Maai (The Mother) Translated by Aftab Ahmad

Published in 1993, Maai (The Mother) is Geetanjali Shree’s first novel. Set in the deorhi (ancestral mansion) of an upper-middle-class family in a small town in Uttar Pradesh, the novel is narrated by a modern, highly educated daughter who, along with her younger brother, views their mother, Mai, as a marginal and oppressed figure within the family hierarchy. Convinced that she is trapped in a life of submission and self-effacement, they become determined, almost to the point of obsession, to “save” her from the authority exercised by the family’s more powerful members.

As they seek to free her from the constraints of a patriarchal household, the daughter gradually comes to realize that their understanding of Mai fails to account for her inner strength, convictions, and sense of agency. Through this intimate family story, Maai explores questions of gender, family, power, and the changing values of post-independence India. At the same time, it offers a subtle critique of notions of power and powerlessness shaped by colonial modernity, which privilege overt assertion and domination while overlooking quieter, inward forms of strength.

The novel presents a moving portrait of a woman whose resilience transcends conventional definitions of power.