SUFFERING OF WOMEN WORKERS IN MULKRAJ ANAND’S TWO LEAVES AND A BUD: A STUDY

Abstract

            The present paper Suffering of Women Workers in Mulk Raj Anand’s Two Leaves and a Bud: A Study deals with portrayal of women workers in the Mulk Raj Anand’s popular novel Two Leaves and a Bud. It depicts exploitation of women from downtrodden communities in Punjab. In every field, Indian women are dominated and exploited by patriarchal Indian society. Domination and subordination of women have been a worldwide phenomenon. Indian women are exploited on two grounds such as having the subordinate position in the house and being from the downtrodden community. In patriarchal society, women of all classes are denied equal social status to men. They are regarded as a doll in the hands of men. Anand’s Two Leaves and a Bud expose bias attitude of men towards women. The present novel raises the voice against injustice and exploitation of women of working class community. Lalu in Two Leaves and a Bud does not have enough money to pay back the debt of his brother taken from the landlord in the village named Hoshiyarpur. Due to such poor economical condition, Lalu with his family leaves his native place to get work in the tea plantation farms in Assam. Lalu faces economical problem due to low wages and exploitation from the British officer Raggie. As a result, Lalu goes into an economic crisis. His wife dies of the severe disease. Lalu himself is killed by Raggie, a villain in the novel. Mrs. Premila Paul comments: