Didi : Nirupama Devi

Legendary writer Nirupama Devi’s Didi is the story of a diligent assertive and capable woman who according to her own admission loves to be in charge of things. Surama can take responsibilities and deliver on them as creditably as the chief executive officer of a large company. Yet for her husband she is only a co-wife. As divorce did not feature as an option (Didi was published in Bengali in 1915 years before divorce was legalized by the Hindu Marriage Act of 1955) Surama’s challenge is to lead a fulfilled life within the parameters of her weird circumstances. To complicate matters Surama continues to love her husband though she tries hard to hate him. In fact there is no villain in the story. Even Amar who brings home a younger woman as his second wife is gentle and benevolent. The novelist very convincingly makes him a victim of circumstances. The second wife Charu a child-woman when the story begins is extremely fond of her Didi Surama. The friendship of the two wives of one man forms the fulcrum of the narrative. Consisting of strong sub-plots one of which depicts the painful process by which a young widow sublimates her sexuality and submits herself to God the only way of living allowed to her by the society of her time Didi is a reminder why society needed to change for women to live their lives with dignity.