Mulk Raj Anand Birth Summary

Parvati is pregnant and is walking to work on Ridge Road while her husband has already gone ahead. She feels the child stirring in her belly and reminisces about her husband’s playful interactions with her during her pregnancy. Parvati is burdened by the weight of her responsibilities and feels the pressure to give her father-in-law a grandson.

She experiences pain and discomfort during her journey but pushes through for the sake of appearances. Parvati becomes increasingly fearful and paranoid, seeing terrifying images in the trees and graves along the way. She tries to control her fear but eventually succumbs to weakness and faints. Despite her efforts, Parvati is unable to continue and collapses in pain, feeling as if she is being consumed by the turmoil in her belly.

Parvati is in intense pain and is alone as she goes into labor. She experiences a mix of physical pain and emotional turmoil, feeling both fear and resentment towards her absent husband. She recalls the pleasure she felt when conceiving the child with her husband.

Despite the pain, she summons her strength and determination to give birth. After the birth, she displays a surprising resilience and selflessness by donating her food to birds and continuing with her work of breaking stones.

Parvati, a stone breaker, approached her work carrying a basket in her arms instead of on her head, causing the other stone breakers to not recognize her. Parvati laid a whining child at their feet, which left the stone breakers breathless with wonder. Some of the stone breakers referred to Parvati as a witch or a demon, while her husband, Ramu, approached the basket to see his child.

Parvati whispered that the Goddess helped her during her childbirth and that she saw her in the clouds. The women stopped their work and rushed towards Parvati, some in awe and others offering prayers and incantations. Parvati’s father-in-law, who had been tarring the road, approached and rudely dismissed the commotion.

He commented that it was no surprise that Parvati had the child by herself, as peasant women in their area have given birth to sons alone to perpetuate their race and till the land. He picked up the crying baby with ease and showed gruff tenderness, expressing hope that the child’s arrival would bring good luck.