Madhavi

The Storyteller in Madhavi recounts an ancient tale from the Mahabharata. Munikumar Galav must fulfil his promise to his guru, Vishwamitra. This is his Duty. Yayati the king-turned-ashramite gives away his daughter Madhavi to Galav in an act of generosity; this is his Duty. And in between these fixed notions of male pride and honour lives Madhavi, treated as a mere pawn in the world of masculine action. Blessed with the ability to regain her youth and virginity at will, and the promise that she will mother great kings, she is a valuable asset to the men who use and control her. Till she walks out on them all, denying them the final satisfaction of controlling her will. Bhisham Sahni is a leading writer in Hindi. He has been Editor of the literary magazine Nai Kahaniyan. Amongst his major works, the novel Tamas, dealing with the Partition experience, won the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1975. Alok Bhalla, the translator, is a senior literary editor, who currently teaches at CIEFL, Hyderabad.