with unanswered questions or a strange, abrupt ending.

[Nay · Rating 3 out of 5]

Aku selalu percaya bahwa dalam setiap buku selalu ada hal yang bisa dijadikan pelajaran. Bagi penulis, bisa saja sebuah pelajaran agar bisa menulis sebaik buku yang dibacanya atau mencegah diri menghasilkan tulisan seburuk buku yang dibacanya. Keduanya adalah cara belajar yang baik, bukan?

Sambil mengambil pelajaran dari buku tersebut, ada beberapa kondisi yang biasanya muncul dalam batin seorang pembaca. Apakah ia merasa terhibur dengan pengetahuan barunya, atau merasa tertekan dengan pengetahuan itu. Buku milik Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni ini berada pada posisi yang kedua. Buku ini memiliki muatan yang bagus tapi sekaligus menimbulkan tekad dalam hati bahwa aku tidak akan membaca buku ini untuk yang kedua kalinya. Terlalu muram dan suram.

Terlalu banyak hal menakutkan tentang pernikahan yang terpapar di dalamnya, dan aku benci mengakui bahwa semua itu benar adanya. Semua itu masuk akal dan semua wanita di belahan bumi manapun (di luar India) berpotensi mengalami hal tersebut.

Buku ini menceritakan tentang kisah-kisah wanita yang terkekang dalam budaya pernikahan India yang identik dengan otoritas penuh para suami dan ibu mertua. Pada awalnya aku menduga bahwa mungkin penulis ingin menyelipkan ide-ide feminisme dalam kumpulan ceritanya. Tapi ketika membaca cerpen “Kata Cinta” dan “Bertemu Mrinal” aku menarik kembali anggapan itu. Aku sepertinya menangkap usaha penulis untuk menyeimbangkan antara paham-paham tradisional India agar tidak terkesan buruk dan paham wanita modern India yang tinggal di Amerika agar tidak terkesan menjadi jalan keluar.

Aku paling menyukai cerpen “Pintu”, “Pemeriksaan Ultrasonografi” dan “ Bertemu Mrinal”. Dan kalau tidak salah cerpen “Perselingkuhan” ini sepertinya aku pernah menonton filmnya entah kapan dan di mana.

Masih ada satu lagi novel penulis yang berjudul “One Amazing Thing” yang ngantri di rak. Sepertinya aku masih harus memberi jeda untuk membaca buku itu setelah menyelesaikan kumcer ini.

[Aparna · Rating 2 out of 5]

Stack of short stories... and the problem with short stories is that you need to escape the trap of stereotyping the characters, which sadly Chitra has fallen into.... Characters like the Indian male, Indian household, arranged marriage, immigrant life, Bengali women etc... I definitely resent how she has cast all Indian husbands as sadistic, sex- maniacal, over indulgent and all Bengali women as docile,helpless and utterly disappointed with their immigrant life. I know and have learnt about a lot of bengalis and despite everything, they are a very progressive and creative race in India - we have the path breaking freedom fighters,reformers, artists and most importantly journalists who redefined the fourth estate in India. Almost felt like reading 'Interpreter of Maladies' Part II...

That said, some of the stories are poignant, moving and its a page turner from the word go.... Making me sadly realize that sympathy and sadness, not sex sells...

[A · Rating 2 out of 5]

The writing is not bad; good even. It's the stories that pull the book down to two stars. I found most, if not all, of the stories really depressing, and hard to connect to. It was more like an observation. The one that I possibly enjoyed the most was the one with the maid servant - not because the story was uplifting but because it was an engaging and relatively "lively" story.

I also found that the book lacked to make a statement. Both arranged marriage and "love" marriage situations are shown to be miserable. It didn't really reflect "arranged marriage" in modern India at all. As someone who grew up there in the 90s, the world presented in this book is mostly foreign to me. This book is a confused pile of depressing stories and fails to make an impact or take a stance. If this book was a person, I would tell it: "Have a dream... but pick one!"

Hopefully her other works are better.

[Renita D'Silva · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely perfect! Each story an exquisite gem! Although I loved them all, I liked Meeting Mrinal the best. I will be thinking of these for a long time.

