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Gender inequalities on art of writing

“Most of the famous writers and outstanding literature in the world is created by women. Most famous best sellers are women. Women are vocal, expressive and creative.”…writes Siddhi Jain.

As more and more women take to writing as a career, do they still feel reminded that they are female writers? Five authors reveal the kind of comments they have received over their years of writing, relating to gender or not, and how they dealt with them.

Kavya Sharma, All Seasons Alike

“People judge you not only for your art and the kind of profession you’ve gotten into, they also assume as a woman you have it easy and this presumption is what creates discord. Some people also assume that as a woman your experiences are limited which further limits your writing arena. There are these huge writing groups who favour a few over others and those same set of people keep getting seen at various events and launches.”

“Some people said ‘ahh, the privileged sex, you can of course afford to become a writer.’ Some people have said ‘People will only buy your book for how you look, you can get away with bad writing’. Honestly, it did initially bother me a lot as it would anyone who works hard on their art. I answered back and fought with a lot of people for such things; but as I matured I realised that none of these people matter and I cannot waste my energy trying to make them understand. The best way to fight them was to continue working on my art.”

Anuradha Prasad, Two Winters and 365 Days

“Most of the famous writers and outstanding literature in the world is created by women. Most famous best sellers are women. Women are vocal, expressive and creative.”

“I must say women have to work ten times harder than men to create a niche for themselves in a given profession. It’s more challenging, as they are not only working outside, they are working inside the homes too. Women are tugged emotionally on all levels. They are torn between their families and work places. I experienced the same struggle. I handled criticism in stride. Took it easy and improvised on the pointers levelled at me from time to time. Sometimes identified criticism as baseless work of art and moved on!”

Raina Singhwi Jain, The Golden Bird 2.0

“As a working professional, one has to deal with criticism. It is however upto us to pay attention only to constructive criticism that can help us improve our skills. My father was the inspiration behind this book. A lot of the ideas mentioned in the book were a result of active debates with my father. I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by highly supportive family and friends who enabled me to focus on the book.”

“Don’t be overwhelmed by your ambitions and goals, just take the first step and new opportunities will automatically start coming your way.”

Janhavi Bhat, Ashes of Desires

“Struggles are a part and parcel of life. Without hardships it is impossible to reach anywhere. The biggest hindrance in my journey was my failure to realise my self-worth. Often times when one chooses a different path and sees a future that’s inconceivable by the majority, a sense of negativity looms over. I always keep an anchor thought as my inspiration.” My anchor thought is my reason to choose writing – express with utmost authenticity and honesty.

“Authenticity is a deep value in itself. Be fearless and honest. It might be difficult to find people who will support you. Nonetheless, go after your dreams and the right people are sure to accompany you.”

Arushi Vats, Oasis in the Desert and Other Stories

“When I was following the path of my dreams, there were many people who made every attempt to belittle my dreams or discourage in some way or other. They would give their unsolicited opinion of how being an author wouldn’t do me good. Nonetheless, I cared less and turned a deaf ear to them. I was confident in my ability to go after my dream of becoming a published author and I am proud that I never bothered to hear those harsh words and demotivate myself.”

“When I decided to publish my first book, there was no one to give me prior guidance of how to find a publisher or pitch your story. There’s always room to improve. But, the thrill of doing things on your own with all the struggles and experiences gave me some confidence that I can be a writer. I realised that with time writing skills get sharpened and you only get better. Never underestimate yourself, you have the potential and the calibre to do it, so go ahead and do things with unwavering strength.”

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Somini’s one shot intro to vaccines

The informative text is accompanied by colourful and quirky illustrations that we hope will take the pain out of the prick even as it highlights the importance of vaccination for children.”…writes Siddhi Jain.

Kids of current generation is To help children understand the world of vaccines deeper, a new children’s book ‘V for Vaccine: A One-shot Introduction to Vaccines’ by author-journalist Somini Sengupta will attempt to answer some key questions: “What is a vaccine? How is it made? Does it hurt to get a vaccine?”

children walking in street during covid 19 surge in us

Through three fun characters, Veni, Vidi and Vici, who love talking about things that start with the letter V, like vaccines, the book answers who invented the first vaccine, whether animals can get vaccines too, and other ways to build immunity and stay healthy. Readers can even create their own vaccine card.

People line up to enter a mass COVID-19 vaccination site at the United Center in Chicago, the United States,

The book is published by HarperCollins Children’s Books.

According to Tina Narang, Publisher, HarperCollins Children’s Books,”for children it’s been a year filled with many new words, starting with corona, coronavirus and Covid, and now more recently, Vaccine — the word that is on everyone’s lips if not on their arms”.

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“So we are happy to announce ‘V for Vaccine: A One-Shot Introduction to Vaccines’, a book that will introduce children to the how’s and why’s of vaccines and vaccination through an easy-to-understand question and answer format. The informative text is accompanied by colourful and quirky illustrations that we hope will take the pain out of the prick even as it highlights the importance of vaccination for children.”

“Understanding how vaccines work is the first step to building confidence in science and all of its potential. This engaging and appealing book leads us through questions and answers that show how we can use vaccines to protect us,” says Indian virologist Gagandeep Kang, who is a Professor of Microbiology at Christian Medical College.

With easy-to-understand information and colourful, quirky illustrations, this book is an engaging and informative look at the importance of vaccination.

