Converging Divergence in the Select Novels of Manju Kapur, Shobhaa De and Githa Hariharan

Abstract

The present paper focuses on the theme of converging divergence in the novels such as Difficult Daughters (1998) and Custody (2011) by Manju Kapur, Sisters (1992) and Sethji (2012) by Shobhaa De and The Thousand Faces of Night (1992) and In Times of Siege (2003) by Githa Hariharan. The tension between the desire of people for independence and the social, cultural and familial forces that limit them is encapsulated by the phrase converging divergence which frequently results in moments of reconciliation or unresolved conflict amidst India’s economic liberalization and partition. Kapur’s realist stories examine middle-class women’s battles against patriarchal standards. Elite urban settings where materialist and political aspirations collide with gender and structural limitations are highlighted by Shobhaa De’s sensationalist lens. In order to address the interaction of individual and ideological liberties in postcolonial India, Hariharan’s poetic style combines mythology with socio-political criticism. The novels traverse the conflict between individual agency and collective identity, personal aspirations and societal constraints and tradition and modernity through gendered and class-based perspectives. These conflicts are exacerbated by historical contexts such as Partition, economic liberalization and post 9/11 communalism which expose the fragmented character of Indian identity. While Hariharan and Kapur provide feminist critiques, De’s emphasis on drama occasionally restricts the depth of subversive thought. Together these pieces shed light on the intricacies of identity, gender, and power highlighting the ongoing fight for autonomy in the face of convergent socio-cultural forces. The aim of the present article is to analyse female desire, sibling rivalry, converging, divergence, tradition, modernity, identity and patriarchy in their novels.