Precursor of Love – A Saga Of Relationships

PRECURSOR OF LOVE – A SAGA OF RELATIONSHIPS

The maiden novel of Rita Garg , Precursor of Love condemns lesbianism through the creation of three women , The Girl , who is the central figure ; Amilya who saves herself the temptation of this unnatural relationship of lesbians ; and , Srishti the dwindling lesbian. Against this striving trio , the major character is Dr.Suryanarayan who wins the love of Amilya and marries her.

The shining foil of this backdrop , in a perfect finished style , the novelist throws light on the struggle of these characters . The struggle touches to the core but the balance of presentation gives the reader an insight easily formed into the strange world of -to be or not to be’ relationship on the part of the characters. This scene is perforated with the help of other relationships.

One enters into this world as an infant – absolutely unaware of the world around – but with passage of time the knowledge of the people and relationships with them reveals its aura. Its strange that some force underlies in each relationship blessing some by virtue of birth and with further advancement into the complex terrain of life, one falls in and out of several relationships. This world is full of mysterious things and to be able to hang on to it, one uses the crutches of relationships at various times. This paper will deal with a study of different forms of relationships as depicted in Dr. Rita Garg’s , Precursor of Love. One constantly strives to find the golden rule of a successful rapport with everything one comes across. Since birth to death,a person’s success or failure is measured by the kind of relationship he/she has with life or its elements : people, but striking the right chord often proves a hard nut to crack. Amilya, the central figure of the novel is involved in a series of relationships. A lawyer by profession, Amilya is very popular among her clients. She is committed to her work and puts in her heart and soul to get the case in favour of her clients.Work is worship for her and at all times she is occupied with it whether in kachehari or in the peaceful confines of her home. Dedication to work is her top priority in the initial phases of the novel. Later ofcourse, other things come up in her life but work still maintains a prominent position in her life. Amilya was born of good parents and her foster parents were also rich but they also died, leaving her an orphan to face the world alone. She studied Law and started practicing as a lawyer but there was an emotional vaccum in her life and to fill it up she worked with ferociousness and slowly this ambition became her passion and she desired to bea top level lawyer one day. Her relationship with work is unbreakable as it is something which started off because Amilya was lonely but later it became a way of life for her and hence the strong bondages. Loneliness is a feeling in which people experience a strong sense of emptiness and solitude. This was the exact condition of Amilya. Despite having a flourishing career, Amilya did not have anyone to call her own. She had been orphaned at an early age and even though she was adopted yet she could not enjoy being loved for long as even her foster parents died leaving her alone. Lack of emotional anchor attracted her towards a relationship with The Girl which was not normal friendship . Amilya and The Girl had accidental meetings which culminated into a friendship and slowly took the shape of a lesbian relationship. The unsuspecting Amilya did not realize this and kept considering The Girl as a good friend unless The Girl came out in the open and talked about consummation. – When we meet for the first time, you’ll have to come best decked in a red zari sari with an aura of shine.- 1 The intimacy The Girl was looking for was not really encouraged by Amilya but still there was something that kept the two together. Initially it was Amilya’s urge to create a character like The Girl for her novel but later it turned out to be that Amilya too was developing a soft corner for The Girl. So strong was the emotional aura of The Girl that Amilya found it difficult to come out from it. She found herself so entangled in the web of emotions that her happiness and sadness was dependent on the mood of the Girl . – This clarified to Amilya that all the joy for Amilya was getting shrunk into the joys of The Girl. Amilya was coming to emotional dependence.-42 The Girl had a quality of making others feel sorry if they ever asserted their charm. She ofcourse never forced someone into a relationship but her emotional outbursts were sufficient enough to keep Amilya glued to her. -Tears always waited the threshold of eyelids, which assisted the owner in emotionally blackmailing others . Amilya is often victimized by all this precariously violent temperament.