The Right of Entry - Spatial Politics and the Gendered Home in Kundanika Kapadia’s Seven Steps in the Sky

Abstract

This paper explores the intersection of spatiality, gender, and agency in Kundanika Kapadia’s seminal Gujarati novel, Seven Steps in the Sky (Sat Pagla Aakashma). Moving beyond purely Western spatial theories, this study employs a framework grounded in Indian feminist criticism and post-colonial theory—engaging with the works of Partha Chatterjee, Tanika Sarkar, and Michel Foucault. It argues that the domestic sphere in the novel functions not merely as a private dwelling but as the “inner domain” of cultural preservation, where the female subject is surveilled and silenced to maintain the sanctity of the patriarchal kula (clan). The paper analyses the protagonist Vasudha’s trajectory from the stifling enclosure of her marital home to the limitless expanse of the “sky”, interpreting this journey as a radical reclamation of the swadharma (self-duty) that transcends traditional domestic obligations.