About the book:
‘Many occasions had arisen in my life when I was near to committing suicide. But I
never did. I do not think I was capable of taking such a step. That is how I am. Even in
the darkest hour of despair, I grope and struggle to find a way out and live. I do not
stumble and fall on the way and give up on life. In short, I am like a rubber ball.’
In 1868, Lakshmibai Tilak was born into a strict Brahmin family in Jalalpur near Nashik.
She lived with her father’s sister and her husband who adopted her because they were
childless. She was a mischievous little girl who loved playing with her dolls and
composing poems and telling stories. And at the age of seven, she was married to
Narayan Waman Tilak, a teacher who would go on to become a great scholar and poet.
Mr Tilak was whimsical—he would vanish for days together without informing
anybody, be extremely generous with money and often get conned, and had a tendency
to shift houses and cities without any consideration for Lakshmibai. A few years later,
on one such trip, he converted to Christianity without informing any of his or
Lakshmibai’s family, or even her for that matter. His conversion led to a separation of
about five years, during which Lakshmibai was completely heartbroken and both pined
for each other. Eventually they reunited and Lakshmibai and her children also
converted to Christianity as she was suddenly disillusioned with the rigid Hindu caste
systems and orthodox traditions.
Smritichitre is her life story. She had lived through events that would have destroyed a
lesser person. They very nearly destroyed her too. The dark hours of despair that
Lakshmibai lived through did not have the power to dent her spirit. This story could so
easily have been written in tears. But Lakshmibai’s sense of humour was too
irrepressible to allow that. She describes every notable event of her life from age seven
to fifty-six and every oddball character that became part of it for a while and moved on,
with her unfailing comic touch. It is true that in turning everything to laughter she does
not give us a rounded view of her complex relationship with her husband, nor of his
character or hers. However, reading between the lines, we see that living with
Lakshmibai must have been quite as difficult for Reverend Narayan Waman Tilak as it
‘Many occasions had arisen in my life when I was near to committing suicide. But I
never did. I do not think I was capable of taking such a step. That is how I am. Even in
the darkest hour of despair, I grope and struggle to find a way out and live. I do not
stumble and fall on the way and give up on life. In short, I am like a rubber ball.’
In 1868, Lakshmibai Tilak was born into a strict Brahmin family in Jalalpur near Nashik.
She lived with her father’s sister and her husband who adopted her because they were
childless. She was a mischievous little girl who loved playing with her dolls and
composing poems and telling stories. And at the age of seven, she was married to
Narayan Waman Tilak, a teacher who would go on to become a great scholar and poet.
Mr Tilak was whimsical—he would vanish for days together without informing
anybody, be extremely generous with money and often get conned, and had a tendency
to shift houses and cities without any consideration for Lakshmibai. A few years later,
on one such trip, he converted to Christianity without informing any of his or
Lakshmibai’s family, or even her for that matter. His conversion led to a separation of
about five years, during which Lakshmibai was completely heartbroken and both pined
for each other. Eventually they reunited and Lakshmibai and her children also
converted to Christianity as she was suddenly disillusioned with the rigid Hindu caste
systems and orthodox traditions.
Smritichitre is her life story. She had lived through events that would have destroyed a
lesser person. They very nearly destroyed her too. The dark hours of despair that
Lakshmibai lived through did not have the power to dent her spirit. This story could so
easily have been written in tears. But Lakshmibai’s sense of humour was too
irrepressible to allow that. She describes every notable event of her life from age seven
to fifty-six and every oddball character that became part of it for a while and moved on,
with her unfailing comic touch. It is true that in turning everything to laughter she does
not give us a rounded view of her complex relationship with her husband, nor of his
character or hers. However, reading between the lines, we see that living with
Lakshmibai must have been quite as difficult for Reverend Narayan Waman Tilak as it
was for her to live with him. She was by no means the meek, docile doormat that women
were expected to be in those days. She fought tooth and nail with her husband when she
disagreed with his ideas or actions, and often won her argument.
were expected to be in those days. She fought tooth and nail with her husband when she
disagreed with his ideas or actions, and often won her argument.
cover illustration - Onkar
cover design - Maithili doshi
