Tukayachi Avali by Manjushri Gokhale

Tukaram is one of the greatest saints of Maharashtra, who continuously sang praises of the Lord through his devotional compositions. The personal life of the poet seer was sad. Economic hardship plagued him from the childhood and he never enjoyed marital bliss from his first wife. Avali was his second wife who fed up with Tukaram’s total indifference about his mundane duties as the head of the family always nagged him. She disliked and hated from the bottom of her heart Lord Vitthal, one of the gods from the Hindu pantheon Tukaram was fond of. In Marathi literature, plays and films, Avali has been portrayed as being someone who did not allow Tukaram to live in peace. One would feel that she is to Tukaram what Xantippe was to Socrates. Tukyachee Avali presents Avali as a loving wife who is aware how well respected her husband is in the society. She always stands by him in his difficult times. But it the caring mother in her who cannot put up with the suffering the family has to go through due to her husband. The display of conflict between the roles of the wife and the mother makes interesting reading. Incidentaly, Avali outlived Tukaram. Manjushri Gokhale is a college teacher. She has tackled various forms such as novel, short story, poetry and has written the script and dialogues for a film.