Women Writers From India
This month, we’re putting the spotlight on women writers from India, from the classic to the contemporary, across genres, and in translation. We bring to you three highlights from our shelves here!
‘Girl Made of Gold’ takes place in Thanjavur, in the 1920s. One night, the young devadasi Kanaka disappears and, as if in her place, a statue of a woman in pure gold mysteriously appears in the temple to which she was to be dedicated. Many villagers assume that Kanaka has turned into the girl made of gold. Others are determined to search for her.
Through the story of Kanaka’s disappearance, Gitanjali Kolanad gives us a beautifully realized world—of priests, Zamindars and devadasis, and of art, desire and their dark reverse sides. Each chapter is told from the perspective of a different person in Kanaka’s world, and the mystery of her disappearance comes into focus through their different worldviews. ‘Girl Made of Gold’ is a mystery, thrillingly told, and also a moving human story of the pursuit of love and freedom.
‘Strings Attached’ is a collection of prose-poetry by Bangalore author Poornima Laxmeshwar. The poems reflect on the personal and the political, with rich detail and vivid imagery. In three sections, Laxmeshwar writes of feminism, taboo, pain, and love, in poems rooted to everyday experiences many of us will recognize. This collection comes to us from Red River Press, an independent publisher of poetry in India.
‘The Curse’ by acclaimed author and poet Salma, translated from Tamil by N Kalyan Raman, blasts through the artifice of genre and language to reveal the messy, violent, vulnerable and sometimes beautiful realities of being a woman in deeply patriarchal societies. Loosely rooted in the rural Muslim communities of Tamil Nadu, these stories shine a light on the complex dramas governing the daily lives of most women moving through the world. This collection of emotionally charged short stories will grab you by the throat and leave you fundamentally changed.
Until next time, happy reading.