For a debut fiction Malathi Ramachandran's novel The Wheel Turned wrings an astonishing potpourri of emotions from the reader – despair, despondency, yet also fervent curiosity and anticipation. It exemplifies an incredible story of a soldier's saga, the mutability of fortunes and the parallelism between love and war thatpermeate the story.
Storyline
The central figure is Meena, a soldier's wife whose blissful marriage to Captain Anand is disturbed when he goes to resist the Chinese invasion in the 1960s and disappears. Has he been killed or taken prisoner of war?
Anand's disappearance propels Meena to a new life but the tussle between the right and the wrong, the constant interference of another man and the desperate need to meet her husband once again come together to present an interesting concoction.
Her meeting with Pradeep Choudhry, their gradual attraction moves easily into racy buoyancy and, through a series of coincidences, Meena finds their lives turning and twisting.
Ultimately after a series of altercations involving the people in her past and present, Meena comes to realise that she needs to to be pragmatic. She agrees to marry Pradeep and starts a fresh chapter.
But Malathi tells us movingly about Anand's return as a monk followed by his encounter with Meena. Anand is moulded by the consequences of his own actions, reinforced by a tragic sense and a changed external reality.
Perspective
Much of the book is from Meena's perspective, her undisputed control of her own destiny, the painful shedding of all that is recognised as incompatible and the final discovery of her need for Anand's love that stands against the full shock of disillusionment. And her resulting freedom from that inner tension is cathartic and, by this two-fold storm, new feelings and new insights have a chance to enter her life.
We also notice that when her life becomes a quagmire of uncertainty she thinks of her most prized possesion,; the magical Tibetan wheel that becomes her talisman of hope and happiness. Oftentimes she puts the pieces of the gory story together she is also constantly reminded of her undying faith in this oriental mysticism that had bought her closer to Anand as well to Pradeep.
Malathi's felicity with language, the occasional striking choice of words, her close observation of a woman in Meena's predicament and her sincere sentiments is admirable and renders this moving tale of marital life and faith.
Interesting style
Her writing style is an interesting blend of crisp and simple descriptions and she explores the possible range of human thoughts, the existence of complex feelings and even the contradictory attitudes to a single emotion. Her treatment of the ending is apt as no other ending would have been imaginatively right and she offers the readers a gripping, fast paced novel keeping alive an equally charming motley of admirers like Pradeep and Ming-Lee.
The Wheel Turned is a must read for all those who like to enjoy a story with bitter-sweet relationships. We do not look at the story; we enter into it and live with it.
The Wheel Turned;Malathi Ramachandran, Pustak Mahal, Rs. 175.
