Fasting, Feasting

by

Anita Desai

Mira-masi is the widowed, religious wife of an elder cousin of Papa's family. She has dedicated her life to her worship of the Hindu god Shiva, and spends her days traveling the country, making pilgrimages to sacred rivers and temples. Untethered by the authority of either husband or any other male relative, Mira-masi has more freedom and independence than any other female in Uma's family. Fanatical in her devotion, Mira-masi lives a simple life focused almost wholly on her religious rituals. Uma admires Mira-masi, who is kind and attentive to her, and sees her as especially chosen by the Lord Shiva. MamaPapa disapprove of Mira-masi, seeing her religion as too traditional and disapproving of her independent lifestyle. Mira-masi tries to free Uma from MamaPapa by bringing her with her to an ashram, and even fights Ramu when he comes to bring her back.

Mira-Masi Quotes in Fasting, Feasting

The Fasting, Feasting quotes below are all either spoken by Mira-Masi or refer to Mira-Masi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Gender and Social Roles Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

To Mira-masi, the gods and goddesses she spoke of, whose tales she told, were her family, no matter what Mama might think (…) Uma, with her ears, and even her fingertips tingling, felt that here was someone who could pierce through the dreary outer world to an inner world, tantalizing in its colour and romance. If only it could replace this, Uma thought hungrily.

Related Characters: Uma, Mama, Mira-Masi
Page Number: 40
Explanation and Analysis:
Get the entire Fasting, Feasting LitChart as a printable PDF.
Fasting, Feasting PDF

Mira-Masi Quotes in Fasting, Feasting

The Fasting, Feasting quotes below are all either spoken by Mira-Masi or refer to Mira-Masi. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Gender and Social Roles Theme Icon
).
Chapter 4 Quotes

To Mira-masi, the gods and goddesses she spoke of, whose tales she told, were her family, no matter what Mama might think (…) Uma, with her ears, and even her fingertips tingling, felt that here was someone who could pierce through the dreary outer world to an inner world, tantalizing in its colour and romance. If only it could replace this, Uma thought hungrily.

Related Characters: Uma, Mama, Mira-Masi
Page Number: 40
Explanation and Analysis: