The Art and Craft in Sudha Murthy’s The Gentle Fall Of Bakula

Abstract

In Gently Falls the Bakula, The Bakula flower is used by Sudha Murthy to symbolise the brittle purity of love, its selfless sacrifice, and its inevitable decline. This is shown through the journey of the main character, Shrimati, as she goes from being a responsible and loving wife to an empowered individual while fighting through neglect in her marriage and the effects of ambition. Murthy gives a sense of rural authenticity and emotional depth by using simple language-short, clear sentences, common words, and few images. She extends the metaphor of the flower from a fragrant bloom (the peak of desire) to petals that are wilting (the decline of the relationship). This study looks at how she uses simple, subtle writing to criticise gender roles, patriarchal rules, and the journey of self-discovery while mixing details from the Kannada language with English to create a broad impact without teaching in a direct way. By tracing key passages, this paper shows how Murthy’s narrative economy works to give feminist insights and social commentary in Indian English fiction.