[Kavya · Rating 3 out of 5]

Banerjee Divakaruni's work follows the vein that many writers bridging Indian and American worlds do: light writing that packs a deep punch, particularly to readers like myself who also straddle this cultural divide. Arranged Marriage, a collection of stories that touch on topics such as marital abuse, westernization, divorce, child-rearing, and familial relationships, deftly dives into the psyche of the Indian woman and the guilt and shame that seem to so easily come from westernizing herself. The way that Banerjee Divakaruni handles the bond between sisters, brothers, mothers, and fathers is precise and genuine. However, I highly doubt that nearly every sexual encounter that an Indian woman faces with her husband--or any man--is so dreadful as is portrayed in this anthology. The way that Banerjee Divakaruni portrays the marital relationship between her protagonists and their husbands is sour and unrealistically depressing. On the whole, the read is great to understand the evolution of an Indian woman's identity as the modern age and travel stretches it away from the traditional culture of her mother, but the notion of marriage is better suited as a background for this evolution than as a theme of deep assessment on its own.

[Dhani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Setelah membaca Revolution 2020 karya Chetan Bhagad dan suka, saya memutuskan untuk membaca buku yang ditulis oleh penulis India. Dan sampailah saya pada sebuah buku kumpulan cerita pendek karya Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni berjudul Arranged Mariaged(Perjodohan). Tak terlalu berharap banyak pada mulanya, karena ini buku terjemahan, tapi setelah membaca halaman- halaman awalnya, langsung suka.
Dan tak mau berhenti sampai tuntas.

Ada 11 cerita yang terdapat di buku setebal 370 halaman yang punya kaver sederhana tapi cantik. Garis besar dari masing- masing ceritanya adalah suka duka perempuan India, yang karena berbagai sebab harus berimigrasi ke Amerika Serikat( karena pernikahan, meneruskan sekolah dll ).Dan sebagian besar ceritanya adalah tentang" the dreams doesnt come true".Tentang kegelisahan, tentang kekecewaan, tentang kegamangan dan shock culture.Menurut saya, buku ini berhasil memotret dengan tepat, apa yang terjadi saat para perempuan India ini menjalani hari- harinya di tempat yang sama sekali baru. Dengan suami yang baru dikenal dekat sekali dengan saat pernikahan( perjodohan sangat lazim di India). Penyesuaian dengan keluarga suami( yang dominan), menghadapi kenyataan bahwa tinggal di USA bukan berarti bergelimang harta.

Nyaris semua cerita pendek di buku ini saya suka, tapi untuk meyebutkan favorit, saya punya beberapa.Favorit saya pertama adalah sebuah cerita berjudul HIDUP YANG SEMPURNA. Berkisah tentang Meera, seorang wanita karier yang sukses dan tinggal bersama dengan kekasih pilihannya sendiri. Dia belum ingin menikah dan punya anak, karena menganggap punya anak adalah rentetan kerumitan. Berkurangnya waktu untuk diri sendiri, berkurangnya kesempatan untuk menikmati hidup juga jadi pengganggu akan kehidupan yang dianggapnya telah sempurna. Sampai suatu kejadian merubah pendapatnya, saat dia menemukan seorang hispanic kecil lusuh di depan tangga apartemennya. Alih- alih menyuruhnya pergi, Meera malah menyuruhnya masuk dan merawatnya, yang tentu saja bukan hal yang mudah bagi seorang Meera dan Khrisna( nama yang diberikan Meera buat si anak). Dan sejak itu semuanya berubah, cinta terhadap Khrisna yang ranum, hubungan dengan Richard yang jadi memburuk dan definisi kesempurnaan hidup yang berubah. Bagaimana ending cerita ini? Akan ada air mata, tapi apakah itu berarti bahagia atau duka, silahkan dibaca sendiri yaa.

Cerita lainnya yang juga jadi favorit adalah JALAN PERAK ATAP EMAS, yang bercerita tentang seorang perempuan yang memutuskan untuk meneruskan sekolahnya di Amerika dan tinggal di keluarga dekatnya. Dalam bayangannya semula,tempat yang akan ditinggalinya adalah negeri impian. Tapi semuanya hanya harapan. Keluarga tempatnya menumpang adalah warga negara kelas dua yang harus hidup dalam suaasana keprihatinan. Juga lingkungan tempat tinggal yang tidak"welcome" dengan pendatang.

