 Madras Mosaic
Change, whether we like it or not, whether necessary or otherwise, is the inevitable law of life. In the past 50 years and more, Indian society has been exposed to the winds of change from different directions. In the midst of all the changes stands the figure of the unchanging, uncompromising mother-in-law, proof against all change.
In her first article Ma-in-law goes Five Star in the collection
'Madras Mosaic', Meera Rao presents a delightful, warm, affectionate portrait of her mother-in-law. There is an old world charm about her. Wearing her saree in the old fashioned Madhwa style, she is the very picture of orthodoxy. The sight of the Five Star hotel culture makes her uneasy and she naturally gets anxious about her granddaughter living abroad. When the author tells her that times have changed, she shouts back her comment, "Times have not changed, but values have." The old order may change, but the old cannot be thrown overboard.
Madras Mosaic is a series of vignettes of the changing scenario. The hold of established institutions like marriage and family has loosened. Attitudes to man-woman relationship
have undergone radical change. Men and women, particularly those who have grown on the diet of foreign culture suffer from no inhibition in discussing matters considered personal and intimate. Meera Rao highlights the changing or changed scenario and her assessment is based on her survey. The answers given by women to questions on a wide range of subjects like women living alone, attitude to marriage, choice of life partners, platonic love and so on, besides being revealing, show candour and honesty.
While change in respect of dress and food have taken root, the rhythm of cultural life has not suffered any jolt. In the article Eternal Madras, Meera has captured faithfully the cultural milieu of Madras that is Chennai. What she has projected of this aspect is true not of Madras alone, but any part of India. Visiting temples, participation in the bhajans, particularly from mid-December to mid-January, attending religious discourses and music performances - all this goes on with unfailing regularity. Meera emphasises the cultural pattern which is unaffected by external changes.
Meera Rao is a social observer and has recorded objectively and faithfully what is taking place in a fast changing society. She juxtaposes the old and the new , the traditional and the modern, what is changing and what remains unchanged. Being an unbiased social observer, she focuses on social trends which have to be reckoned with and leaves it to the reader to draw his own conclusions. The changes she writes about are not peculiar to the city. They have penetrated into towns and even villages and in that sense Madras Mosaic has a wider relevance.
Madras Mosaic, true to its title, is rich and varied, covers a wide spectrum of subjects and is spiced with mild humour. It is written in an informal, direct and simple style. The book is published by Parity Paperbacks, M 36, Lado Sarai, NewDelhi, and is priced at Rs 180.
S Jagadeesan,
Retd. Professor of English,
Presidency College,
13/A Tarachandnagar,
Virugambakkam,
Chennai.
Phone: 23774423
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