ABSTRACT
A relentless motif surrounding Indian nationalism has been the proliferation of the image of Indian womanhood, wherein the ‘woman’ symbolizes the spirit of purity. Thus, Indira Goswami in her autobiography Adha Lekha Dastabej or An Unfinished Autobiography probes the underlying foundation of the rituals and religious ethics and the unquestioned beliefs which perpetrate and perpetuate female oppression. Historically, the genre of autobiography was chosen as a medium of self-referential writing by Indian women only from the late nineteenth century onwards, ironically as a consequential effect of colonialism. Indira Goswami’s autobiography highlights the exploitation and poverty of widows dumped in the sacred city of Vrindavan to eke out their days in prayer by uncaring families under the guise of religious sanction and tradition. Thus, Aadha Lekha Dastabej illustrates the popular culture associations of widows with sexual availability and thereby equating it with prostitution.
