Star Ratings: 5
A fight worth fighting for!
When a mother is determined, the entire universe conspires in helping her achieve it! ‘Fighting for Tara’ proves just that. A story that redefines valour, grit, determination and above all a mother’s love. This is not just another story, but a story that will stir you from your comfort zone, shake you up and make you count your blessings. A story that seems every bit real, with every character oozing with raw emotions, this book takes you on a thought provoking journey from the barren lands of Rajasthan in India to the picturesque California in the USA.
Realism bytes
The story brings you face to face with some harsh realities of our society, which we had almost taken for granted. To us issues like child marriage and female feticide or infanticide might be lost battles, which can only be solved by government intervention. But ‘Fighting for Tara’, will make you want to reach out to ground zero and do something about it. Stop the heinous act, and show the world to those who are still living in their cocooned shells refusing to accept the fact that girls and boys are equals, deserving equal rights.
"But before her new life could begin, she and Baldev would take a detour to the river to disperse her husband’s ashes and discard her beautiful daughter’s body."
Exceptionally well-written
The language is discreet and it seems every word matters to the story. Not a single crutch word has been used and the author has exceptional skills in juxtaposing the essence of priority in the lives of her characters. While one chapter deals with a childless mother who yearns to hold a tiny being and nurture it, the next chapter deals with the pathos of a young child bride, who is a widow and a mother struggling to keep her girl child alive.
"The weight of her empty womb mocked her, and she felt her throat swell as a tear rolled down her cheek. She sniffled as another drop fell, and another, until a steady stream turned her eyes weary. She sobbed in the solitude of her car, littering the passenger seat with tissues."
The Story
How far can a thirteen-year-old go to save her own daughter? A child bride, married to a 60-year-old in a country that boasts of electing a female prime minister not too long ago, Hansa was also a widowed young mother who was ordered to kill her own infant daughter. In her village, her world, it was a way of life where widowed young girls got married to their husband’s brother, so that the family wealth stayed in the family. So Hansa’s brother-in-law was to get married to her, and it was his order to Hansa to kill the baby Tara, only because she was a girl child and he did not want one. It is the grit of a 13-year-old to save her daughter that is remarkable. In the process Hansa and Tara define and redefine the relationship between them, the child bride, widow and mother Hansa gets an opportunity to live the life of a normal teenager, know and understand what love is, and many more changes happen in the lives of these little girls from the tiny hamlet of Rajasthan. There are some sub-plots in the story which are equally relevant to make matters stand out and the author has beautifully played out each incident so that it all culminates into one meaningful whole by the end of the story.
Reason for ratings. . .
The author mentions that she drew inspiration to write this book from an article on child-brides that she read while waiting at the dentist’s office. India has the highest number of child-brides in the world, with 47 per cent of girls married before their 18th birthday. The author deserves credit for narrating a tale that puts a face to these numbers, a realistic story that converts the statistics into a heart-wrenching and compelling narration. It’s a story where the author has clearly put her heart and brain into, and it’s surely going to steal your heart and push your brain into action.
Would I recommend this book?
Of course yes! A meaningful, worthwhile, must read.
Of course yes! A meaningful, worthwhile, must read.
The line that stayed with me. . .
She looked at the elegant gathering around her and marveled at how far she had come, from the hut in Dharni where she milked goats, to the Hilton in San Francisco, she sat wearing make-up, sipping champagne with the elite of America, eating goat cheese from gold-rimmed plates.
She looked at the elegant gathering around her and marveled at how far she had come, from the hut in Dharni where she milked goats, to the Hilton in San Francisco, she sat wearing make-up, sipping champagne with the elite of America, eating goat cheese from gold-rimmed plates.
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