Of That Elusive Self

THE SIMILARITIES BETWEEN THE TWO NOVELS BEGIN WITH THE FACT THAT THEIR WOMEN AUTHORS ARE BOTH FROM MAHARASHTRA; AND SINCE BOTH BELIEVE IN WRITING ONLY ABOUT WHAT THEY KNOW WELL, THE NOVELS HAVE SIMILAR SETTINGS IN BOMBAY AND PUNE. BOTH BOOKS ARE ABOUT WOMEN FROM TRA¬DITIONAL FAMILIES WHO HAVE BECOME WIVES OF INCREASINGLY SUCCESSFUL MEN. THE TWO WOMEN ARE NOW, IN MID-LIFE, LOOKING AT THEMSELVES AND THEIR SITUATIONS ANEW. JAYA IN That Long Silence, LEARNS THAT HER HUSBAND HAS BEEN DISCOVERED IN A BUSINESS INDISCRETION. WHILE HE TRIES TO GET THE MATTER HUSHED UP HE AND JAYA DISAPPEAR DISCREETLY, UNABLE TO FACE FRIENDS OR ANSWER QUESTIONS. FROM THEIR PLUSH CHURCHGATE HOME THEY MOVE OUT TO A SMALL FLAT IN DADAR WHICH BELONGS TO JAYA’S FAMILY. HERE JAYA CONFRONTS THE GHOSTS- OF HER JOINT FAMILY AND HER PAST SELF.