May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons: A Journey among the Women of India

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Before Elisabeth Bumiller lived in India in the mid-1980s, she had reported mainly on upper-crust Americans for the Washington Post. Her four-year stay turned her romantic image of India and largely unexamined feminist sentiments upside down and shook them hard. Although Indian women are guaranteed equality by their constitution, religious and cultural conceptions of their lowly role make this a hollow boast for many. Bumiller's well-spun book deals with admittedly sensational topics: a bride burning case; a rare death by sati, in which a young widow joined her husband on the funeral pyre; poor villages where girl babies are so unwelcome that some don't survive and cities where boy babies are given the edge by prenatal tests and the availability of abortion. Arranged marriages, the lives of village women, and the great histrionic appeal of the Indian film industry also catch her Western eye. Beneath the surface of each story several others bubble up, sometimes illuminating customs or obscuring easy outrage. Other times, though, they emphasize the limitations of being an outsider. --Francesca Coltrera


From Publishers Weekly
The overall powerlessness of Indian women is shown through a discussion of traditions and portraits of typical individuals. "Based on Bumiller's four-year residence in India, this perceptive, alert travelogue considers the prevalent custom of arranged marriage, India's scattered, budding feminist movement, population control, female infanticide and the legacy of Indira Gandhi, a nonfeminist," said PW. Photos. Author tour. Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Bumiller, a former Washington Post reporter, decided that she would write a book on Indian women when she learned that she would be spending three years in India with her husband. In addition to the usual discussion of arranged marriages, movie stars, and Indira Gandhi, India's late prime minister, Bumiller portrays a wide cross section of Indian society. Her discussion of bride burning, family planning, village health programs, the outlook of village women, and female infanticide will generate much comment and discussion. Essential for libraries with women's studies and Third World collections.-Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., MinneapolisCopyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Bharti Kirchner
It is difficult to articulate fully the rich, diverse, and poignant lives of the women of India, whose silent presence have carried that vast culture through famine, floods, and political upheavals. May You Be the Mother of a Hundred Sons attempts this, even if it stops somewhat short of showing the full strength of Indian women. Elisabeth Bumiller spent four years in India, and her observations offer insights into the condition of rural Indian women as well as Bombay actresses and powerful political figures. Though at times journalistic, she skillfully portrays individual lives, often beset by arranged marriages, harassment over dowry, female infanticide, and oppressive family situations. Yet she also sees hope in the drive illiterate women have to get an education and in the way creative women - painters, poets, filmmakers - emerge from the misery that surrounds them. No less exciting are the changes that the author herself undergoes: "Although I am still learning exactly what my journey to India meant to me, I do know that it transformed much of my thinking. It was in India that I had the some of most moving experiences of my life...Ultimately, I realized my journey to India was a privilege. Rather than going to the periphery, I have come to the center." -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.


Book Description
"The most stimulating and thought-provoking book on India in a long time..Bumiller has made India new and immediate again."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
In a chronicle rich in diversity, detail, and empathy, Elisabeth Bumiller illuminates the many women's lives she shared--from wealthy sophisticates in New Delhi, to villagers in the dusty northern plains, to movie stars in Bombay, intellectuals in Calcutta, and health workers in the south--and the contradictions she encountered, during her three and a half years in India as a reporter for THE WASHINGTON POST. In their fascinating, and often tragic stories, Bumiller found a strength even in powerlessness, and a universality that raises questions for women around the world.



From the Inside Flap
"The most stimulating and thought-provoking book on India in a long time..Bumiller has made India new and immediate again."
THE WASHINGTON POST BOOK WORLD
In a chronicle rich in diversity, detail, and empathy, Elisabeth Bumiller illuminates the many women's lives she shared--from wealthy sophisticates in New Delhi, to villagers in the dusty northern plains, to movie stars in Bombay, intellectuals in Calcutta, and health workers in the south--and the contradictions she encountered, during her three and a half years in India as a reporter for THE WASHINGTON POST. In their fascinating, and often tragic stories, Bumiller found a strength even in powerlessness, and a universality that raises questions for women around the world.


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Bumiller, a former Washington Post reporter, decided that she would write a book on Indian women when she learned that she would be spending three years in India with her husband. In addition to the usual discussion of arranged marriages, movie stars, and Indira Gandhi, India's late prime minister, Bumiller portrays a wide cross section of Indian society. Her discussion of bride burning, family planning, village health programs, the outlook of village women, and female infanticide will generate much comment and discussion. Essential for libraries with women's studies and Third World collections.--Donald Clay Johnson, Univ. of Minnesota Lib., Minneapolis


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