One Part Woman is the English translation of Perumal Murugan’s Tamil novel Madhorubhagan, translated by Aniruddhan Vasudevan. Madhorubhagan in Tamil means half male, half female or Ardhanareeswara, as Lord Shiva is called in Sanskrit. The story is about a childless couple, Kali and Ponna, living in a village in Tamil Nadu. It captures the taunts and humiliation they face simply because they do not have a child. Set in the pre-Independence era, the novel takes readers through village customs, traditions, and social values, showing how failing to conform could make a person an object of ridicule or even an outcast.

Readers interested in how caste shapes Indian society may also find this list of books that explore caste in India useful.

Kali and Ponna have been married for twelve years and are very much in love with each other. Kali lives in a village with her mother and Ponna. In the village, having a child is a matter of pride and good luck. When, after a year of marriage, they did not conceive, people suggested various things to the couple, and especially to Ponna. Following these suggestions, they visit many shrines, pray to their local deity, and try several remedies advised by family, relatives, and villagers. One of the medications included drinking “neem leaves” juice, which Ponna hated. They followed everything suggested to them, but still, Ponna was not able to conceive. People started gossiping about them and started making fun of Kali saying he might be impotent. Kali started to withdraw from his friend circle and became a recluse. Their families even suggested a second marriage for Kali, but he refused.

The humiliation she had had to suffer because of this one problem was endless. She could not even go to their own fields during the sowing season for fear that others would broach the topic. So she would lock herself inside the house.

Despite not having a child, they loved each other very much. Ponna sometimes felt guilty that she was not able to provide a child to Kali. Having a child, especially a son, was treated as a matter of pride and status among the villagers. Childless couples were seen as unlucky, as though they were paying for the sins of their ancestors. Perumal Murugan, the master storyteller, brings to life a village from the pre-independence era. He paints a picture of the village so beautifully that you visualize it. Along with that, he captures the nuances of village life — its traditions, rituals, beliefs, and their effect on Kali and Ponna.

Kali’s and Ponna’s mothers decide to send Ponna to the temple festival of Madhorubhagan, hoping that an old ritual associated with the festival may finally give the couple a child. The novel then moves toward a painful question: how far can longing, social pressure, and family expectations push a loving couple? These are some of the answers you will find once you read the book.