Introduction
In Manju Kapur's Custody (2011), if Shagun represents the new woman who breaks a marriage, Ishita represents the new woman who builds a home from the broken pieces. Ishita's story is the most emotional part of the novel. She is a divorcee, declared infertile, and considered incomplete by orthodox Indian society. Her journey from a rejected, childless woman to a loving step-mother to Roohi is a powerful search for motherhood. Through Ishita, Kapur redefines what it means to be a mother in modern India.
If you want to read the novel, you can get a copy here: Manju Kapur's Custody on Amazon
Ishita's Past and Social Rejection
Ishita comes from a middle-class family. Her first marriage breaks because she cannot conceive a child. In Indian society, especially for middle-class families, a woman's primary identity is still that of a mother. A woman who cannot give birth is seen as cursed or incomplete. Ishita's mother is constantly anxious about her future and her second marriage.
This social pressure makes Ishita feel like a failure. She is educated and works for an NGO helping poor and destitute children, but internally she carries a deep wound. She longs for a child of her own. This longing is not just biological — it is social. She wants to prove herself as a complete woman.
When she meets Raman, a divorcee with two children — Arjun and Roohi — she sees a chance to find both a husband and motherhood. The psychological impact of this on the children is explored in detail in our post on Impact of Marital Conflict on Children in Manju Kapur's Custody.
The Challenge of Being a Step Mother
Being a step-mother in India is never easy. Popular stories and films portray step-mothers as cruel figures. Ishita faces a double challenge. First, Raman's children — especially Roohi — are still deeply attached to their real mother Shagun. Second, Shagun constantly interferes and tries to poison the children's minds against Ishita, telling Roohi: "Ishita is trying to take my place."
Arjun, the older child, is more distant. He is occupied with school and friends and sees Ishita as his father's new wife, not as a mother. Roohi is small, confused, and in need of love, but she constantly repeats: "My mama Shagun says..."
Ishita tries very hard. She wakes up early to make tiffin for Arjun, helps Roohi with homework, and stays awake through Roohi's fevers. Yet she receives little thanks. Raman, too, initially compares her cooking and caregiving with Shagun's style. Ishita feels the painful irony — she works for destitute children through her NGO, yet her own home does not accept her.
As Kapur shows, legal custody can be granted by a court, but emotional custody has to be earned through love. This theme is further explored in our analysis of the social and psychological consequences of divorce in Custody.
Search for Motherhood Beyond Biology
The most important theme related to Ishita is Kapur's deliberate separation of motherhood from biology. Traditionally, only a woman who gives birth was considered a mother. Ishita challenges and dismantles this idea.
Her search for motherhood succeeds not because she gives birth, but because she learns to love selflessly. When Roohi fails in school or is bullied, Ishita stands by her. When Roohi needs a mother to talk to about growing up, Ishita is there. Slowly, Roohi begins calling her "Ishita Ma."
Her NGO work also gives her a larger sense of motherhood. She works for children who have no parents, who live on the streets in poverty. Through this work, she understands that motherhood is a quality of caring, not merely a biological function. In this way, her painful first marriage and social rejection ultimately lead her to a more meaningful life.
For further reading on how Kapur portrays women's roles and ambition, see our post on Marriage and Ambition in Manju Kapur's Custody.
Contrast Between Shagun and Ishita
Manju Kapur deliberately creates two opposite mother figures to explore what it truly means to be a good mother.
Shagun is the biological mother. She gave birth to Roohi and Arjun. She is beautiful and modern. But she leaves her children for her lover Ashok Khanna. She loves her children, but she loves her own freedom more.
Ishita is not the biological mother. She cannot give birth. She is simple, middle-class, and far less glamorous than Shagun. But she stays with the children, sacrifices her time, and provides them with daily love and security.
Through this contrast, Kapur asks the reader: who is the real mother? The one who gives birth and leaves, or the one who does not give birth but stays and cares? The novel clearly answers that Ishita is the better mother, because motherhood is about nurturing.
According to Psychology Today, the quality of emotional presence and consistency is what defines effective parenting — biological connection alone is not sufficient for a child's healthy development. Kapur's novel anticipates exactly this understanding.
Conclusion
Ishita's character offers a new definition of motherhood in Indian English fiction. She demonstrates that a step-mother can also be a good mother, and that a childless woman can also experience the joy of motherhood. Her journey is one from incompleteness to completeness — not through giving birth, but through love for another woman's child.
In the end, when Roohi chooses to stay with Ishita and Raman rather than go with Shagun and Ashok to a more luxurious life, Kapur proves that love is more powerful than blood and luxury.
To explore more about Manju Kapur's writing and themes, read our post on the role of class and corporate life in Custody.
Want to read Custody yourself? Get it on Amazon here.
Join our reading community on WhatsApp for more literary discussions: Join WhatsApp Channel
0 comments