The Ultrasound

The story is set in California and India. Arundhati and

Anjali are cousins and are of the same age. Arundhati marries
Ramesh and settled down in India. Anjali marries Sunil and
moves to America. Arundhati and Anjali maintain good relations
and are in touch with each other through letters and phone calls.
They both become pregnant at the same time.
Anjali enjoys constant support from her husband. He
encouraged her to pursue higher studies and help her with the
household chores. Sunil is not just a husband of Anjali, He is
also a good friend too her. Arundhati is a housewife in a
traditional joint family in India is deprived of the freedom of that
Anjali enjoys.
It clears, when Anjali asks Arundhati about her husband
and mother-in-lows behaviour with her. She either remains silent
or changes the topic. The pauses in letters to Anjali also says the
things are not well. Runu is often the victim of the wrath of her
mother-in-low and brother-in-low.
The scanning report says that Anjali will have baby boy and
Arundhati will have baby girl. When Bhatacharjee family come to
know Runu carrying baby girl in her womb, they decided to abort
the child. According to them It is not ..........Fitting that the
eldest child of the Bhattacharjee household should be a female.

Divakaruni throws light on such a harsh reality of some

Indian families. They feel as girls are burden to them. They look
towards her as reproducing thing of a family and nurturing them.
The society neglects what woman wants? what she desires? what
her wishes and aspirations? She is supposed as an object, a
thing is to be used and and objects existence has purpose only in
relation to its use.
As being mother Runu dont want to abort her child. One
day she escapes from her house and called Anjali. Anjali advised
her to leave hers laws house and go to Calcutta at her mothers
house. But Runu said that she called her mother before boy and
she says Its not right that I should leave husbands home. My
place is better with them, for better or worse.
Now, Arundhati is in dilemma. Whether to leave husbands
or live in it. If she lives obviously they kill her baby and if leave,
what is about her and her girl. People will think in-lows threw her
out because she did something bad, and supposed her baby as
bastard.
The end of the story is quite absurel. The writer didnt give
end of story. She leave end of the story on imagination.
Impart from that Divakaruni throws light on superstition of
Indians. When Runu didnt conceive pregnancy, her in-lows taken
her to the shrine of shasthi, goddess of child birth, Family priest

gave a good luck amulet on a copper chain to wear around her

waist to appear the angry planets. It was about Runu living in
India but Anjali living in California used to read future segment
in paper.The future in my cookie reads A wonderful event is
about to occur in your life soon.