'Older people deserve their space, which is often denied to them,' noted writer Dhiruben Patel

Sahitya Akademi awardwinning Gujarati litterateur Dhiruben Patel trusts the wisdom locked in the fable of an Arab who was pushed out of his tent by an overstepping camelA scene from Aarab Ane Oot which means the Arab and the Camel PicsRonak SavlaPatel uses the metaphor to caution senior citizens against encroachments of their children In her farmfresh twoact play Aarab Ane Oot The Arab and the Camel Patel makes a case for senior citizens right to an independent life She warns against invasion of privacy done in the name of joint family loveNontraditionalFor an 89yearold writer Patel makes a daring nontraditionalist statement Her stance contradicts the politically correct oftrepeated conservative worldview where older people are meant to be coopted in a large happy joint familyDhiruben Gordhanbhai PatelIn a country where a decisive segment of the entertainment industry equates the big Indian family with the great Indian culture Dhiruben Patel offers a fresh perspectiveViewpointI think older people too deserve their space which is often denied to them In cities like Mumbai where the real estate prices are ever on the rise older citizens prime properties stand at a higher risk of being whisked away for wrong emotional reasons says Patel who feels that senior citizens shouldnt be made to feel guilty if they express their desire to live their lives on their own terms Care and control are not synonymous concepts Senior citizens are often controlled and once they give in they become unwelcome guests in their own homesLibertyThose who are familiar with Dhiruben Patels diverse bilingual Gujarati and English literary works mdash novels poetry Kitchen Poems translations rendering The Adventures of Tom Sawyer in Gujarati lyrics Bhavni Bhavai TV and radio serials and childrens stories mdash can appreciate her progressive take in Aarab Ane OotDhirubens parents were Gandhians The freedom struggle marked her childhoodMuch unlike the populist and mainstream notion of happily living together her world view respects individual space The play reflects her belief in individual liberty and free willIt complements her earlier body of work which honours individual choices While her novel Andhali Gali The Blind Side Street is about a lonely womans decision to marry at the age of 45 Vadvanal is a psychological insight into the diary of a woman who commits a murder Waansno Ankur is about a boys inheritance of his mothers rebelliousness It was prescribed as a textbook in eight universitiesHer celebrated play Agantuk rendered in English as Rainbow at Noon and turned into a Gujarati play by Naushil Mehta which won her the Sahitya Akademi Award 2002 is about a hermit who returns to domestic life Her superb analysis of women populating the Gujarati novel forms Kadambarini MaaPraiseThe editors of the Handbook of Twentiethcentury Literatures of India praise Patel In her writings Dhiruben reveals her understanding of the human mind She builds up the characters and situations forming a natural pattern She writes with ease and a sense of humour encompassing in her works the lives of men and women and at various levelsSensitivityIt is her sharp appreciation of reality that has won acclaim At one point in her writings she had said I firmly believe that sensitivity is the first and the last requirement of a writer It is of no importance whether the writer is a man or a woman In the latest play Aarab Ane Oot she treats the subject with the same sensitivityMan woman young or old we should be able to exercise our will feels Patel whose play revolves around a matriarch who stops her children from taking over her property She prefers to live alone While drafting her will she gives equal shares to her daughters sons and service care giverGiving equal share to the daughters is not a common practice in a Gujarati household setting Laws of inheritance remain on the paper and people never remember their daughters during property distribution Patel feels the play should be a starting point for a dialogue on inheritance lawsRootsPatels belief in gender equality and individual liberty visible in Aarab Ane Oot has strong roots in her own life spanning eight eventful decades Born 1926 to educated and exceptionally progressive parents Dhiruben enjoyed a rare childhood and adolescence in the thirties and fortiesGrowing up in the lush green suburb of Santacruz with sprawling rice fields she spent most of her schooling years in her home compound Hansrajwadi where she stays till date Long morning walks to the beach to see the fishermen at work was a source of joy for young DhiruThe family went for weekly picnics in which she and her two older brothers were encouraged to absorb natures splendour On one such picnic she developed a special bond for the Madhumalti flower treeReadingHer father Gordhanbhai Patel a journalist with the Bombay Chronicle allowed her reading time gifting her one book every day after she returned from Poddar schoolThe hours spent in reading were