Matchbox-Ashapurna Debi(review by Aneeta Johnson)

 ‘Matchbox’ written by  Ashapurna debi is a story of a married couple.Ashapurna debi[1909-1995] is a prominent Bengali novelist and poet, widely honoured with a number of prizes and awards. This story is translated from Bengali by Prasenjit Gupta, a translator and writer.

As told earlier it is a story of a married couple.It unveils the unhealthy man-woman relationship that exists in modern families. Debi compares women with matchboxes.Matchboxes have the ability to light up everything into fire,even though they are meek and harmless in appearance.Likewise women can light up everything within no time but in appearance they are meek and  harmless.

The female protagnist who expresses the above truth in a touching manner is Nomita.Story starts by the checking of her mails by her husband Ajith.He argues that he have the right to check the mails and to check whether there is any love cases.He doesn’t pay any attention to his wife’s protest.If she protests she is treated badly.Her family background makes her quiet.

The readers became more empathetic by the conditions at nomita’s home.Her mother have the habit of begging money from her.The other family members too pinch her with sharp words.Really the letters that she recieves was from her loving mother.Mother writes about the misfortunes and miserable conditions in home and asks money from her.She is afraid about dying under the weight of collapsed roof.

At the end we see a women who is angry and goes out of control.She even threatens him and teaches him a lesson.But she is making humorous comments in her raging phrases.In the end she frightens him by setting fire the anchol of her own saree.This story really describes the consequences of her rage at the misbehaviour of her husband.It is really interesting to know the efforts taken by him to make her calm.