Shashi Deshpande writes about Indian women with the authority of the universal female experience. When she embarks on journey through the sea of human relations, she discovers at its depth the most complicated and hidden feelings of woman. These precious gems are transformed into a novel for the readers. Each of her novels is a unique experience for her readers. Small Remedies is a path breaking novel by Shashi Deshpande, which belongs to the second phase of her writings. This novel holds a mirror to the social transitions occurring in Indian society. In a male dominated society like India where women have been treated like a foot mattress for centuries, Shashi Deshpande makes a novel attempt to trace the position of woman in 21st century. Till today though the status of woman has changed her fight for identity has not yet ended. Like the old wine in the new bottle her struggle has taken new faces. Shashi Deshpande’s novels implore women to discover their selfhood not as a genderised being. The power of the writer is the power of the creator. She feels that she can make Bai the rebel who rejected the conventions of her times. The feminist lived her life on her terms. The great artist struggled and sacrificed everything for the cause of her act. The woman gave up everything-a comfortable home, a husband and a family-for love.
Research Scholar, P.G. Department of English, Magadh University, Bodh-Gaya
