Secret Daughter by Shilpi Somaya Gowda
I’ve read several books centered around India over the past year and one thing I’ve learned from them is there is really no middle ground. It’s either an interesting story or not. Too much focus on the hopelessness can make it difficult to pick up the story and keep moving forward.
That’s not to say that I don’t understand that the slums in places like Mumbai are horrifying. I’ve read about them, watched them at the movies – I get it. But even famous stories like The Slumdog Millionaire take that hopeless situation and focus in on the relationships. Shilpi Somaya Gowda did much of the same in Secret Daughter.
There is such a contrast of lifestyles in this book. The story shifts between two mothers. One forced to give up her baby daughter and another unable to have children of her own and, as a result, adopting the little girl that had been given up. Each set of parents have their own issues, their own dysfunctional relationship but what really fascinated me was, despite their poor surroundings and the horrific acts of her husband, Kavita (the birth mother) has a more healthy, strong and enviable relationship with her husband in spite of their low status in life. Somer and her husband struggle with culture barriers, the strain of being unable to carry a baby to term and, eventually, the strain of watching their very independent daughter come into her own.
But it’s not a story of hopelessness. Gowda touches on the children and mothers living in the slums of India, but also portrays a beautiful Mumbai. Both sides portray love for their parents, respect for elders and ultimately, close family bonding.
