Finished On:6th of December 2013
Vinuta gets married to Girish who’s a bank clerk. She is a loving woman who takes care of the family but is never appreciated as she belonged to a poor family and couldn’t bring much wealth to the family. But when Girish’s elder brother Chandru,who is in USA, decides to marry,Vinuta has to listen to the constant comparisons between her and the new bahu,whose husband earns in dollars and has bought the recent affluence in the family. This constant comparision and derision from her family starts affecting health of Vinuta.
Then Gorumma decides to visit her son in US. Once she reaches there, she first gets attracted to the affluence there but then she also understands the love and respect that she gets in India and has taken for granted. Does this understanding improves the relationship between her and Vinuta?
Dollar Bahu was an interesting read. It gives a perspective on the relationships and how their value can’t be measured by the amount of money they bring to the household.
Also it gives the perspective of Indian couples living in America and how they also have to sacrifice things to earn that valuable dollar. Chadru is affluent now but there is lonliness in his life and it bugs him. Also the support system that the family provides is lacking and this also make him year for his homeland. The author has given the opinions on the two lifestyles and shown one had to sacrifice one of the things to gain the other and one cannot hope to get the best of the whole world.
The book was simple and fun to read. I felt sad for Vinuta and the way was she was treated. Although she had a loving father in law but in my opinion Girish could have supported her more. All in all it was a nice read and i finished in two session. I’ll be reading more works by Sudha Murtyji.
You can find the book at the following online sites:
Dollar Bahu-Amazon.in link
