Lust and love in Kerala

Mistress, by Anita Nair (Arcadia, $34.99). Reviewed by Jane Ritchie.

Mistress is a complex story of lust and love, set in Kerala, India, in the context of a traditional art form, kathakali dancing, which is characterised by elaborate makeup and costumes.

Mistress details the lives and loves of an extended family, both in the present and in the past. The plot is constructed around the nine classical emotions featured in the dance: love, contempt, sorrow, fury, courage, fear, disgust, wonder and peace. Radha and Shyam have an uneasy marriage, one that was arranged for family reasons, rather than being a love match. Shyam is a successful businessman, a self-made man to whom his prosperous resort and growing wealth are of great importance.

Radha is educated and intelligent, but can find no satisfactory outlet for her energy and her talents.

She wishes for more in life but Shyam cannot understand her frustrations.

Radha's uncle, Koman, is a renowned kathakali dancer who has won international fame for his skill and artistry. Travel writer Christopher Steward comes to the resort, ostensibly to write a profile of Uncle Koman and the inevitable happens: he and Radha are instantly attracted to each other.

But Mistress is more than just the story of their ill-fated romance. Anita Nair explores the history of each of the characters, finding unexpected links between them. This history also involves inter-ethnic and inter-cultural conflicts which still have effects at the present time.

Mistress provides a poignant picture of women's lives in sexist cultures where their needs are not met and where, indeed, there is no concept of women even having needs that might lead to their seeking fulfilment outside the home and family.

Jane Ritchie is a Waikato University psychology professor.

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