Apropos of Amar Nath Wadhera and Randeep Wadhera’s article "Family fortunes" (October 14), in fact the joint family system has been prevalent in Indian society since ancient times. As a result of economic and social changes the joint family system disintegrated. Now joint family norms persist in only a few Indian families, that too among the business class. Newer family forms have emerged in our society — nuclear family, single parent families, female-headed household, dual income families.

Since the quality of life in villages has not improved despite the Green Revolution, there is disillusionment with rural life. Therefore, young people have been migrating to big cities since the seventies in search of new opportunities. The aged are left behind to fend for themselves.

There is a remote chance for the restoration of joint family norms in near future in our society. The Indian society at large, and particularly the urban middle class, which has been dazzled with the glitter of material opulence is not easily able to shed its acquisitive nature. Acquisitiveness and competition revive individualistic tendencies. Ultimately that destroys one’s standard of moral decency and undermines the values of life. How, then, it would be possible to restore the joint family system?

P.L. SETHI
Patiala

In India the joint family system has been in vogue since the Vedic period. From the writings and literature of the Gupta period, especially from Fahien’s account, we learn that in the Gupta period joint family system was prevalent and partition of a family was not considered good. A family generally comprised a man and wife, parents, children, nephews and nieces, all of whom lived under the same roof. The head of the family was the father or any other eldest person of the family. But the family life in India has been undergoing a change with increasing modernisation and urbanisation. Joint families have given way to nuclear families which in turn have submitted to single parent families, while there are still others who prefer to stay single.

There may be different opinions against and for the joint family system, but according to sociologists, staying in an extended family makes a child share, socialise and adapt better than he would in a nuclear family.

O.P. SHARMA
Faridabad

This refers to the article "The Grand Old Man of Malgudi" (October 7) by Rajnish Wattas. I have read the novel, The Guide, several times and I feel that R.K. Narayan has always been aware of local culture and tradition. His characters seem to be fully immersed in the local ambience of Malgudi. No doubt, RKN is a wonderful story-teller and in his own capacity a great philosopher who depends heavily on Hindu scriptures and common beliefs of the masses for theme and inspiration. He searches for subtle meanings in the age-old collective wisdom of the common people and tries to connect it with the present. His narrative technique is excellent and he is able to keep the readers spellbound from the very beginning till the end of his tales.

It is also quite reasonable to say that he has risen above the narrow considerations of name and fame. But it is unfair to compare him with Charles Dickens in anyway. Dickens raises certain basic questions about the exploitation of the common people and the success of capitalism as a system. I don’t know if RKN has written any novel like Hard Times or A Tale of Two Cities. RKN does not seem to be agitated much by the larger issues of life like poverty, unemployment and exploitation of man by man. His characters are honest, self-critical and down-to-earth but they are hardly interested in changing the social structure around them. This is the biggest limitation to the greatness of RKN as a novelist. Yet we all Indians can take pride in a simple fact that he has created ripples in the literary world at the international level. His novels appeal to our hearts and minds with their precious life values and ethical approach.

RAJ BAHADUR YADAV
Rewari

This refers to Amrit Pal Tiwana’s write-up "Marriage with dash of pepper" (October 14). The writer has tried to analyse the institution of marriage vis-a-vis humorous digs at it by writers, eminent persons and politicians.

Marriage is the most important and the most enjoyable of all human relationships. It is the true basis of all family life. No one should enter into marriage as a matter of routine as too much is at stake. Far too many people are unhappily married because of hasty decisions. True martial happiness requires that both husband and wife be well-matched in mind and body.

Marriage can be a joyful experience if the partners make it so. The well-being of society and the enrichment of human lives depend on homes built on mutual understanding and not on unrealistic expectations.

ANUP KUMAR
New Delhi