The Rose and The Thorn

We live in a world that is multicultural, rich in culture, customs and diversity. This is especially true in Australia today, and I find it helpful to have some perspective and understanding of these varied cultures and the people I meet and connect with. How better for a bookworm like me to do this than to read. 

As a child of the forties and fifties, my view of Indian culture and history was greatly influenced by my elders. At school, I was indoctrinated with romanticised Colonial History.  India was peopled by warring factions, and when the English arrived, they soon sorted this out. When they departed in 1947, we were taught that they left a functioning democracy.

The Rose and The Thorn, by Indrani Ganguly, informs and educates as it entertains. While it’s set against a backdrop of history, it’s about love - family, sisterly and romantic love. We read about women from India’s multifaceted society working together to fight for independence, and to improve conditions for women. To do this, they have to go against the men they love, who sometimes oppose, sometimes support them. There are also complex relationships with the English men, women and children and prominent and not so prominent Indians.

The first line of this novel - ‘Today is the eighty-fifth birthday of my two mothers.’ – heralds a mystery. This hooked me and kept me puzzling over its meaning until towards the end of the book.

As twins Mukti and Lila grow to adulthood and marriage, their sheltered life begins to change, paralleling what is happening to the political climate and of the social reforms of India during the early to mid-20^th century. When it came time for the twins to marry, Mukti asked her mother (page 110): ‘Why are mothers-in-law often so mean?’ Her mother replied: ‘They were often badly treated themselves and this is their way of getting back.’ As in many societies of the time, women had no standing without a good husband, (as Mukti’s Aunt Molly declares on page 115).

Lila, the twin who was born a dreamer, wanted nothing more than to settle into a life like her mother’s but this is denied her. Mukti, on the other hand, wants adventure. As both struggle to achieve their aims, as they are torn like plants from the soil they know, their love and loyalty are tested over and over again. Mukti’s husband, Krishna, tell her (page 315): ‘Before you tear down something, you must think through what you will put in its place.’ Something India was struggling to do as it reached towards independence.

By the time I reached the final words, the challenge thrown to the reader in the last sentence of the blurb was answered. But you’ll have to read the book to discover your own answer to this question.