Virginia Angerclass

Pipee (Bristow 17). Their actions might prove to

Pipee and Astha  protest against this image in  their ways  and the  both are  surviving. What  is interesting is not the fact that they survive, but how they do so, and their journey of self-discovery toward psychological freedom. The heroines take the uncommon path of lesbianism hitherto a taboo and socially unacceptable relationship in the Indian context (Bristow 17). Their actions might prove to be liberating and affirmative of their identity. They do not seem to be bothering even if they would be put into a zone of exclusion. Such a change of attitude in them moves us to understand that it is possible to transcend established  reality  and convention.  Both the  heroines Pipee  fully and  Astha  partly  would miss  their womanly destiny in order to choose independence. Manju Kapur thus through her narrative constructs a feminocentric protest against the heterocentric, homophobic and phallocentrically glamorized patriarchy and in doing so she is rather constrained to present her heroines as lesbians (Milhoutra 164). Quest for identity is largely a social phenomenon in India, a phenomenon influenced by various changing forces  of reality, freedom movement, education,  social reforms, increasing  contacts with the west,  urban  growth  etc.  A  new  era  of  emancipation  for  the  Indian  women,  an  era  of  increased opportunities and a more dynamic participation in the social and intellectual life of the country ushered in by  the  great  social  reorientations,  which  came  at  the  turn  of  the  century.  Feminism  emerged  as  a worldwide  movement  to  secure  women?s  rights  on  the  one  hand  and  love,  respect,  sympathy  and understanding from males on the other. It focused on women?s struggle for recognition and survival and made them realize that the time has come when they should stop suffering silently in helplessness.