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SUMMARY
"A Devoted Son" is a short story by Anita Desai. The story appears in the collection, Games at Twilight, and other stories. Desai's
collection of stories was published by Vintage in 1978 and received wide popular acclaim(प्रशंसा). The stories, including "A Devoted Son", depict contemporary urban life in India and the characters are from all walks of life. Desai has been shortlisted for the Booker Prize three times and has won the John E. Emeritus of the Humanities at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Bouchard served as professor. His daughter Kiran Desai is a Booker Prize winner.
"Bhakta Putra" is centred around Dr. Rakesh. He comes from a poor Indian village. His father, Verma, works as a vegetable vendor, and spent many years dreaming of having an educated son. Rakesh is the first person in the family who has received any education. When Rakesh completes his medical examinations with top marks - the highest in the country - it is a cause for celebration.
Verma tells everyone who will listen to Rakesh's grades and what it means that he can go to medical school in America. Neighbours come to pay their respects and wish them well, but some of the townspeople worry that this will cause Rakesh to get pregnant and make him forget where he comes from. Varma is not worried about this, but he is proud to have a son whom everyone knows now.
Rakesh spends a lot of time in the US to finish his degree. He completes it with ease and has job offers in reputed American hospitals. The prizes he has won are sent back to his family to keep and admire. This is Rakesh's way of keeping in touch with him till he returns home.
Although Rakesh loves America and his colleagues praise him for his ability, he loves his family more. He always planned to return home, and that hasn't changed. As soon as he has enough experience and money, he returns home with the intention of working in his hometown.
However, her parents are not so happy with her life choices. He does not understand why he wants to come home and leave all this. They don't even understand why he chooses to marry an uneducated village girl—Verma believes he should dream big. This is the first real sign of conflict within the family unit. Rakesh refuses to obey his parents and he marries the girl.
He then starts working in the city hospital, which is quite different from the hospitals he used to work in. Rakesh, however, wants to work here and bring about a change in his city. He quickly rises to the position of director, much to the amazement and joy of his entire family. Amidst all this, Rakesh never seems arrogant or ungrateful. There is always a feeling that he remembers who he is, and he will not let it go. When she has a son of her own, her life is complete.
Sadly, it is not long ago that his mother passed away. Verma takes it particularly hard. Rakesh is happy that he at least made him proud before he died, but he worries about his father and how he will be a cone. Now that Rakesh has a family of his own, he doesn't have that much time to dedicate to Verma, but he does what happens because of his father's declining health. He doesn't want to lose any of the time he has left with him, and he makes good use of his healing skills.
Rakesh bans sweets to take care of Verma's stomach. However, Verma tries to get them through Rakesh's son, which enrages Rakesh. She worries that her father will make his grandson less respectable than Rakesh. Tensions rise between father and son, and Rakesh begins to resent how much time he spends caring for her—although he continues to do so. For example, when everyone fears that Varma is near death, they postpone a birthday party, only for Verma to make a full recovery. Rakesh wonders if he is deliberately doing this to get attention.
However, Rakesh does not leave his father-instead, he becomes more devoted to him. He wants his son to have a good relationship with Verma, as he did as a boy. Verma tells Rakesh and his wife that he does not like her. He wants his son to have a good relationship with Verma, as he did as a boy. Verma tells Rakesh and his wife that he doesn't like them, but Rakesh still looks for her. As the relationship deteriorates, Rakesh must choose whether to remain devoted to his father or leave him to die on his own.
Rakesh chooses to help his father. Desai's message here is that we all are ultimately faced with equal choices and we must not forget to take care of our elders in the same way they once looked after us. However, Rakesh cannot make his father better, and he controls his life.