I agree with sumitra. I dont think she is wrong, or trying to force anandi into being a bahu like herself. She has been very supportive -- but i think in this case, she was right to ask anandi to step down from giving a decision.
I agree with sumitra because I think anything we do -- whether it is a job or a hobby etc. is because it gives us a better quality of life -- why do we go to work? Yes, there are aspects of defining our identity and developing our personality, but the money that we get is also a powerful entity in improving our quality of life.
From sumitra's lenses (and my own) I dont see any point in a job that by its very nature destroys one's peace of mind and one's family's peace of mind. The quality of life declines.
Sumitra is not a typical evil type of mother in law who is jealous of anandi's success -- infact she is the rare nice lady who wants to help anandi -- in fact, she defied maasaa's anger to go and be the first student in anandi's class. She also used to prepare food for all the students in the adult education class.
She would be happy to help anandi soar to any heights -- in education, in career, in a second marriage, whatever makes her happy. But this sort of job which has a trade-off in terms of declining quality of life of family members is not a very effective endeavour is what she feels.