This third volume in the biography of an Indian lady and her family brings home the reality of life for working women in India of the 1960s. Anu had been allowed to go to university by her civil servant father, and worked as a teacher before marrying an Army officer. Idleness and cheap drink at the mess club were a bad combination and Anu left Ramesh, taking their three little girls. ANU - THE YO-YO YEARS picks up the story.

Anu fled to her mother's house with no money. Allahabad was a busy, mixed city, with the Slazenger tennis racquet factory a major employer. Anu's family were Christian but she had married a Hindu. While she was welcome, her elderly mother could not support the family and had other guests at times, so Anu needed both to move and to gain work. She was determined to home-school her daughters, especially after Ramesh made an attempt to steal the girls back to him. Court matters had to be got under way and to pay a lawyer Anu was forced to sell her gold bangles. Her husband refused to provide for the girls until they were under his roof.

Gaining confidence Anu applied for jobs and found a teaching post in Lucknow. The girls now went to this school, having passed entrance tests with flying colours, and Anu worked diligently, gaining respect and rising to Vice-Principal. The school added more senior classes and was a qualifying school for England's Cambridge University. Yet when the post of principal became vacant, Anu could not be considered as the school's constitution said that the principal must be a man. Her status as a woman outside a marriage made her suspect and friendly couples invited her home less often, while girls could not travel alone in safety.

I enjoyed particularly the energy and colour of the account, with saris and modern clothes alike provided by Anu's sister as once-worn items which the teacher put to splendid use. The young girls grew up in many observable ways and even started a business painting fabric, to decorate saris, which was mentioned in a newspaper. Having seen that their mother was able to provide for them only through the opportune education she had received, they were each determined to go to college themselves. While their lives may have seemed full of study, India has so many festivals, like Diwali, the Festival of Lights, that I don't think anyone could be bored. Summer heat meant sleeping in the garden under netting, while monsoon season brought flooding with comical effects after an old-folks' home was evacuated into Anu's school under her care, the male principal having decamped at the first sign of rising water.

With spicy foods from different locations, travel across teeming India, brilliantly coloured saris and glittering jewels, ANU - THE YO-YO YEARS is a feast for the senses. Shabnam Vasisht is an artist and writer who now lives in Ireland as she retells her family's story. The earlier books are Anu - The Raj Years and Anu - The Nomad Years. Together they gloriously depict India growing from a colony into a modern independent nation.

Book Summary

The long battle to extricate herself from an unhappy marriage exposed Anu to many personal dangers , as well as the constant terror of losing her three daughters . Determined to bring up her children single-handedly, Anu returned to work , starting at the bottom of the ladder and quickly rising to the top of her career. However, professional success, too, was eventually blighted by disappointments and betrayals. Anu faced her challenges with typical courage and faith, until circumstances forced her to make a decision. But that's another story . . .