Though a fictional story Mahashweta is built around a very real problem in India. It is the story of hundreds of people who suffer from the condition of Leukoderma. It is the ailment in which the patient gets white spots on their bodies.
It is not as much a disease but a lack of pigmentation in the skin. The lead of the novel Anupama is a beauty to behold. A rich doctor falls in love with her and marries her.
After the marriage, the family of the groom comes to know about the Leucoderma condition of Anupama. It was not previously known even to Anupama.
Want to know how it unfolds?
For that, you will have to read the book.
Leucoderma in India is treated as a disease that it is not. It may be due to how it affects the appearance of a person. Due to this the marriage prospects of the person suffering from this condition shrink. The case that it may pass on to future generations.
Although it can happen to anyone at any point in time and is not communicable. People refuse to accept it and in some cases equate it to leprosy which is also not communicable. People with the condition have to deal with social stigma and sometimes are treated as outcasts.
The protagonist in the book refuses to give up even after losing everything and finds happiness after she accepts herself. The strong woman characters in Sudha Murty’s books are always admirable. They are not superhumans. They are people we know and spend time with. They are not from Mars or Crypton. They come from all walks of life. They are people we know, whose stories we ignore.
I accidentally read Sudha Murty’s book and now I am a fan. The way she writes about the people is heart-touching and humane. It is not that her characters do not have shortcomings or flaws. Despite all their flaws, they come out shining.
Do read all her works if you can spare time.
You will know that there are heroes all around us. We just need to look.
Sudha Murty is the chairman of Infosys Foundation and was born in 1950 in Shiggaon, Northern Karnataka. She did her Masters in Computer Science.
She is a recipient of the prestigious Padma Shree in 2006 and R.K. Narayan’s Award for Literature.
Her books have sold over 3,00,000 copies in the country.
About the Author–
Shubhank Singh Chouhan, BTech ( Mechanical Engineering), DTU 21′
Worked as a content writer for Loud Revel. Currently Preparing for Civil Services