Ada juga cerita berjudul PEMERIKSAAN ULTRASONOGRAFI yang berkisah tentang dua orang sahabat yang sama- sama mengandung, tapi terpisahkan jarak karena salah satunya tinggal di India. Dari cerita ini, nampak jelas perlakuan yang berbeda yang diterima kedua sahabat ini dari lingkungan dimana mereka tinggal. Bagi Anju yang tinggal di USA, walau hidup dalam kesederhanaan, hamil berarti bekerja tidak terlalu keras, perhatian ekstra dari suami dan masa- masa penuh kebahagiaan. Tapi hal itu tak berlaku buat Runu yang tinggal di Calcutta. Di masa kehamilannya, dia yang tinggal bersama mertua dan keluarga besar suami( hal yang umum di India) masih harus banyak melakukan pekerjaan- pekerjaan berat. Bahkan saat kehamilannya diprediksi perempuan, dia didesak untuk melakukan aborsi.

Walau saya punya beberapa cerita fav, bukan berarti cerita- cerita lainnya tidak bagus. Semua kisah ini menjadikan saya lebih paham tentang keddukan perempuan dalam keluarga dan masyarakat India.Selain itu kisah- kisah ini laksana cermin, karena bisa terjadi pada perempuan di mana pun. CBD mengajarkan kita para perempuan, agar tangguh, berusaha sekuat tenaga meraih kebahagiaannya dan pintar membuat keputusan- keputusan yang penting bagi hidupnya.

Kalau pun ada yang agak tidak menyamankan dalam membaca buku ini, adalah halaman kosa kata yang terletak di bagian paling belakang dan tak berbentuk footnote di setiap halaman. Untuk menjaga ruh India, penerjemah banyak menaruh kata- kata dalam bahasa India dan rasanya akan sangat ribet kalau harus sering- sering membolak- balik halaman.Tapi itu pun tidak mengurangi kebagusan buku ini secara keseluruhan.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Divakaruni's first collection of short stories reveals the literary strength of a much more seasoned writer. This isn't to say that Divakaruni doesn't have her fair share of writing experience -- indeed, she is an accomplished poet and novelist, and has won numerous awards. But the short story genre is a different beast, and requires different techniques for a writer to truly succeed.

This collection of short stories focuses on (as the title suggests) arranged marriages, specifically the traditional marriages favored among many South Asian families. While it is to be expected that the different stories in this volume each provide a different take on arranged marriage, what I found particularly remarkable was the variety of perspectives Divakaruni presented throughout. Through several strong female protagonists, Divakaruni presents both favorable and unfavorable glimpses into arranged marriage, as well as into the South Asian American immigrant experience.

Though her perspective is perhaps influenced a bit heavily by her own Westernization and adoption of American culture, I found her views relatively well balanced. Certainly she asserts women's strengths through her highly complex female protagonists, but in doing so she does not necessarily defy the culture in which she grew up. Instead, she seems to blend elements from the two seemingly disparate cultures to arrive at a mix of viewpoints that presents real-to-life women dealing with real-to-life issues. Stereotypes abound, to be sure, but she overcomes them with intricate insights into the precise experiences of some truly compelling characters.

No brief summary can really do justice to this collection, which is full of unexpected developments and charming characters. Given that it deals with such weighty issues, I can't promise that it'll be a fun read, but I was charmed and intrigued and highly encourage others to try it out.

[Ria · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buat saya, Divakaruni bisa dibilang storyteller. Terlepas bagus atau tidak isi ceritanya, tapi rasanya sangat nyaman membaca buku beliau, seperti sedang diceritakan, atau mendengarkan cerita dari pihak ketiga. Tidak ada cerita yang berlebihan, atau berkesan tidak mungkin. Yah, semua terlihat seperti kehidpan sehari-hari yang sangat mungkin terjadi. Tentunya dengan latar belakang budaya India dan benturannya ketika wanita-wanita dalam cerita ini tinggal di Amerika.

3,5 bintang, dibulatkan jadi 4, tambah setengah untuk terjemahannya yang enak dibaca, dan kamus tambahan kosakata berbahasa India di akhir buku. Sangat membantu, dan memperjelas, istilah2 atau nama makanan, pakaian, yang ada dalam buku ini. (iya, apalagi makanan. Buku divakaruni selalu kaya akan pengelanan masakan India. Bikin mupeng).

