Status Single: The Truth About Being Single Woman in India by Sreemoyee Piu Kundu
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sreemoyee puts forward the frustrations & despair that so many single women in India go through for no fault of theirs. It’s a voice to the emotions of not just the women whose stories we read in the book, but the multitude of women who sail in the same boat. Being shunned by society and agonized by constant questions about their single status and sex lives, how they long for privacy and to be treated normally.
The author covers their day to day struggles starting from renting their own place, having a normal social life, being treated fairly in the workplace to the emotional struggles of battling loneliness, insecurity of losing loved ones, being hit upon by lusty men and carrying the burden of a haunting past. The stories of the women in the book have been handled with great sensitivity. These are inspirational women and their stories show how they are managing to be lead successful lives despite all the blockers society puts in their way.
Sreemoyee has captured the struggles and emotions of singles of different types – spinster, divorced, windowed, disabled, from different parts of the society – all sharing a common pain. The book is well written and the chapters have been given interesting names. There are some fine humourous pieces like the letter to ‘Bultu’ which refers to the snobbish, choosy and controlling mother of the prospective groom.
A lot of women- single or not would relate to the book. All of us have faced these issues in our life at some point or the other, like having an inferiority complex due to our looks, being shunned by society for our life choices, for being discriminated against for being single, separated or childless, compromising our happiness and self-respect for the man who turns from dream to nightmare. In fact, one of the blog posts I wrote was about the inferiority complex I faced due to my dark complexion.
https://medium.com/@anupachatterji/th...
Kudos to Sreemoyee for in India who deserve the same respect as anybody else.


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Tedha hai par Mera hai

As I entered the cafeteria on a rainy Monday morning, with a cup of steaming coffee and a plate of crispy poha (a typical Maharashtrian breakfast), I noticed the breakfast table already warming up the cool weather. At one end of the table sat Mr. X (let’s call him that lest he should file a defamation lawsuit against me!), my colleague who has been abroad(or onsite in IT jargon) for quite some time now and visits his homeland once in a while. X seemed to me like some ‘Baba’ giving 'gyan' to his disciples because he was doing most of the talking while the rest of them just looked up to him in awe.

The topic for the day was the same as it is on every 1st day of his India trips – praises of foreign land and criticism of poor India. Not that this was restricted to the 1st day of his visit, but the following days would mellow him down a bit and also, most of the audience would be clever enough to find ways to escape the repeat telecast. Anyways – this was the 1st day and we let him blabber to show some respect to him and majorly to be in his good books till he distributes goodies that he has brought from foreign land.

X went on and on about the wonders of the western world. How he loves the cleanliness and orderliness there, how people are disciplined and everybody goes by the rule book and anybody breaking the law is brought to book. He was all praises for the development and standard of life that he enjoyed there. And then he started comparing ‘poor India’ with his new land of wonders- how everything in India is so behind the times – unkempt roads, poor transportation, unbearable weather, dirt, grime, pollution, poor civic sense - the list was endless. We all listened quietly – some in awe, some in agreement, others suppressing their disagreement. X kept on and on - “In the US, we make sure we don’t spit on the roads, we follow driving rules, we have the most sophisticated gadgets to make life easy ..blah,blah and here Indians don’t have any civic sense, the country is going to the dogs. Everywhere you see there is corruption, pollution. And then the comparisons started again - poor Indian roads vs smooth American ones, poor health care facilities vs. advanced American Medicare and he continued with comparisons about education system, culture, people, sophistication, work culture and even McD vs. Haldiram.

Listening to the way he was saying ‘we’ do this whereas ‘you’ do that – it made me wonder if he was denying the fact that he was an Indian – I guess the long time he spent abroad had made him feel he was an American. Although I didn’t disagree to many things he said, I felt insulted and more so since it was coming from him – an Indian however much he may want to deny it. India has a horde of problems that is getting crazier by the day, making life difficult for a big part of the population. Having said that, every country has its problems and simply criticizing or turning one’s back isn’t going to get us any closer to resolving a single issue. It is our own motherland despite its imperfections.

The audience managed to cut short his ‘India Bashing’ and all of us went to work. We enjoyed the American Chocolates X had brought in bulk – chocolates really make us melt and so we decided to ignore his despiseful comments in the morning. Well, as fate would have it I wasn’t done with X yet. While returning home I noticed a traffic policeman had stopped a car at the traffic signal and was engrossed in discussion with the driver. After quite a bit of discussion, I saw the owner of the car step out and hand him a few crisp notes after which the policeman let him go. Such incidents are not that rare on Indian roads and I’m sure we all must have come across something like this one or another time. In fact, I’m sure many of us would have no hesitation in greasing the palms of people in power in small ways just to avoid getting into any kind of hassle. I have witnessed many such incidents and haven’t really approved of it, but what specifically struck me this time was that the guy in question here looked very familiar. As fate would have it, as I was waiting on the next signal, the same car stopped next to me and as I peeped out, I saw X on the driver seat. I couldn’t help but wonder what had made him stoop so low as the Indians he was cursing so much. And I realized that he was still one of us – to find the convenient way out. He had learnt the ways of the western world – the accent, the sophistication, the attitude- which made him feel and behave like them, but what the western world couldn’t take away from him was the ‘jugad’ attitude which gave him away. It reminded me of the wolf who took on the pretense of the sheep, but was caught.

