Mattathi by Sara Joseph

Mattathi - A good work from Sara Joseph.

I read this novel some time ago. Somehow this is the one which came in to my mind when I thought of writing about a book today. I remember that I was literally crying after finishing the last page of this book. I still remember most of the characters through them the writer told us a really touching social story. 

The story mostly deals with the life of the main character Loosy with her aunt Brijita. Loosy was an unwanted child and was abandoned by her mother in her childhood itself. Her aunt Brijita was unmarried and she decided to bring up Loosy even though her family shown their reluctance since the child was a girl. But moving forward, we may get a notion like she brought her up only to look after her or to get the things done for her in the eve of her life. Brijita was never ready to give up anything for Loosy and she was never a mother to her. Yet, Loosy loved Brijita and was ready to accept anything happily.

By describing various phases of life of Loosy, the writer was actually trying to bring our notice to such lives in our society. We always ignore them deliberately even though we have sympathy. Sara Joseph has got a good talent in describing the most sorrowful matters with humor. In some of the lines in the book, I wept and laughed together. I don't know how to state it here. But it was true that it made me to do so. 

As a girl, Loosy also has her own wishes, love, desire to learn and will for freedom but each one of them were getting plucked from the root itself. She was not able to achieve anything. Even Brijita did not try to understand Loosy. In this novel, the writer also depicts one more female character named Cheru who also suffers from the inequalities and shatter our hearts because of her horrible fate at the end. I felt very sorry for Loosy and Cheru. It was so realistic to read this book. Even though I felt angry on Brijita during times when she used to scold and beat Loosy, It was very sad when she died suddenly(all of the family members were trying to exploit the situation when she died and avoided Loosy for the money by heir). 

I was really eager to see a happy ending of the story. A happy life for Loosy… But Sara Joseph made me weep. I wanted to write a lot about this. But the thoughts are coming without any sequence. Yes it is truth. In real life, most of the character’s similar to that of Loosy’s are having the same fate… no reason for any kind of hope. At least Celina (A cousin of Loosy) could have helped her. But… She was just another face of a modern girl. At last, Loosy was forced herself to take up the job of washing cloths as a way to go on with her life. The writer ends the story saying that the helpless people carrying dirt in their minds calls for Loosy and she extends her hand offering to clear them all.

If we are start reading this kind of books, we were forced to believe in fate, Isn't it?

Brijita’s last moments were really teaching something. We would get to know the importance of somebody in our life only at the end of it and if we could do something for anybody who is in real need, we should not wait for it until we could not do it. If Brijita was a little longsighted, Loosy’s future would not have ended up like this. The last expressions of Brijita and her eyes to the kitchen must have been searching for Loosy…But it was too late…

A child who is happen to born as a female have got many things to fear from our society. They have many things to sacrifice for their peaceful life in the society. Yet, their life wont be peaceful. Our society has somehow developed a negative impact on female lives which should get rectified soon. No female should feel insecure anywhere. I can see things are changing now. Let us hope for a better world for men and women together.

I Strongly recommend you to read this book. So long...

- Akhil Stanly