never rationed right up to the time she postgraduated in English literature and later taught the subject in Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan In what seems radically liberal even by todays standards the father did not raise any objection to any of her lifestyle choicesHer mother Gangaben was a social worker and founder of social organisations like Stree Mandal Santacruz She was a member of the All India Congress Committee Congress leaders academics and writers of that era often met at her residence Being a staunch follower of Mahatma Gandhi she was part of most of his nonviolent protestsShe was arrested six times by the British As she served her jail terms her husband not only supported her morally but also took care of the family and cooked meals Dhiruben Patel was a happy witness to her parents unusually equal relationship Their belief in Indias freedom movement impacted her at an early stage which explains her lifelong embrace of khadi as a symbol of national prideOpinionLandmark anthology Women Writing in India The Twentieth Century edited by Susie J Tharu K Lalita makes a special mention of Dhiruben Patels formative years which made her the outstanding writer that she ultimately becameIt is a tribute not only to her remarkable family but to the Gandhian movement as a whole that no pressure was put on Dhiruben when she decided not to marryDhiruben Patel lived in a world where her opinion was factored in even in small matters like piercing of her ears She had the full independence to move around in the city She knew she wanted to be a writer From the age of six she sent reminder notes to her grownup self requesting her to write for childrenPublishingBy 1963 Dhiruben Patel had half a dozen books to her credit She floated two publishing houses despite losses worked as the founder editor of the Sudha womens weeklyIncidentally she was denied a byline when she started as a contributor for the magazine edited by her mother Her stories were used as fillers and she was advised not to seek fame at a very early ageMumbaiDhiruben Patels literature wears a distinctly Mumbai texture which is also evident in the latest play Set in a Juhu Vile Parle Development scheme bungalow the drama uses the backdrop of Mumbais prime plotsProperty handover is one of the dominant themes in the script mdash a natural reflection of the current mood in the city where older locales are being redeveloped to suit a spruced up neighbourhood Patel understands the redevelopment logic in its entiretyI am not as mobile as I was at one point But I have kept tabs on the citys changing skyline and its glitzy malls The change is a bit too fastConcernAn aspect of the change and disconnect in the city has been correctly captured in Patels popular play directed by Manoj Shah Mummy Tu Aavi Kevi Its 55 shows have been performed in Gujarat and MaharashtraThough set in a Gujarati household it tells the universal story of a convent schooleducated Englishspeaking generation which is losing its connection with its mother tongueThe English speakers are embarrassed by their notsohappening linguisticallychallenged pedigree Urbane children who are losing cultural roots are a concern for Dhiruben PatelBondsDespite her concerns for the citys loss of linguistic identity Dhiruben Patel holds a positive view of things Her faith in Mumbais porousness reflects in her efforts to remain part of cultural groups mdash oases of hope mdash that forge new bondsThe Lekhini literary group which she founded 40 years ago is one such oasis which retains her trust in civil society initiatives and literary exchanges with emerging writers No wonder she responded to Lekhinis request for a new script and wrote the play in a record four daysWriteAfter the Diwali issue of the Lekhini magazine won the Gujarat Sahitya Akademi grant the group invested it into an intellectuallystimulating activity We requested her to write for us To work on a script of our celebrated Dhiruben was an honourHer novels and plays have inspired and educated us for generations recalls Dr Preeti Jariwala the director of Aarab Ane Oot who also plays the role of a maidservant An Ayurvedic doctor by profession she is a published writer with a childrens play to her creditLike Dr Jariwala other members of the Aarab Ane Oot cast have written travelogues short stories and poems The Lekhini forum encourages women to seek enrichment in writings on all and sundry subjects keeping away from four digressions as written in their charter Food Figure Fashion and FilmSubjectsAfter the experimental show of Aarab Ane Oot does Dhiruben Patel want to see its commercial production I dont want to track its future A playwright should move on immediately after the script is handed over to the directorI am just happy about the on and offstage dialogue it has generated she says with characteristic detachment Climate change international treaties fall and rise of the rupee wars civil and uncivil quoting from Kitchen Poems one wonders which subject will now play the museThe writer is a Mumbaibased cultural chronicler