Independence

by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

still, Nabakumar is Priya’s hero.

Life was too short to waste on trivialities when one had a goal.

‘That is why I have to work in Calcutta, among the faceless poor. It is my small offering to my motherland.’

When men go off to be heroes, do they even realize what it does to the women they leave behind?

What about vice versa?

there are some things one must do, even if they bring danger and heartache to those he loves the most. I am thankful I could play a small part in our country’s struggle.

She knows that the marital fate of younger sisters depends on the quality of the match made by the eldest.

But Jamini is stubborn and smitten, a dangerous combination.

How many mysteries are locked within the people we think we know.

In death there is no distinction.

Can wishes bring destruction?

The village women say you can pull a man to you with love, if it is strong enough.

Sometimes you have to fight injustice whether you win or lose.

if this is what you have set your heart on, then go ahead, even if you fail you will know you tried.

Women without money are forced to make bad choices.

People do not belong to others. We are each our own.

Why invite arguments before they become unavoidable?

It is tough to make decisions that affect lives,

uncertainty is better than the definitive click of a door closing.

Best of all she expresses no opinions, and who does not like that in a woman.

Can a man—even Raza whom she loves with all her heart—make up for the loss of culture family community, generations of tradition woven into her being?

once you are one of them, once they have eaten your salt, you will be safe.’

‘I am not religious, but being a Hindu is deep in my bones.

world is not kind to people who place principles before practicality.

They beheaded Hindu men, raped women.

it is better to be attackers than victims.

she has no pride left, if he pushes her away so be it.

‘I don’t doubt that you love me—to the extent you are capable of love.

The things we give away are no longer ours to control.

‘Education is an immeasurable, beautiful, indispensable atmosphere in which we live and move and have our being.

He locks the door; the click echoes through the night.

Humankind would be better off, she thinks, if there were no religions.

When one lacks better choices, it is prudent to stick with what really happened.

logic is drowned in a wave of loss.

There is a godlike satisfaction in reducing pain, in banishing fevers, in helping a body stand up and walk again.

bring change, the leaders must work selflessly, tirelessly, for a long time.

her child would have had, forever, the mark of his father’s religion cut into him.

meaning well counts for nothing, only what happens in the end matters.

This is the trouble with women from foreign cultures, they say. Too emotional, too entangled in family.

I am not ready to die because it requires infinitely more courage to live.

No matter how her story ends, she refuses to believe that a woman cannot have the joys of home and also a place in the world.

seasons know no borders.

Fame has its drawbacks.

He smiles; he is a wise husband; he does not say I know you better than you know yourself.

They did not need words to understand what was in the other’s mind.

I can live with love lost but not with the guilt that would poison that love forever for us both.

So many secrets nested inside us all, even the people to whom we give little thought.

With her impaired leg, she is no match for their heroic postures.

Men may be persuaded, he knows, but Nature is implacable.

chance is a slippery customer,

one does not die so easily of a broken heart.