DO YOU FAVOUR BABULI?

Read "Tribute" this way:

Babuli is highly sarcastic and critical of his wife and her plans of investment. Don't you think what his wife did is right? She is the one who runs the family, knows how to balance the expenditure for domestic as well as personal use. If she feels Babuli should buy a scooter, is it a big crime nowadays? She knows life and time are changing. The vicissitudes of economy is first felt in the kitchen. A woman knows it better than anyone else. I feel she is an ideal housewife.

She gives a very practical advice to her impractical and sentimental husband about selling the land in the village and investing that money in the bank. She knows the practical difficulty of looking after it staying away from the village. Isn't it a wise advice?

It is through Babuli's words we get a picture of his wife. His opinions are no doubt that of the male-dominated society's perception of women. He tries to make his wife appear cruel (remember he compares her to a butcher!!!see the extent of male ego?)and money-minded. Think what moral commitment and integrity Babuli has...and you will feel shocked. Remember him saying how a “stranger” all of sudden can influence his life than his brothers. He treats his wife like a stranger who has no right to advise him or check him. He blames his sisters-in-law for initiating the family feud underlining that women are responsible for domestic splits.

Now look at Babuli's second brother. Again it is through Babuli we know him. How can you call it immoral or cruel if his second brother asks for his property? Don't you see that he is ready to pay for the land he demands from Babuli? I hope you all would call it absolutely sensible to have a legal and practical approach in matters related to property. It makes relationships smoother and stronger even or specially between brothers/sisters. No wise or matured man would call it selfishness or greed.

Second brother is a very modern and practical person. He knows that the times ahead are not what used to be. One has to be straightforward and not merely emotional or sentimental. No joined family is going to last when private property and family welfare, good education, good facilities etc. become one's priority. Moreover, what is the point in having a joined family of suppressed wails and grouses compared to a nuclear family of less inteference, the optimum in relationships and better facilities for new generation?

How can we trust the narrator Babuli who holds others responsible for his family’s downfall? Imagine what would have been the story had it been written from the point of view of Babuli’s wife or second brother? Babuli’s narrative is prejudiced and he paints many dark out of his own guilt.

Think and see the change in your understanding of the text. No text is a finished product. It gets life and meaning only with the reader. Every text is a social and political conTEXT.