In a culture where others constantly attempt to define individuals, how does one determine their identity for themselves?
Maya -
The shining example, the Rao family's gem. Maya seems to be on everyone's good side, even when she is on their bad side. People could never help but be enthralled with this exceptionally kind young woman. She comes off as extremely likable, confident but not self-obsessed, curious but not nosy and adventurous, incredibly adventurous, leaving the only world she has known to live a bigger life.
From the brief descriptions we have of this character, we can extrapolate that Maya, like her brother Arun, was confident in herself and possessed a defined identity. Unlike Arun however, she displays this confidence outwardly, taking risks and breaking trail fearlessly while almost always managing to stay in the good books. When Maya falls in love with a foreigner and breaks off her engagement to the kind Brahmin boy from back home, it is more than even her usually lenient father can allow considering their culture. Sripathi is forced to comply with tradition, and must shut her out. This is by far the hardest thing he has ever done, keeping up to act of coldness when all he want is to have his precious daughter back in his life. But this struggle is much more Sripathi's than Maya's. Maya had the confidence, sense of self and independence to make a decision and stick to it. Her identity is one that she has defined herself, not allowing tradition, culture or family to dictate who she is as an individual.
The shining example, the Rao family's gem. Maya seems to be on everyone's good side, even when she is on their bad side. People could never help but be enthralled with this exceptionally kind young woman. She comes off as extremely likable, confident but not self-obsessed, curious but not nosy and adventurous, incredibly adventurous, leaving the only world she has known to live a bigger life.
From the brief descriptions we have of this character, we can extrapolate that Maya, like her brother Arun, was confident in herself and possessed a defined identity. Unlike Arun however, she displays this confidence outwardly, taking risks and breaking trail fearlessly while almost always managing to stay in the good books. When Maya falls in love with a foreigner and breaks off her engagement to the kind Brahmin boy from back home, it is more than even her usually lenient father can allow considering their culture. Sripathi is forced to comply with tradition, and must shut her out. This is by far the hardest thing he has ever done, keeping up to act of coldness when all he want is to have his precious daughter back in his life. But this struggle is much more Sripathi's than Maya's. Maya had the confidence, sense of self and independence to make a decision and stick to it. Her identity is one that she has defined herself, not allowing tradition, culture or family to dictate who she is as an individual.