NNoovv 0099 -- NNoovv 1155,, 22001122 || VVooll.. 0066 || IIssssuuee 11115544 BooksRescuing Ranu - A Story of Strength,

Exploitation, Love, and Culture• ‘Rescuing Ranu’ is a beautiful novel written by Cheryl Snell and it can be

purchased from Amazon.com.

• Swarup is a freelance writer and editor based in Bangalore, India.

As I read through ‘Rescu-ing Ranu’, I could re-late to Nela many

times. I could understandwhy she had to wear theheavy chain and how embar-rassed she was at the air-port, trying to hide it fromothers’ view. I admire her as-sertiveness even as she askedher colleague to find anotherplace for the candidate. I enjoyed the interaction andconversation that happenedbetween Nela and Jackson.There is so much to learnfrom there about their nativecultures. There is frequentreference to how Nela’s rela-tives considered her unmar-riageable and gave herstrange looks.Nela proves to us that mostof us are attached to our na-tive culture. She chooses togo back to her native land forsolace during her time of dis-appointment and sadness. I would call the meeting ofNela with Ranu a sub plot.This part of the story forms

such an important part of thenovel. Their worlds are sodifferent from each other.And they are two forms of a‘woman’. Ranu is very sub-missive, innocent, lost, andexploited. Nela is brave, as-sertive, educated, strong,sure, and thoughtful.Nela took the time to know,understand, and bond withRanu. She felt bad for Ranu.She recognized her innocenceand her pathetic state. Shewillingly opened her heart tothe little girl and gave herplace in her heart and herlife. Nela’s interaction withRanu speaks volumes aboutNela’s character. She is a lov-ing, genuine, and caring per-son who went through all thetrouble to save Ranu fromMami and her uncle. Not onlydid she stop at adopting Ranuas her daughter, but she didall she could to help Ranuforget the past and enjoy herlife.Ranu reminded me of somany little girls around the

world who are not allowed togrow out of their innocence.They are not allowed to raisetheir voices. They are not al-lowed to enjoy life or behappy. They are exploited tokeep others happy. They aremade to work and made tofeel obliged for every morselof food they eat or everydrop of water they drink. Ihope that all the Ranus inthis world would meet a Nelawho would rescue them fromslavery! Each and every char-acter adds so much meaningto the story. There is so muchto learn from this book. Nelahelps us look at the variedaspects of the two culturesand their traditions, good orbad, through her eyes. Shegives us a clear picture oflife itself. Wherever we go,we cannot escape the reali-ties of life. The reality is allaround Nela and she keepsbumping into them again andagain and is forced to dealwith them. And she does agood job!