Anita Desai Love In Custody Themes

In the novel, In Custody, Anita Desai presents the thematic problem of love and marriage in a very exquisite manner by analyzing the problem of Deven Sharma, an impoverished college lecturer. In this world of ‘sick, hurry and divided aims’ he has to face the common problems others do. After his marriage with a sullen and dull wife, Deven Sharma finds a way to escape from the meanness and helplessness of his daily life. In spite of being a temporary lecturer in a private college, he is lost in the dreamy world of fantastic fame and name that one day or other he will rise to the pinnacle of his glory by means of his devotion to art and Urdhu poetry. His extreme devotion to art and poetry leads him to the indifference to his wife and makes him

Deven Sharma too becomes perturbed to hear the illness of Intiazbegum. Nur, for her treatment, wishes to admit her in a hospital but she refuses her hospitalization due to illness because she feels that she will be deprived of the affectionate nursing from her husband. Knowing all these feeling from her heart, Nur like a gentle conscience murmurs to himself very patiently, “I would nurse her myself” (CUS 113). It seems that such a feeling symbolizes his depth of love for his wife Begum. In the meanwhile Deven comes and stands speechless. He fails to narrate the story of his owing to the illness of Nur’s wife. Suddenly Intiazbegum studies the situation and knowing the unfathomable love flowing in her husband’s heart, she begins to weep and wets her cheek. At such a moving sight and pitiable condition of his wife, Nur’s heart breaks into emotional excitement. He tries to calm down the overflowing emotions of her heart and consoles her, “Please calm yourself, please don’t think such thing, please life still – you are ill” (CUS

In this mental agony, he looks before and after and pines for what is not. He wanders in search of money only. As her husband plans an Utopian scheme living through pinched lips: “You have no imagination, only going to Delhi to enjoy yourself there is money” (CUS 130). Such a self – centred life is led by a number of husbands who think of others, love others, have affectionate ties with them but they maintain a distance from their wife and children. Mrs. Desai deals with such common problem of post – marital life in this novel In Custody. It is true that in cities like Delhi, Deven Sharma leads a very cultured life of a college lecturer grooming under the crushing agonies of poverty. He often feels as if his marriage has stood behind his imagination like a heavy weight. He also knows that marriage has clogged his progress in life. It has placed him in a cage from where it is impossible to escape. There is no way to get rid of it. As it is a common thinking of the impoverished husband, he feels dejected in life. But he finds consolation in the warm welcome of Mr. Siddiqui, when Siddiqui meets him with an open arm and gives a cordial welcome with these words of appreciation, “what an honour, what a pleasure, what an occasion, please come up, come up” (CUS 133). These consolatory words make Deven think about Siddiqui and his family. But