Bakula  (Marathi, Paperback, MURTY SUDHA)

The novel Bakula (Marathi) makes the reader wonder how a relationship can be filled with happiness when all the sacrifices are made by one person for the satisfaction of the other.

Summary Of The Book

Bakula is an attractive flower, but it is neither as beautiful as the rose, nor as fragrant as the jasmine. Yet it has a wild beauty that is all its own. In Bakula (Marathi), this flower comes to represent the love between Shrimati and Shrikant, and then their strained relationship as time goes on.

Shrimati and Shrikant are neighbors and close friends. They study in the same school in a North Bangalore suburb and are both academically brilliant. The two fall in love, the enmity of their respective families notwithstanding. They meet secretly under a large Bakula tree. Eventually, they get married despite the opposition from their families.

Shrimati has already chosen History as her major while Shrikant goes on to study in IIT. After marriage, her dreams of higher studies are thwarted as the couple has to meet the incessant financial demands of Shrikant's mother, who hates her daughter-in-law. As their lives go on, Shrimati suppresses her ambitions to let her husband fulfill his.

Shrikant soon becomes obsessed with his career and grows indifferent towards family life. The parties and social gatherings they attend to further his career soon begin to irritate Shrimati. She feels totally neglected, and she realises that she is giving everything to their relationship and is receiving little in return.

As their relationship grows strained and the prospect of having children also becomes elusive, their marriage starts to crumble. Can they mend their differences and rediscover the happiness on which they had based their marriage or are they doomed to go their separate ways?

About Sudha Murthy

Sudha Murthy is a renowned social worker and a prolific writer. Other books by Sudha Murthy include How I Taught My Grandmother To Read And Other Stories, Mahashwetha, Dollar Bahu, The Old Man And His God, and The Magic Drum And Other Favourite Stories. She has written novels, short stories, and stories for children.

Murthy was born as Sudha Kulkarni in 1950 in Shiggaon, Karnataka. She graduated as a gold medalist with a degree in Electrical engineering from B. V. B. College of Engineering, Hubli. She then earned an ME in Computer Science. Murthy was the first female engineer at TELCO. She went on to marry Narayana Murthy, the co-founder of Infosys, and was one of the initial investors in the company. Murthy heads the Infosys Foundation. She has been awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India for her philanthropic and social work.