CLOTHES
- CHITRA BANNERJEE DIVAKARUNI
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni (born Chitralekha Banerjee, July 29, 1956) is an Indian American author, poet, and the Betty and Gene McDavid Professor of Writing at the University of Houston Creative Writing Program.
Her short story collection, Arranged Marriage won an American Book Award in 1995, and two of her novels The Mistress of Spices and Sister Of my Heart as well as a short story The Word Love were adapted into films. The Mistress of Spices was short-listed for the Orange Price. Currently, Sister of My Heart, Oleander Girl, Palace of Illusions, and One Amazing Thing have all been optioned to be made into movies or TV serials.
Divakaruni's works are largely set in India and the United States, and often focus on the experiences of South Asian immigrants. She writes for children as well as adults and has published novels in multiple genres, including realistic function historical fiction, magical realism myth and Fantasy.
This short story is about a young Indian woman named Sumita, her impending arranged marriage and subsequent trip to America, which is symbolized by the color and type of her clothes. The author utilizes color symbolism to express the emotional changes that Sumita is going through and how she uses colors to keep her grounded with her Indian beliefs during her transition from girl to bride-to-be to an Indian- American to widow. There are many examples of colors that represent established Indian beliefs and religion are mentioned throughout the story.
The traditional Indian attire for a woman is a sari and each one has its own purpose. Her clothes also indicate her progression from daughter, to wife, to woman. The story starts off with the bride to be in a yellow sari preparing to meet her future husband by bathing in a lake. She describes the yellow sari as a sunflower after rain. Yellow here could possible signify new times to come or peace. The bath she was taking is relaxing her to the idea that she is about to marry a man she has not even met, as well as the thought of losing her family. Next, Sumita is dressed for her bride-viewing in a light pink sari which signifies marriage, luck and possibility. This sari not only shows her faith towards her heritage but it also denotes their family wealth. [talk about Indian family wealth and how it applies to arranged marrages] Light pink also signifies the color of transition. Her transition in this section is from daughter to wife. By wearing this pink sari she would surely be chosen as Somesh wife. Once chosen as the perfect wife Sumita has to take a plane ride to the United States. Sumita chose to wear a blue sari because to her it represented the color of possibility and it also matched the color of the sky to which she was traveling in. Her mother on the other hand wanted to wear red. Red in her belief is supposed to give luck to married women. [married women in India, their responsibilities] They compromised and found one that was blue with red trim to satisfy both arguments.
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