I'm ashamed to confess that I think like X while stuck in heavy traffic or seeing the garbage at the side of the street. I wonder if I’m the sheep or the wolf – maybe a thought for all Indians to introspect

Shalimar the Clown by Salman Rushdie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Shalimar the clown is a story of love, betrayal and complex relationships. A major part of the story is set in the backdrop of beautiful Kashmir. It starts at a time when Kashmir's beauty was at its peak and gradually paints a horrific picture of fall of the 'paradise on earth' with the onset of militancy. As the carefree life of Shalimar and Boonyi takes a twist from an innocent love story to a strong hate saga, so turns Kashmir from nature's haven to a battlefield. The book touches the sensitive issue of Kashmir that had left numerous people dead and homeless and cut off the state from the rest of the country. The fall of Kashmiri is heart wrenching as seen from the author's eye and one can feel the pain of Kashmiris with the fall of Pachigan.

All the characters in the book are very strong and well carved out, so much so as the sections in the book are named after them . They are not good or bad, but very human with shades of both. There are stages in the story where one hates them, but others where one can't help but sympathize with them . It is a story of ambition of 1 person destroying the lives of many. It is the story of people losing their sanity in repentance. It is the story of a girl coming to terms with her biological origin.

The book has Rushdie's characteristic flamboyant narrative with the most complex vocabulary thrown around. This makes it a rich, literary delight, albeit making it difficult to touch the chords with some readers. It does reiterate why Rushdie is one of the great authors of the time.

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The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad by Twinkle Khanna
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad – Book Review
An interesting compilation of stories on women centric subjects. They touch upon sensitive women issues which feminists have been raising voices for, but India has still a long way to go to overcome them.
The book has the Mrs. Funny Bones’ signatory fun and wit combined with strong sensibility and ethos. Twinkle Khanna has been careful in that all the stories have her quintessential sense of humor and piquant tit-bits, it doesn’t dilute the seriousness of the issue she is dealing with. She has chosen the subjects of her stories thoughtfully to highlight some of the most prevalent issues Indian women have to deal with in the present society. From the issue of dowry to the taboo associated to menstruation, each issue strikes a chord with Indian women.
Each story has a different flavor. ‘The legend of Lakshmi Prasad’ showcases how even today the girl child is unwanted in rural India since the poor parents can’t afford her dowry and how a married girl has to deal with the menace of dowry. The story takes off well with little Laksmi and her family leading a simple rustic life. It builds up with Lakshmi witnessing her parent’s burdened life and her sister’s woes. The climax with Lakshmi’s attempt to solve the problem in her own simple way falls short of the build up and disappoints me. To me, it doesn’t provide the justice that these issues deserve. Being the 1st story and the title one, it falls short of the expectations of the reader.
‘Salaam Noni Appa’ is quite impressive with its portrayal of the title character who has to deal with the loneliness that comes along with her widowhood. How she yearns for companionship in the prime of her life, but is forced to hold back her feelings since it isn’t permitted by the norms of our conservative society. It also touches upon subjects of abusive marriage and spinsterhood and how it isn’t always the female who is the victim in a marriage. The light hearted moments in the lives of Noni and Binni bring in instant smiles on the face of the reader. The narrative strikes a chord and one can feel the unsaid pain of Noni Appa’s grim loneliness.
‘If the Weather Permits’ revolves around another issue that women in India have to face , where being single woman is unacceptable and a man’s name must be attached to her to get due respect in society.
The ‘Sanitary Man from a sacred land’ is the star of the anthology and the author is smart to realize it and provide it the widest coverage in the book. Spread across 27 chapters is the story on Bablu Kewat based on the life of Arunachalam Muruganantham, a simple school dropout who has to his credit the invention of a low cost sanitary napkin manufacturing unit. It’s an inspiring tale and more so since it is a real one. It is also a great example that feminism has nothing to do with gender and that a man can also be equally concerned about the issues women in our society face. Though most of the story is real, Twinkle has added her own fictional bits like the subtle romance between Bablu and his English teacher.
The stories have a simple narrative and easy to relate to. The characterization is wonderful and brings the characters to life as the reader flips through the pages. All in all a good and quick read.



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To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The story touches upon on a very sensitive and socially relevant topic of its time - racial discrimination. What makes it really different is that the story is told from the point of view of little kids which brings in their innocent thoughts and the element of humour to the story. It makes one wonder - we should probably learn something from little children - to think with an open mind with no prejudices. We realise that the world could be a better place if we could keep the child in us alive.
Atticus Finch is an ideal parent who teaches his children by example and not by mere teachings.
It brings us face to face with the reality that sometimes people are so much biased by what they have seen for years that they can't keep aside their prejudices even in the light of strong evidence.
The novel touches the heart and brings the reader close to tears at times. I did find though that the the story develops too slowly in the beginning and the huge build up around the Radleys doesn't seem to be justified in the end. Nevertheless - a very good piece of work specially for the sensitivity shown in handling a burning issue.

"Shoot all the Bluejays you want, if you can hit them, but remember it's a sin to kill a mockingbird"



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LOSER: Life Of a Software EngineeR by Dipen Ambalia
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Being in the IT industry for almost 7 years now, I maybe a bit partial in rating this book a full five - but that can be excused because I loved it so much because I could absolutely relate to each word I read!
Right from the title of the book to every observation that Dipen explains is so true! The book is hilarious yet not exaggerated and I'm sure most of my fellow IT walas will agree. Such a wonderful and apt description of the IT industry can only come from an insider and so it is! For people outside the industry,I'm sure it will burst many myths about the IT sector and people working in it.
If you are feeling low, or in mood for a hearty laugh, do pick up this book and I guarantee your jaws will pain in no time!

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Dollar Bahu by Sudha Murty
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Dollar Bahu is a story about the 'Big American Dream' and its impact on Indian families. It could be the story of any average Indian middle class family and hence many people can relate to it. Sudha Murthy's simplistic presentation makes it even more relatable to the ordinary or occasional reader. All the characters are real and no wonder the story comes from Mrs. Murty, who, being associated with one of the big IT firms in India, must have closely observed numerous instances of the power of the dollar and how it attracts and affects people.

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