Namun, tidak semua cerpen dalam buku ini benar-benar "bersinar". Cerita pertama, Kelelawar, sukses membuat saya hampir saja percaya bahwa ada banyak perubahan dari tulisan Divakaruni. Cerpen, ini begitu gelap, suram, dengan akhir yang...? yah baca sendiri hehehe.
Sementara cerpen yang lain, bukan berarti tidak menarik, hanya saja (menurut saya) tidak memberikan kejutan tersendiri, terlalu biasa.

Apalagi yah?. Yang pasti ending dari semua cerita ini eksekusinya mantap. Saya sebagai pembaca, seperti diajak untuk mereka-reka atau mencoba melanjutkan sendiri kisahnya.

Ya udah, segitu aja deh. Lain waktu kalau ada mood baru bahas satu per satu. ^_^

Bogor, 040614

[Uttara Srinivasan · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars

I am being miserly in my rating and I know it. The author here has imagination, compelling language and a way with plots. There is no doubt about that. But...

Arranged Marriage is a collection of short stories by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni. The phrase arranged marriages - so peculiar to the Indian (Asian?) society - evokes (incorrectly some would say) images of demure brides being packed to unappreciative grumpy boys who want slaves more than they do spouses. And perhaps at some point of time in history - this was even true. What bothers me is that Ms. Banerjee Divakaruni seems to want to keep and build on these images and present to the world a spectacularly unbalanced view of Indian brides who marry (mostly) Indian boys (who never are men except when it comes to sex) and live unhappily ever after.

The stories are well crafted in their essence and couple of them tug at your heart and even raise your heckles in fear (of what humans are capable of to each other) but why wouldn't there be even if just one tale that while having its challenges still remains hopeful if nothing else? Is it really all that bad all the time to all the people? Or does writing something that doesn't make your blood boil or head hang less demonstrative of one's intellectual prowess?

Tch!

[Catherine · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this collection of stories focusing on the experiences of women between America and India, even though in some ways it felt rather dated. This is because most of the 'Indian' women I know are second-generation and it is their mothers who might have had experiences similar to those described. Although set in this context, several of the stories could have worked equally well against another background: the Affair could have 'happened' in a marriage unequal by other means and Doors has the same situation and tensions at its roots as You, Me and Dupree, although obviously with more depth and less farce. The tale that I found the most powerful came into this category: A Perfect Life, the tale of an independent woman and the little boy that becomes part of her life in spite of herself.

[Imas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Berisi 11 cerita tentang perempuan India yang migrasi ke Amerika dengan benang merah "arranged marriage".

Hidup riang gembira bersama keluarga harus berhenti saat menginjak usia yang dianggap siap berumah tangga. Lamaran, perkenalan, penilaian adalah kegiatan mereka. Hingga sampai diujung tujuan yaitu pernikahan. Jika beruntung mungkin bisa mendapatkan suami yang tampan dengan pekerjaan mapan di negeri paman Sam. Tapi pada cerita-cerita ini kepahitan adalah menu utama hidup mereka selanjutnya.

Selalu suka dengan kalimat-kalimat yang diuntai oleh Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni, indah tapi tidak membosankan, menyedihkan tapi tidak melebih-lebihkan.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This collection of short stories is a look into various walks of life from the eyes of several young Indian women. One of my favorite stories in here is about a lady who finds a young boy virtually on her doorstep and takes him into her household in the same way one would bring in a stray animal, much to the chagrin of her boyfriend- who doesn't want children. Themes include assimilation, love, separation, power, tradition, culture, piety, and much more.

[Shanila Ahmed · Rating 4 out of 5]

An anthology of short stories about the arranged marriages of young, Indian women. Not all marriages are made in heaven and end up being blissful and this is exactly what this book tells us. It's always good to take the risk keeping in mind that what lies ahead can never be foreseen. This belief will help us to be prepared for the hardships that come by.

[Saray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great Book, Her words flutter turning her prose almost into poetry. You can relate to the characters even though your background has nothing to do with theirs.
It's definitely a page-turner, but only at the beginning, as you start to ration each story as you approach the end of the book.

[Ankita Chauhan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beautiful collection of short stories. If you have not read Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni Yet, You can start with this book. Totally Loved it. The way she weaves characters into her stories, is superficial.

[Leena · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very fast read ... read almost all the stories on one flight from St. Louis to DFW... absolutely loved it.