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“Vaapsi” (The Return) is a Hindi short story written by the Indian-born American novelist and short-story writer Usha Priyamvada (1930-present). She is a professor of South Asian Studies at the University of Wisconsin, Madison and has also worked extensively on Hindi to English translations. Her stories often showcase the struggles imposed by society and the loneliness experienced by the members of it. The story “Vaapsi” revolves around a similar sense of abandonment felt by a father and husband, Gajadhar Babu, who returns home after retiring only to find no space for him anymore. It is commendable for it moves the readers and enables them to resonate with the protagonist.

Plot
The story begins with Gajadhar Babu getting ready to leave the railway quarters due to his retirement after 35 years of service. All these years, he had missed his wife and kids dearly and hoped for the day when he could return to his family. His heart is filled with comfort and nostalgia as he closes one chapter of his life. He reaches his home and meets his family but is saddened by their reaction as it lacks love and affection. Over the next few days, he realises that there is no space for him in this house, physically and metaphorically. His cot has been pushed from the living room to a packed room with other household stuff like pickle pots, ghee, sugar jars, etc. His wife would complain to him about household matters as if everything went wrong was his responsibility. His children and daughter-in-law did not like him interfering with the workings of the house. One day, he fired domestic help because they could not afford the unnecessary expenditures. This caused his family to talk ill about him, but he happened to hear everything. Dejected, at the end of the story, he moves out of his house to work at a sugar mill. The story ends with his cot being removed, for there is no space.

Gajadhar Babu
Gajadhar Babu is the protagonist of the story. He is a recently retired railway official who longs to return to his family. While his retirement saddens him, his excitement to live with his family again knows no bounds. He reminisces about his children and the memories they made together and his wife’s love for him that he misses with his whole heart. However, when he returns to his home, he finds that he no longer has space in the lives of his wife and children. They have created a routine for themselves in which he is considered an intruder. Trying to be understanding of his family’s feelings, Gajadhar Babu attempts to recede into the background and not interfere with the household matter. However, he struggles with letting go of the position of the head of the family. Understanding that no matter what he does, his wife and children will never accept him back as the part of the family that he once was, he decides to remove himself from the equation; he gets himself a job at a sugar mill and leaves his family behind.

Gajadhar Babu’s Wife
Gajadhar Babu’s wife remains a nameless character throughout the story and is an integral part of the plot. Before his retirement, she is described as a beautiful, loving wife that dotes on her husband and children. However, when Gajadhar Babu returns to his home for good, the audience can see a stark contrast in the wife’s characterisation. She is no longer the person she was in her youth and now is deemed to be the one that hurts her husband with her indifference.

Amar
He is the family’s eldest son and takes the head of the house in his father’s absence. When his father returns from his retirement, Amar has many conflicts and complaints regarding his father, but he addresses them to his mother.

Amar’s wife
She is another nameless character depicted as a lazy person who does not contribute to the household work. Her mother-in-law complains that she does not know how to ration food and wastes many ingredients.

Narendra
He is the second son of the family and is characterised as someone who still borrows money from his father and brings up the discussion about his father’s needless interference in the household.

Basanti
She is the youngest daughter that is still studying in college. She likes to spend time with her neighbourhood friend, Sheila and does not like to help with any household work. Upon her father’s return, she is forced to make dinner for the family, but she purposefully makes it so that no one can eat it. Her mother can see through all her tricks and tells her husband about them.

Kanti
Kanti is the oldest married daughter that is living with her in-laws.

Ganeshi
Ganeshi is introduced at the story’s beginning, wherein he helps his colleague, Gajadhar Babu, pack for his retirement. He is married, and he and his wife are saddened to see Gajadhar Babu leave. He makes jalebi and puris for Gajadhar Babu daily when they work together, a routine that Gajadhar Babu cherishes even after retirement.

Servant
The servant was deemed an unnecessary expense by Gajadhar Babu and was the reason for the story to come to a head, ending with Gajadhar Babu leaving his family behind.

Reception
According to Poonam Saxena, the national weekend editor of the Hindustan Times, Usha Priyamvada is extensively known for her “intensely moving” story “Vaapsi”.