- 35 Amilya and The Girl get tied into an unnatural relationship where uncertainity looms large. For the Girl , Amilya is her ultimate destination,but Amilya is indecisive about their relationship. As spoken about earlier the Girl used her emotional artillery to exercise control over Amilya. She wanted to command and control the brain of the other so that the person would meekly behave like a domestic animal. – If you don’t listen to me , I would do something to myself . I would kill myself.- 36 It is things like this that compel Amilya to contemplate about the feasibility of their relationship. As the novel progresses, one comes to know that even though for Amilya this was the first such relationship but the Girl had many previous involvements with other girls. Her affable charm enabled the Girl to easily attract other girls towards her. Ragini was one such girl who had fallen for the charms of the Girl but could not enjoy the attention of the Girl for long as the Girl’s focus shifted to Srishti, a girl introduced to her by Ragini herself. Srishti was an ordinary girl who was so self absorbed that she did not care for anyone around. She took utmost interest in herself and took pride in assuming that she was femme fatale. To the world she was like any commoner but the Girl worshipped her like a Goddess and would go to any extent to please and satisfy Srishti. As for Srishti , one feels that her sole interest in the Girl was to enjoy life to the fullest at the expense of the Girl and satisfy her own self esteem by being the cynosure of the Girl’s eyes. As soon as she had extracted maximum from the Girl and milked her dry, she went abroad in search of greener pastures. Srishti was a jealous woman and so, as soon as she heard of Amilya’s presence in the Girl’s life, she decided to return to the Girl, only to leave her again later. Though the Girl does not gain much popularity with the readers but she manages to gain much sympathy as she is only regarded as a precursor of love by all the women in her life. For no one , she proves to be the final destination. The Girl’s feelings for Srishti were in absolute contrast to the feelings Srishti had for her. The Girl loved her dearly even after she made an exit from her life. She could never forget Srishti and the love chapter of Srishti could never be erased from her memory even when Amilya was in her life. Srishti continued to hold a special place in her heart and the Girl even though fully aware of Srishti’s attitude was ever ready to become her doormat. When Amilya comes to know the exact reason for Srishti’s split with the Girl , she realizes that , -Day by day , because of natural exposure to the world , the Girl is gaining wisdom and Srishti is becoming more and more unwitty because she is shackled with a domestic woman’s tendencies . Srishti is keen on easy earned lavishness while The Girl likes hard earned objects.- 137 Of course their relationship is a disaster as the basis of it is one sided love from the Girl’s side while Srishti is on the lookout for materialistic gains.Srishti was always residing in the thoughts of the Girl , the body was incensed with the incense of Srishti’s physical charms. She was an inseparable aspect in the Girl’s life. The relationship of Amilya with a neighbourhood child Dev, proved to be a turning point in her life. They met and instantly a bond was formed. Amilya befriended the child and slowly he became an integral part of her life. Amilya befriended the child and slowly he became an integral part of her life. What Amilya felt for Dev was an entirely new emotion for her. She experienced utmost joy in his company. – That single joyful shriek makes Amilya forget each and every physical or mental agony.- 81 His presence made Amilya active as she feels that he fills every nook and corner of the house and gives life like direction to the setup of Amilya. She had been lonely for the major part of her life but the entry of Dev into her life has filled that void. She felt he world being illumined. – Till now , she was earning to live conveniently and to have a position in society. But , as the first drastic change in her, she wants to earn more and more.- 82 This beautiful relation has been introduced by the novelist to make Amilya realize that she was living a superficial life. The real pleasure of a woman is to have her own child and then she feels that he life is complete. Dev unconsciously proves to be major factor in clearing the clouds of uncertainity which loomed large over Amilya. She immediately snaps out of the illusionary world which she had set up with the Girl.The desire of having her own Dev delves deep into her and so she embarks on the journey of marriage. Dr. Surya Narayan , the doctor who treated Dev, when the child met with an accident , becomes Amilya’s love destination. Once again Dev provides this direction for Amilya. As Dr. Surya Narayan is a medical practitioner, he is the one to attend to Dev when he met with an accident. Sparks flew at Amilya and Dr. Surya’s first encounter. Though Amilya underplayed her emotions , Dr. Surya Narayan did not hesitate in suggesting for a life long companionship. -Often, I reach a conclusion, that unnecessarily I am collecting movable and immovable property–.To use the bulk of wealth, this exhausted lonely doctor is a useless being.