As I start
reading the novel, I go through the preface. I know there and then that this
book is going to be a hard hitting one. And so with each story I read, I simply
grope on to the next one, wanting to discover one more aspect of prostitution
in India.
Women have
NEVER been treated with the desired respect in our country, be it currently or
centuries ago. They have been mistreated, abused physically as well as
mentally, manhandled, neglected, underestimated and most importantly taken for
granted.
This book is
for those readers who like some serious non fiction. I call it non fiction
because all the stories are true. This is only the tip of the massive iceberg
of women trafficking and prostitution.
PLOT & CONTENT
A variety of
celebrated as well as less known authors come together and contribute a total
of 21 short stories painstakingly compiled by Ruchira Gupta from the nook and
corners of India.
Each story
depicts the tale of a woman troubled by her own problems.
We have a
woman who willingly works as a maid for her owner, satisfying her physically as
well as emotionally, only to end up getting married and later divorced by him.
We have an
egoistic clash between a man’s wife and lover, beautifully depicted by
Premchand.
We have a
heart wrenching letter written by a prostitute addressed to Pandit Jawaharlal
Nehru, educating him about the rampantly spreading prostitution in Mumbai and
India.
We have a
wife who sells herself just so that she can buy some milk gruel for her injured
husband.
We are
introduced to a word used commonly all around – “COMING?”
Overall,
each story is a gem in itself. There is an overall morose feel to the book. You
can feel that air of helplessness around you but can do nothing to reduce it. This
only makes you more engrossed in the novel.
POSITIVES
The
translations are beautifully done. Be it Urdu, Bengali, Marathi or Hindi, every
story is brilliantly translated into English without draining away the
emotional quotient from the story. This is a big plus point as I have read
various stories whose inference and emotional connect gets lost in translation.
Secondly,
the characters in each story are very well sketched. Be it Jugnu in “The river
of flesh”, or Kusum in “Heeng kochuri” or Lata in “The kept woman” – every single
character stands out. Your heart goes out for them irrespective of their
intentions.
NEGATIVES
There were
one or two stories which exactly didn’t appeal to me. Nothing wrong with them,
they just didn’t click.
Apart from
that, this book is a perfection of sorts.
OVERALL, this novel is a must read for those
who wish to know the extent of spread of prostitution in our society. Reading all
the 21 stories, I realized one thing – very few of these women did it out of
choice. Infact, no one ever did it out of choice. It was always compulsion that
led to them taking this path. They simply didn’t have any other choice.
We ought to
feel really privileged and lucky that we were born and brought up in an
environment where we atleast had the liberty of choosing what we liked and what
we didn’t.
A book which
should be read by every single Indian, this one is definitely recommended!
Comments
Post a Comment