The 50th anniversary of Indias independence has inspired a number of publishers within the country and outside it, to come out with special books. Mountain Echoes: Reminiscences of Kumaoni Women by Namita Gokhale (herself a Kumaoni) puts together memories of four well-known women of this region -- Shivani, Tara Pande, Jeeya and Shakuntala Pande, women who ...mirror a social universe that no longer exists, that has dissolved in the mainstream of modernisation and urbanisation, of democracy and education and emancipation. The conversations that have gone towards making the book a record of a ruminative journey into the past are based on memories of four Kumaoni women, now in their 80s, who refused to bow to patriarchal values and norms wholly, and managed to carve a niche for themselves within the traditional framework. A commendable achievement at a time when women were meant to be seen and not heard.
In a short introductory essay on Kumaon, Gokhale introduces the reader to the socio-cultural milieu of the region, glancing briefly at its history in order to put the place and its people in perspective. In that context, she looks at the history of the women of that region (distinct from the recorded history of men of the region) as projected in folklore and tradition, in faintly remembered lullabies and the half-forgotten touch of a grandmothers hand; in recipes, ancestral jewellery, and cautionary tales about the limits of a womans empowerment. To the best of my knowledge, the book is Gokhales first foray into the domain of non-fiction and the narrative, especially the introduction, is heightened by an imaginative approach and lyrical touches that one associates with a creative writer.
The reminiscences of Shivani, Tara Pande, Jeeya and Shakunatala Pande, transcribed from their conversations with Meenakshi Joshi (whom Gokhale affectionately calls Encyclopedia Kumaonica as a tribute to her vast knowledge of Kumaoni thought and culture) project the personalities of their subjects and this is reflected in the modes of narrative. A slender link holds them together a pride in the rich cultural heritage of Kumaon and a sense of satisfaction in having discharged ones duties well along with asserting and establishing ones identity in the process.
Gaura Pant, better known by her pen-name Shivani is possibly the best known of the four. She is perturbed over mindless westernisation, the way Indians are losing their ... independence of mind and thought to the new culture, the new thoughts, the new society which is totally borrowed from the west. While one agrees wholeheartedly with her, one wishes the publishers had avoided the capital W in spelling west and westernisation as that subverts the statement she makes, albeit in a linguistic manner.
The rise of consumer culture accompanied by crassness and a meaningless showing off of ones wealth is decried and she wonders if there is a corresponding rise in actual happiness. She rightly points out that the joy of sharing and the sense of togetherness it brings has gone out of our lives specially those living in nuclear families. Even festivals have lost their charm as they fail to evoke a sense of camaraderie which would have been one of the main attractions of community celebrations.
Tara Pande has received many awards for her stories. The modern reader is struck by her accounts of hardships that her generation of women had to put up with, which explains the high rate of female mortality then. It was not just hardships, it was the very attitude towards women that made things worse. To quote: When a woman died, nobody really bothered to explain how or why she died; high female mortality was a fact of life, everybody took for granted. One of the favourable changes that modern Indian society has witnessed is a change in gender relations, acc-ording to Jeeya, the third narrator. She is proud of the fact that women have become bright, confident as well as competitive though senseless breakup of families and the new attitudes to women pain her.
As one finishes reading Shakuntala Pandes reminiscences, one comprehends how these women accepted their stereotypical roles but did not allow these to become restrictive, creating space for themselves in a patriarchal society. This gives the book a context, especially for the discriminating reader for whom the spirit of such a book should be able to transcend its written text.