- 99 By saying such things he often dropped hints at Amilya and looked at Amilya anxiously but optimistically. On the contrary Amilya did not express anything vocally but her eyes were enough to bind Dr. Surya Narayan’s heart. On seeing the disturbed condition of Amilya and realizing that she was mentally torn , he proposes to wait for her all his life. So strong is his faith in their undecided relationship that he tells Amilya : -Today,you are my worst type of defeat in life and tomorrow you shall be the best win and the most precious achievement of my life.- 106 The strangest feature of the relationship between the two is that not much time is spent in deciding upon the future course of their relationship. No brooding , not much reflection and then the final decision of spending the rest of their lives together . Amilya attracted to him instantly. -What a genius ! A real perfect competent man he is ! Above all , the goodness of his heart is remarkable .- 99 They are both lonely and on the lookout for an emotional anchor . Their flourishing career inhibited them from indulging in any romantic relationship so when the time came they did not want to lose the opportune moment. Dr.Surya Narayan was well aware of the Girl’s feelings towards Amilya but he never voiced his opinion about it. Instead he let her make the transition gradually so that there would’nt be any loose ends to their relationship. He proves to be Amilya’s Knight in shining armour when she was going through a turmoil in life. Her relationship with the Girl was turning sour. -Amilya has realized the deficiencies associated with the relationship of the Girl .- 103 The Girl was demanding life long commitment and that too on her own terms. She wanted Amilya to give up he practice and look after her finances. Amilya had started suffocating . She did not want to be part of such a setup.- The Girl seems to be bent upon marring what he has still not reached its youth. At no rate shall Amilya accept this world.- 112 Dr. Surya Narayan on the contrary , was very concerned about Amilya’s emotions . He very well knew the importance of career in her life and so told her : – I’ll be careful about your career. Enough of conveniences shall be created for that. Your further rise in career shall be my rise.- 131 This mutual understanding of emotions paved the way for their union and they tied the knot , thus fixing a permanent seal onto their relationship. So far the discussion was about interpersonal relationships but the novelist has also portrayed some minor characters and their relationship with life has been brought out beautifully . One such character is Munshiram alias Harfanmaula.True to his name , this man projects a weird picture in his joker like dresses. His unwashed clothes with oil patterns on the collar and dandruff creating pollen like diagrams display the indifference of his wife. It is clear that there is lack of love in his life but despite all this , he is an an idol of affection and gentleness. His relationship with life is such that he prefers to enjoy the beauty of life rather than sit back and crib about his emotional losses. Another such character who makes a brief appearance yet manages to carve a deep impression on the reader’s mind is the nurse at Dr. Surya Narayan’s clinic. The nurse is a gentle and good humoured woman . She laughs and entertains Amilya by telling her about the different sort of patients . Her observation is that the rich fall sick because their free time makes then sick. Any poor person who finds it difficult to arrange for two square meals a day does not have the leisure to fall sick. The nurse gets into such an animated chat with Amilya that Amilya starts reflecting on the realities of life life when suddenly her eyes fall on a patch in the nurse’s dress. – But only the willing creative writer realized that such a carefree , jocular nurse has a life full of pits.- 120 But the beauty with which the nurse masks her suffering is admirable. She might be facing so many hurdles in life but she wants to enjoy nature’s bounty. Materialistic pleasures could well be out of reach but she very well knows how to enjoy the life she has been blessed with. All the characters in Precursor of Love are victims in some way or the other. Some victims of life while the others victims of their own thoughts but all of them finally manage to survive among relationships. They make their own decisions and welcome life with open arms. REFERENCES

1.Rita Garg. Precursor of Love, New Delhi : Vishwabharti Publications. 2006 Subsequent references are from the above edition

Efforts By : Shivangi Dikshit Teacher and Research Scholar(English) INPG college Meerut

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