JOIN USEven while browsing a book at a stall a reader often tends to think about the origins of the written word and about the individual who would have penned it.
Be it a short story or a novel, “There is a tendency to believe that men can write about war because women are only good at writing about kitchen politics,” opines Advaita Kala, novelist and script-writer.
In the contemporary times when women don’t even think about whether a particular profession is suitable for them, female writers often find it difficult to make their voice heard. This is not a sweeping statement but a starl reality, even though authors like Arundhati Roy won the Man Booker Prize for The God of Small Things way back in 1998.
Though women authors are coming of age in India, “They are still not expected to write chic-lits and murder-mysteries,” adds Sreemoyee Piu Kundu who doesn’t shy away from calling herself an erotic novelist. “We are finding are own voice by breaking boundaries and barriers that are more to do with mental stereotypes,” says Sreemoyee whose upcoming erotic novel Sita’s Curse has a bold and defiant Gujarati woman as its protagonist, and narrates her need for love.
She is often questioned about her work and feels that she is living in the times of Ismat Chughtai and Kamala Das since the societal setup refuses to accept women writers easily. “Here we are modern women writers, why should we be singled out?” asks Sreemoyee . She is seconded by Preeti Shenoy whose book The One You Cannot Have is the story of a male protagonist. “None of the reviewers felt that the story is written by a female, then why should we be discriminated against?
I write stories that emotionally connect with the reader,” Preeti puts it in a very matter-of-fact manner.
Advaita suggests that “The only way to combat this is by pushing boundaries. Like what I did in Kahaani. Who would have thought that a thriller mystery could have a female as its protagonist,” says the writer who penned the story only to receive laurels from one and all.
Being a female, one would like to believe it too, especially since women writers from India have made a mark across the globe. Jhumpa Lahiri is the most dominant name in this list. Considering her popularity and observing the emergence of the young female authors, one is filled with pride to be a ‘woman’!