‘Becoming the Storm’ by Rami Chhabra: A generational rift
Book Title: Becoming the Storm
Author: Rami Chhabra
In ‘Becoming the Storm’, Rami Chhabra paints a canvas of post-Independence Delhi by tracing the everyday life of a large Punjabi family, with each member pursuing his or her own destiny in a newborn India struggling to stand on its feet. A melange of varied characters, young and old, traditional and bold, hangs between the terribly schismatic choices of treading onto new paths or clinging to the old order.
Like the country, Delhi is passing through tumultuous times. The old regime is gone, and if there is confusion and uncertainty, it also throws up new openings and opportunities.
Indu is a bright, bold young girl keen to carve out her own path. She is gifted with the art of eloquence and written expression, assets that she uses forcefully both in her personal and professional life.
The story meanders through Indu’s life at her parents’ home and later the highs and lows of her married life, with elaborate detailing of petty squabbles with her in-laws and the various inconveniences she suffers in her husband Ashok’s house. Any young wife will identify with Indu’s travails. The author has projected her protagonist as a strong, self-respecting, assertive woman, though careful never to have her overstep the socially acceptable parameters, even though she pushes them a bit occasionally. Indu’s character appears to be engaged in a constant balancing act with her husband and in-laws, ensuring she displays a touch of feminism the author wants to project, but never so much as to tarnish the image of an Indian woman or shock the reader.
Chhabra is very good at creating an atmosphere through vivid details of the seasons and surroundings, setting a visual stage for the drama to follow. But often, the storyline is diluted in the prosaic information about the obvious, softening the impact. The thrill and excitement of action take second place to long paragraphs about interactions and observations that do not contribute greatly to the plot. Quite a large number of characters come and go, and not all make their mark or add much to the story. Many of the characters we meet in the beginning fade out soon after they have played the short given roles.
Chhabra captures the ongoing day-to-day life of an ordinary middle-class family, including illness, deaths, births and weddings; financial crises and bounties; the making and breaking of relationships and twists of fate. There is also a touch of divine intervention through a Babaji, which will resonate with many families who rely on a go-between for putting forward small appeals to God. There are good women and not-so-good women, coloured by a married woman’s somewhat biased perspective.
Indu’s mother, Rano, is a dutiful wife and mother who runs her house excellently and is a good mother-in-law to her daughter-in-law. Her mother-in-law is a distant and insensitive woman who feigns illness to press her wishes. Both of Ashok’s sisters are unfriendly and hostile towards Indu.
Chhabra has given the reader a relaxing, easy read with no major upheavals to disturb sensibilities or bring on a disapproving frown. Many women will indeed find much to identify with in the book.
— The writer is a former bureaucrat and author