Dollar Bahu by Sudha Murty

Dollar Bahu Reviews

• 
  Ganesh Ramakrishnan

  Avoid this book. Period. It's a sweetishly dull, predictable, all good vs all bad story.
  
  Before I rant some more, let me confess that my utter disappointment also stems from the high expectations I had from this book and author. The reasons being:
  -Dollar Bahu is one of the many acclaimed books from the award-winning celebrity author Sudha Murthy
  -This story was also made into a TV serial
  -Sudha Murthy's achievements as a young engineer at an all-male Tata factory is one of those popular inspiring forwards that I have read and admired her for
  
  And then I borrow this book -- my first encounter to her writing. Grown-up Indians would know what I mean when I say that this slim story book is written in "Chandamama language". You know, filled with cliches like, "Tears of remorse rolled down her cheek" and "Little did he realise that..." And the characters are either unbelievably goody-goody (the heroine is good in singing and cooking and progressive but respectful of tradition) or unspeakably despicable (the dollar bahu lies, cheats, is greedy, lazy, money-and-prestige-hungry, disrespectful of elders).
  
  There isn't much more to say about this book. Penguin published this?!!??
• 
  Reading_ Tamishly

  The story starts with Chandra, the elder brother of Girish, meeting Vinuta during a journey.
  
  (It was almost an insta love kind of moment)
  
  He got lots of opportunities to woo and impress her. But things happened (and he didn't seem to care that much I guess).
  
  The story is dreamy yet realistic.
  Chandra gets married after chasing his dream job, choosing a woman as per his mother's wish. Then enters Girish, the brother, who got to get married to Vinuta.
  
  The romance or even the loss of possible romance is not the theme of this book.
  
  It is Sudha Murty's style to keep whatever romance in her stories mild, subtle and somewhat frustratingly unexpressed.
  
  The story tries to focus on 'what will others think/say'.
  Gouramma, the mother of Girish and Chandru, sees her daughter-in-laws very differently for no fault of their own.
  She prefers the wife of Chandru as her dollar Bahu (daughter-in-law) and plays as a puppet to her whims while she regarded Vinuta as someone unworthy to be in the family.
  
  While all the mundane household load is carried by Vinuta, empty praises go to the priced daughter-in-law in America.
  
  The ending is so satisfying to read.
  
  The real difference of a person's nature between the reality and the perfect image of one's imagination is challenged in the story.
  
  The story might sound like an age old women's story that's been told or heard again and again.
  
  This book focuses on the baseless preferences and favouritism which cause unnecessary hurt and harm to their own family.
  
  This book has been written in a short yet beautiful way that conveys in whole what it meant to.
  I totally loved it. The writing style is really simple and so simple to get into.
  The book is short. It's a domestic fiction.
  
  This book is specially for beginners, ones who are curious about the various issues that come up after marriage especially in India, for those who like short chapters and strong characters.
  
  I would have loved it more if more words regarding the sentiments of the characters have been expressed in more details and the characters have been more developed.
• 
  Umang

  its sadly true how Dollar Bahus steal the show by their cheap gimmicks and the dedicated ones are shunned. its a quick read more like our serials on TV.
• 
  Gayathri Manikandan

  A quick and light read. The book synopsis gives you the story outline and the story flows as expected with no surprises, twists or impressive characterization. The message comes across but it would have been more interesting had there been some depth. With such an ordinary story at hand, the author could have afforded to break the stereotyped characters. I mean why should women, mother in laws in particular, should always be the ones proud about their children being abroad? Why not men, the father in law? How about both of them? Why is the girl brought up against odds(Vinuta) always the 'good' one and the one who is pampered with wealth(Jamuna) or otherwise(Gauramma's daughter) are always 'spoilt'. In short, why are the characters black and white?
  
