Conflict Between Tradition And Modernity In Shashi Deshpande's A Matter Of Time

Shashi Deshpande novelist deals with the inner world of Indian woman in her novels she writes about the conflict between tradition and modernity in relation to women in the middle class society. A Woman’s desires, efforts and failures in the traditional Indian society the main highlight of her novels. Her depiction of women’s world is authentic, realistic and credible.

“A Matter of Time” is an exploration of a women’s inner life. This novel was published by Penguin Books USA and India in1996. As her other novels deals with woman’s psyche, A Matter of Time (1996) deals with the same subject, expect, that, the inner life of woman, emotionally isolated from her family is reflected. Deshpande believes to be a feminist and her concerns are universal. She writes about silent, sobbing women-mothers,

Hence Sumi along with her three daughters comes to her parental home, to the shelter of the Big House, where her parents Kalyani and Shripati are living in a strange oppressive silence. They have not spoken to each other for thirty-five years. There is a distinct parallel between Shripati’s desertion of Kalyani and Gopal’s desertion of Sumi. What is significant is that without the men and women come to their own and show the potential to shed the dependency syndrome. Sumi is different from other protagonist of Shashi Deshpande, because she straightaway decides to face the facts squarely. Gopal, after 23 years of marriage with Sumi, a history lectures in a local college, one evening, for reasons he could not speak, in a very casual way walks out and very easily unburdens his responsibilities as a husband and father of three grown up daughters. Even before Sumi could realize the seriousness of the situation and the burden thrust on her, everything ends leaving Sumi in a shocked silence. Describing the whole scene of Gopal’s casual desertion, Keerthi Ramachandra