Lead Review (The Daughters of Madurai)

• Book: The Daughters of Madurai
• Location: Madurai
• Author: Rajasree Variyar

Review Author: Tina Hartas

3.5*

“All of Madurai is a shrine. They call it the city of temples…”

I was due to head to India early in 2023, but because of the visa situation of British citizens (now thankfully resolved) trying to get into India, we had to cancel our trip. We were heading to Madurai and therefore I was very much looking forward to reading this novel as a kind a substitute for being unable to go.

The story comprises two time lines. Early 1990s set in Usilampatti in Madurai District is the story of Janani, who is living with her husband’s parents and is subject to great cruelty from the family. She has also had multiple pregnancies and by tradition, female babies that are brought into the world are often summarily despatched into the next. Their worth to the family is zero. Janani has had more than her fair share of misery, she has been allowed to keep only one female child, we know that two daughters “lay cold under the coconut palm’” and now she discovers she is once again expecting a child. The chapters start to open with a monthly update of the size of the developing foetus.

Forward to Sydney 2019 and we meet Nila, who is of Indian heritage and is sitting on a secret. But her grandfather back in Madurai falls seriously ill and the family has to decamp to take their leave of the old man. Being a fully fledged Australian, she has little memory of family and life in India.

There is a good sense of place. The hot, chaotic streets of the city come to life. The characters pass such local attractions as Thiruparankundram with its ancient carved temples and the well known Murugan Temple. There are details that range across the gamut of everyday life, and the author paints a very vivid picture for the reader.

The writing is quite simple and descriptive. I struggled with some of the unusual similes that the author chose to use. A stronger editing hand would have honed the text a little. There are some curious turns of phrase that are, on occasion, slightly jarring to the fluidity of the prose. Overall the novel forms a heart rending introduction to the practice of female infanticide that has been prevalent in India for centuries. It is an illegal practice nowadays but it is still thought to be hugely underreported. A sobering read.

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