Book review - Lost and found in Banaras by Mona Verma

 

On the eve of Women’s Day, as I turned the last page of my second read (1st- Daivya Sutras ) from the author Mona Verma, my heart ached for the girls and women who had to endure the piercing pain of being tagged as “manhus” as they become child widows trapped in a fate they never chose. Yet, alongside this sorrow, another feeling of pride rose for those who dared to resist. For the women who questioned, who spoke, who broke, who walked away from the suffocating grip of this cruel tradition. For the ones who took the first trembling step so that others could one day run.

The story is begins with the three-year-old Brinda is widowed after being married for a few hours, her family refuses to take her back in. Deemed ‘munhoos’, she finds her way to Nirmala Ashram in Banaras where she leads a life of child widow under the watchful eye of Vasanti Bua and her friend, Debi.

It is also a tale of a promise kept by the brother of Brinda, Jhulan.

The story begins with a flood, and then flows to Banaras, revolving around the stories of Debi, Sia, Uday, Pradeep, Preeti, and Brinda, and ends on an optimistic note.

The book subtly brings the excerpts of wisdom of Gita, the grit of women in times of adversity, and the feeling of womanhood—of women who can do anything—make the book charming and vivid.

The loss with which the novel begins ends in the finding of what was lost.

These characters demonstrate that, although tradition marginalizes, education and enlightenment provide essential means of reclaiming identity and agency by promoting economic independence and highlighting the widows’ plight. While tradition and lack of education marginalize child widows in India, enlightenment facilitated by educated intervention offers a path toward restoration and agency.

The book is excellent read, easy to understand and relate.


Quotes-

"Banaras doesn't just change your path; it changes the person walking it."


"In the narrow lanes of Kashi, you don't just lose your way; you lose the versions of yourself that no longer serve you."


"The Ganges doesn't just wash away sins; it carries away the weight of expectations."


"The river flows because it doesn't cling to the banks. We suffer because we do."


"Life here is a celebration of the inevitable. You see the smoke of the pyres and the light of the lamps at the same time, and somehow, it makes sense."