Between the Lines

Man and woman are two necessary wheels in the journey of life. But basically they differ so much in their nature, thinking, feelings and role adoption that some time they lead to complexities in life. To study this difference and have a look into the psyche and caliber of women it's necessary to have a picture of women as depicted in the fiction. We have heard common people talking of 'feminism' as if it is 'by the women for the women' and that women writers must write about women related issues. They say, feminism entered India with the influence of western literature in twentieth century. But I feel writers like, Rabindranath Tagore who wrote 'Two Sisters', D. R. Bendre who wrote 'Putta Vidhave' in Kannada, Kuvempu who wrote 'Kanuru Subbamma Heggaditi', and R. K. Narayan are feminists in many of their works. Tarabai Shindhe, the first modern Indian feminist formulates her ideology from the influence of Satyashodhak Movement lead by Phule couple.