  And the characters that Gauramma meets in US, everyone has a story that is told in few lines either by themselves or by Chandru. The characters come into the story very quickly one behind the other and leave as quickly as they entered. At the least, am happy that the book did not have a 'they lived happily ever after' end with Vinuta readily accepting her Mother in law. Overall, it makes a good casual read and nothing beyond.
• 
  Chinmaya Patnaik

  The stories of this book bluntly criticizes the famous saying " Marriages are made in heaven ", and has boldly showed how some marriages are just a business for some people.
  
  Sudha Murty brings out each and every aspect of the advantages and disadvantages of living as a middle class family, here in India to that of the life after migrating to a dollar country. She clearly tries to picturize that its not that easy to stay in a foreign land as well. It has its own problems that the migrators have to face.
  
  A must read for someone who thinks life will be happier when you ditch rupees for dollar.
• 
  Susan

  Very interesting insights into American and Indian culture, but it reads a little like a fable with a moral at the end.
• 
  Ayati Choudhary

  Does money corrupt the way family members look at one another? These are the first words of the blurb of this novel. But if you ponder upon it, isn't it the truth? In your family, who do you think is the most influential member? Who is the member who's decisions are the final and of utmost importance? Do you think that their decision matters the most because they earn more money, or are the sole breadwinner? Sometimes, money corrupts the family members. Suppose, a family living in poverty suddenly goes from rags to riches. Will the attitude of the family members change? Of-course it will! They'll start to give money more importance than love and affection. This is the exact thing which happens in this novel.
  
  It was first written in Kannada by the name Dollar Sose (Sose is the Kannada word for daughter-in-law). It had become so popular that it was adapted into a TV serial by Zee TV in 2001.
  
  Dollar Bahu narrates the story of Vinuta, a simple girl and an orphan, looked after by her uncles and aunts. She is married off to Girish, a simple bank clerk, who utterly obeys his mother. But Vinuta's mother-in-law, Gouramma never acknowledges her selfless attitude, and Vinuta stays silent. Then, Girish's elder brother and the much-loved son of Gouramma, Chandru decides to get marry, and finally Gouramma's son and daughter-in-law are NRIs, living in America. They send her the dollars, the magic money and they go from rags to riches. Gouramma starts comparing the simple Vinuta to the “Dollar Bahu” Jamuna. She dances to the tune of the dollar and fails to see Vinuta's selfless attitude and affection. Then, Gouramma decides to live with her son and daughter-in-law in America for a year and that is when her whole perspective changes.
  
  The writing style is simple and easy to read. The plot is straightforward. The book is pretty thin and is almost 150 pages. The message of the book is conveyed brilliantly with simple language. Gouramma was a character who was greedy and loved to flaunt the wealth she suddenly acquired, and this is the reason for which I hated her. But by the end of the novel, readers may be able to sympathise with her. Shamanna (Vinuta's father-in-law) was the only character I liked throughout the novel. I loved how he advised Vinuta in the end and the way he respected her. The novel has showed the Indian society in its true sense. It shows the rigid patriarchal society, the interference of those nosy neighbours in the lives of people, the utmost respect given to those living abroad, greedy people who leave no stone unturned in flaunting their riches, the weird Indian match-making criterias, etc.
  
  Recommended to Sudha Murthy fans, people looking for beginner-friendly novels and those looking for a quick, short read!
• 
  Gunjot

  Candid and unembellished. Sudha murthy's writing comes straight from the heart ( not the brain, some might argue :) )
  It is worth the tiny quantum of time it takes to read through its 140 odd pages. Odd being the key word there!! Where some would say the book shows everything in plain black and white , I feel Sudha has done her job well by presenting raw facts in front of the readers and leaving the judgement in their hands.
  After all, different people give different weights to priorities in life and this is a book about opportunities that come our way and the choices we make, the sacrifices we endure. It is only fair on her part to have kept her personal beliefs, prejudices and judgements to herself and not let them leak into her writing.
  I am no master critic but I personally feel that this book is worth a read. Even if you may not enjoy it because of Sudha's banal prose, you will most certainly end up thinking of how you handle(d) the situation where opportunity knocks at your door.
• 
  Gorab

  Ghar ghar ki panchayat gone international.
  Felt it was shallow, predictable and lacking any gravity.
  Not my cup of tea.
• 
  Deepali Rai

