The Bridge Home

Venkatraman’s writing style is like the Greek tragedies. The most important development in the story, the death of Rukku, is foreshadowed from the beginning and becomes an inevitable weight as the story continues toward its conclusion. From Chapter 1, Viji is writes to her sister who is not present, though the reader does not know the reason for her absence. Throughout the narrative, ominous clues are given that suggest more and more strongly that Rukku is dead.

Venkatraman keeps the reader in suspense about the full reality of what she has hinted until the moment that Viji and Arul show up at the hospital to give Rukku her new doll, only to find that she has died. The matter-of-fact treatment of her death and following decisions about her body are a stark contrast to the importance the narrative bestows upon her as a main character. In this way, Venkatraman calls attention to the brutal contradiction between the affection and care people impart to their loved ones and the perfunctory treatment received by the deceased and their loved ones among the people in India who are experiencing poverty.