‘Soft Animal’: A rare novel about womanhood and the unmaking of a marriage during the lockdown

In Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan’s new novel, the winds of Mallika’s personal tragedies rage on while we see how even her humane self is at risk of disappearing.

Jun 24, 2023 - 09:30

‘Soft Animal’: A rare novel about womanhood and the unmaking of a marriage during the lockdown

The year 2020 was a blur. The nationwide lockdown days from March 25 to May 31 could have been a long, elastic day or ten weeks of suspended time. It did not stop there; each state, city, and residential neighbourhood imposed their own restrictions to curb the spread of the virus – some were scientific while others mostly not. When the curbs were finally lifted, we did not emerge stronger from it – millions of lives and livelihoods were lost, and as a collective, something within us was permanently dimmed. Call it the glimmer of hope or the spark of life, if you will.

The subjects of Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan’s Soft Animal are Mallika, Mukund, and Gudiya the dog. Mallika and Mukund are married and there are no apparent splinters in their relationship. Gudiya the dog is Mallika’s mother’s indie who finds herself in a kennel after her owners get stuck in a different city when the lockdown is imposed. Guilt and familial obligations force Mallika to bring Gudiya home. Mukund is not too pleased about it, but he does not protest either. Gudiya and Mallika, two introverts against Mukund’s boisterous extroverted personality, quickly become friends.