Of Two women and their Similar Souls

 The Ministry of Happiness was a recent read. I had taken it solely on the guarantee of "Authored - Arundhati Roy".

Throughout the read, I kept drawing parallels to 'The God of Small Things' - possibly because of the huge impact it made on me, teaching me empathy and objectivity and the Grey - Green - Blue shade of everything. A few inferences I drew were the more orderly story line, despite the multiple narratives - mainly of Tilo and Anjhum, but also featuring Biplab Dasgupta, Naga, Saddam Hussain, Musa, Dr. Azad Bharatiya etc. It has a sense of convention to it, going from one event to the next, as compared to the rather strewn-about fashion in 'The God of Small Things'.

Also, the character arc of Tilottama stood out for its mature eccentricity. I met in Rahel, (Ammu's daughter and Estha's twin) an author struggling for clarity in a dynamically changing environment. She seemed to not know where the tide took her, and just seemed to go along, passive to whatever came her way, as a child deprived of a childhood.

Tilottama was more mellow. She had acquired a sort of objectivity, a detachment from the end result, which she could possibly preempt. She chose to go about things that very nearly put her in emotional distress and serious physical danger without attachment and never giving up dignity. Even as her bald head stared back at her from the mirror, she refused to break down and yield to her tormentors.

 Hers was a chosen silence - of those that definitely knew more than they let on - whereas Rahel was one that was silenced by confused motives and selfish ends of and for humans, conveniently named Destiny.

I understand that Tilo felt and expressed more freely than Rahel. In her decision to meet Musa, to stake herself in his mission, to be that part of his life that he didn't accept he desired, to raise the baby, etc. were all decisions that she took subconsciously, without deliberations. 

With Rahel, her life devoid of excitements post the tragedy, she merely got through the charade and at some points had stopped even pretending that there was Anything that kept her alive. Her detachment is the result of profound sadness at History's vengeance, whereas Tilo mostly held herself accountable and responsible for the meanders in her life.

In conclusion, I found Rahel and Tilottama similar in the foundations of their character, but their further actions quickly dispense any notions of similarity. Rahel is a child who was forced to grow up, and fastly, didn't get to live out her emotions and now has to catch up with her physical years. Tilottama was a woman, fully sure of and fully in control, and lives out her life as she destines. I would probably phrase it like "Rahel takes shotgun in the journey of life, actively feeling it all but never in control, whereas Tilottama doesn't want anyone else at the wheel but herself. She drives her destiny, even when she knows she might fuck up."