  I had high expectations from author but ended up feeling disappointed. This book clearly paints characters in black and white and confirms the widely held (false) perceptions about women settled abroad. Also confirms the widely held belief in indian society about judging character of the woman from the choice of clothes or food making ability. poor show.
• 
  विकास 'अंजान'

  A nice read.
• 
  Srijita

  How do you write about a book written by one of your favourite authors while the book is absolutely and completely awful? Avoid Dollar Bahu. Just avoid it. In all fairness, I firmly believe that all authors write both good and average books. It's impressive, the amount of good books that Murty has written. I apologise if the post reads more like a rant than a well constructed review.
  __
  The story begins with Chandra Shekhar Rao or Chandru harbouring the famous American dream. He is a hard-working man posted in Dharwad and stays with a local family, where he almost immediately falls for the gentle Vinuta. Vinuta is the story's 'good' woman. She sings, utters not a word even when humiliated repeatedly and has the highest morals. Chandru's dedication comes to fruition and his mother Gouramma is only too excited to send her brilliant son to America. When he comes back, however, Vinuta is married to Girish, Chandru's brother. Gouramma arranges a match for Chandru with Jamuna, the only daughter of a wealthy businessman, who Gouramma cannot stop 'showing off' to her neighbours and relatives. Jamuna is the 'bad' woman. She is the Dollar Bahu.
  __
  The Indian Bahu is kind and caring, utters not a word and spends days of back breaking labour. The dollar bahu is scheming, wily and calculating. The Indian Bahu never lets her mother in-law do any housework while the Dollar Bahu makes her mother in-law do all the chores whenever and however possible. In all this the men are mute spectators, ambivalent characters because the sheer amount of regressive women there are in this book allow space for no discussion or debate.
  __
  That's not all. There are instances I can't quite point out which made me seethe in rage. No wonder it was made into a TV serial. Though I'd always recommend Mahashweta and Gently Falls the Bakula if one wants to explore Murty's novels, I will always choose her non-fictions than her fiction works.
  2.5 ⭐
• 
  Kushagra Singh

  Always a joy reading Sudha Murty ma’am. You kind of know what to expect: a conscientious, kind woman protagnist who’s up against other characters who don’t appreciate her as much as they should. Despite her emotional turmoils, she carries on and in the end she finds liberation, not in a way you’d always predict.
  
  Dollar Bahu chronicles the journey of Vinuta and Gouramma. Vinuta, our conscientious protagonist and Gouramma, her mom-in-law, the one who fails to see her value. Gouramma who always compares and values the NRI bahu realizes how all that glitters is not gold when she gets to stay with the Dollar bahu in America. The short and pleasant read draws a parallel betwen the NRI and Indian way of living.
• 
  Rohit Lawange

  3.5
  
  The story starts off great, with good pace and masala but in later half, it's little slow and some passages are bland. Overall the book is nice, but it would have been better to continue the story for some more time.
  
  Thought the endings is happy, the happiness is limited
• 
  Arti

  I had gone to Sirsi in Karnataka to attend a wedding and borrowed Dollar Bahu by Sudha Murthy from the bride-to-be and could not keep it down till I finished it. I came back home and bought one for myself because I felt that I could read it again. The characters were very lifelike and this seems to be the story of every Indian house where the child who earns more is treated better then the one who earns comparatively less.
  
  It is the story of a middle class family headed by Shamanna, a Sanskrit teacher in Bangalore, his wife Gouramma and their two sons, Chandrakant and Girish and their daughter Surabhi. Shamanna is a calm, sensible and contented man. His wife is an extremely ambitious, clever woman Chandrashekhar, the older one, is punctual, organized, thorough, systematic and ahead of time in everything and a civil engineer. Girish, the younger one, is easily distracted, fickle and almost irresponsible and works as a clerk in a bank. Their only sister, Surabhi is concerned about her needs and desires.
  
