FAMILY FACETIME
This outstanding novel brilliantly captures the ebb and flow of the great Indian joint family during the tough pandemic times
The pandemic and frequent lockdowns turned our world upside down. But for many people, it redefined the dynamics of a joint family, work-life balance, and setting one’s priorities in life. Gokhale’s The Blind Matriarch takes us through the topmost floor of Matangi Ma, a stoic visually impaired matriarch, who has been through a lot in her life. Her philandering husband had abused her mentally, emotionally, and physically. But Ma is always hovering over the lives of her dysfunctional middle-class family, who stay downstairs. She is constantly trying to hold everyone together. Her caretaker cum long-time companion Lali is her real connection with the outside world. While her three children, Suryaveer, Shanta, and Satish never speak of her blindness at home, they are all protective of her in these tough times. To make matters worse, the pandemic exposes the fault lines and deep fissures within the family.
So, while the entire world battles with the Coronavirus pandemic, the matriarch, and her family have their own demons to fight. Through powerful prose and relatable characters, Gokhale manages to weave in the complex layers of human relationships. Amid uncertainties and growing fear over the ‘Chinese virus’, the author manages to capture the mantra of a life well-lived. The small talks between Matangi-ma and Lali, be it her love for music, TV soaps, or curiosity over the looks of some politicians, bring to the surface the small joys in our lives. Ebbing and flowing like the waves of the pandemic and the political circus, this novel beautifully captures the power of the resilience of the human spirit.