  Chandru gets a chance to go to America on deputation and his mother expresses her desire to join him there later. While he is in America, Girish gets married to Vinuta from Dharwad, who is a music teacher in the same school where their father works. She looks after her husband and his family. Chandru gets marries to Jamuna from a rich family. Gouramma starts comparing the two daughters in law. She favours the ‘Dollar Bahu’, Jamuna whose husband sends dollars to his mother.
  
  When Gouramma visits her favourite son and daughter in law, she realizes that wants to be in India, at home with her family because money cannot buy anything.
  
  
• 
  Farhana

  I was looking forward to this book but my enthusiasm dampened just 30 pages into the story.
  The simplicity of the language was agreeable but the plot is trite. A vicious mother-in-law, a submissive daughter-in-law with hints of spineless men scattered all over the plot were the recipe for the story. I was so desperate for a twist in the tale, in a bold sort of way, that I continued reading but all I got in the end was that the dollar – not greed, not inconsideration, not lack of self-respect or daftness, was the root cause of misery of the characters.This was the only logical attempt made by the author to justify all things evil and it wasn’t even close. Sigh!
  
• 
  Swagatika Mohapatra

  Sudha Murty, one of my favorite writer, not one of, but the most favorite you can say.Her lucid and narrative way of writing fascinated me from the very beginning. I almost savored all her knitting and with a great satisfaction i can preclude that she can be truly a writer of all time and all generations, everyone can definitely appreciate and enjoy her writings.
  
  Dollar Bahu, is a fiction based on a simple and narrative story of a girl Vinuta, who is very honest in her approach, principled and modest.The story moves around her and her family, from where she is expecting some love and care for the sake of her selfless duty and regards.
• 
  Anupa Chatterji

  Dollar Bahu is a story about the 'Big American Dream' and its impact on Indian families. It could be the story of any average Indian middle class family and hence many people can relate to it. Sudha Murthy's simplistic presentation makes it even more relatable to the ordinary or occasional reader. All the characters are real and no wonder the story comes from Mrs. Murty, who, being associated with one of the big IT firms in India, must have closely observed numerous instances of the power of the dollar and how it attracts and affects people.
• 
  Cheena Chopra

  This would probably be the first Sudha Murty book which lacked the enthusiasm that holds the content together. In fact, the content gets too cluttered, confusing and hurried up towards the end. True, the book more looked like a fable with only shades of black and white, leading to a conclusion left open-ended for the reader to cook up. The brief read would surely compel you to put it down after initial 50 pages giving in to the predictable end, but love for the author might drag you to the last page.
• 
  Niranjan Kamath

  Wonderful book with great lessons. Everyone has their own perspectives about lives. In this materialistic world we can buy comforts and delight with money, but not love and respect. The grass is always greener on the other side. As a result of this misconception, we are loosing our relations with each other. These are few of my takeaways from this book.
• 
  Neha

  A quick & pleasant read!
  Book is also an eye opener especially for me..The best part of the book is its narration, keeping the story short, sweet & simple.
  Characters are well defined and maintained throughout the book.
  
  Best quote: Grass is always greener on the other side!
• 
  Shraddha Pandya

  The book could have been a 3 or 3.5.. The story is realistic enough.. But a little too plainly good vs bad. I guess the point was driven across clearly but not a readers read.. and the irritating mother in law was too infuriating for me to appreciate the message of the book :D
• 
  Shaunak

  Dollar Bahu By Sudha murthy is an amazing read it really connects you. The plot is interesting you will never feel bored or tired of reading it. The agony and pain of a wife, a sister in law and a man is portrayed very genuinely I personally loved this book for its simplicity and warmth.
• 
  Sameer Patil

  Simple way of writing
  
  A nice fable but most of the people, sentiment are a common occurrence in India. Gouramma is everywhere in India and there is nothing wrong in that. The people and sentiment of those from USA also resonate very well. As many Gouramma that many Jamuna
  
• 
  Sirisha

  Depiction of Typical Scenario in most households -Having an NRI Bahu. But typically showing NRI Bahu in a negative shade and Indian Bahu in a goody role was predictable.