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MOOL portrays cutest kids art

With a ‘Business Not for Profit’ approach, it is a 100 per cent social enterprise where all of its profits go back to the community.

Giving a space for kids’ creativity is the best thing for their holistic development. MOOL — Made Out Of Love is a social fashion brand, launching its website with the cutest collection of apparel that portrays the artwork of little artists from under-served communities. Every purchase of MOOL apparel will go onto benefitting the little artists with the provision of a fully funded quality education and generate employment for women and men who previously lost their jobs due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

After the purchase, the buyers are provided login credentials for a donor page, where they will be able to track the child’s progress. This can be tracked on MOOL’s donor portal so they can see where every penny spent is utilized. Along with its philanthropic partner, Muskurahat Foundation which works on the holistic development of these children, MOOL aims to fulfil the mutual vision of future-proofing the next generation by empowering them today.

Speaking about MOOL, its Founder, Himanshu Goenka, says: “Doing good and doing well doesn’t have to be mutually exclusive. That’s the motto that drove us to create MOOL as a social fashion brand that is rooted in bringing people from under-served communities to an equitable platform. With a ‘Business Not for Profit’ approach, it is a 100 per cent social enterprise where all of its profits go back to the community.

“Our products feature designs that are adapted as it is from the children’s drawings. We conduct art therapy workshops with children from the under-served communities and the art that comes out from it is printed on our products. The proceeds of each product go directly towards funding the quality education of the child for a year.”

Goenka adds: “At the same time, the products itself are manufactured by people from the communities who are trained in tailoring and employed in our factory. Given the impact of Covid-19 on employment, people from the community where our factory is located are trained in tailoring and employed in manufacturing of the product. Thus, generating a source of primary income where there has been loss of employment or a secondary income for women in the community to enable them to contribute to their household.”

You can now shop for MOOL apparels and view the inspiring artworks and stories of our little kid-artists on www.mool.org

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Speak art, stir your imagination

The campaign will made available for public viewing until March 31 and has been in works for over six months.

Art becomes meaningful when it is being viewed and enjoyed by the people. The space that artistic portrayals provides, have no limitations at all.

The entire space is enriched by some of the most intricate lights created by Arjun Rathi hanging above the art gallery. The view looking up from Palladium Atrium towards Rathi’s lights is as phenomenal. While on the third floor, Baaya Design has placed some of their bespoke copper enamel plates on display on the wall opposite Social followed by a setup of sculpture artist Mahesh Anjalekar’s works.

Kanhai Gandhi’s ‘Drop’ installation in the Atrium opposite Gucci is a mesmerising spectacle. Created using large stacksof glass on a glossy metal base, the installation serves as a constant reminder of preservation of water in ongoing times.

The ART of Veneer campaign was introduced by VENZO Wood to stir things within the veneer domain, push the industry to its fullest potential and reveal what can be achieved with the use of veneer as a material. Each artwork is a culmination of varied veneer pieces stacked and inlayed like a one-of-a-kind jigsaw puzzle. The art in-itself is a manifestation of the designers’ unique thoughts expressed through an unconventional medium.

Saniya Kantawala decided to pay homage to the heritage, art and design of South Mumbai by creating a map of Kala Ghoda while Manish Dikshit’s ‘Positively’ had everyone searching for the one single heart he managed to sneak in amidst the dots. Akash and Poonam Mehta’s colourful set of windows ‘Virya’ is inspired by the famous Paris-based Indian artist Raza. Kanhai Gandhi’s ‘Drop’ is part of a larger initiative – a constant reminder of saving the most precious resource on this planet.

The mono-toned ‘Coded Illusions’ by Anand Menon comes from a universe of its own while Kumpal Vaid’s ‘Love in the times of war’ is inspired by a celebrated photograph from the time of World War II. Ishan Grover’s ‘Bindu’ is inspired by his love for pure geometric patterns and works of Raza.

Sapana Jain’s Matching Wavelength installation placed amidst the veneers adds a pop of colour to the space. The installation having a huge spring connecting two people sitting on tech-boxes represents the idea of how important it is to stay physically connected in our growing virtual reality.

Art is subjective to individual perception but is often showcased for a select few. An exposure such as this gives people the kind of exposure required to understand their own taste and preferences and create their own perception of art. It opens the domain to the masses, gives them the opportunity to start a conversation on art, and stir imagination.

The campaign will made available for public viewing until March 31 and has been in works for over six months.

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‘Appreciation is good for creator’

Winning cover design is a basic piece of the achievement of a book and artists assume a key part in helping a book wind up plainly significant and make review…writes Siddhi Jain.

Reading is a passion for at least some of the people in the society. A book cover is a reader’s very first interaction with the book, and can make or break the deal, says well-known graphic designer Ahlawat Gunjan who was recently awarded the sixth Oxford Bookstore Book Cover Prize.

“Along with it being visually appealing to draw your attention, I believe it also needs to be contextually appropriate and should be able to communicate clearly and effectively,” Ahlawat told IANSlife in an email.

The 2021 prize was awarded at Jaipur BookMark of Jaipur Literature Festival to Ahlawat for the cover of ‘Gun Island’ by Amitav Ghosh, which is published by Hamish Hamilton, an imprint of Penguin Random House.

The award is given out for brilliance in book design, in an attempt to recognise and encourage the extraordinary work of illustrators, designers and publishers throughout India.

“We commend the dramatic graphics and meticulous attention to detail in the cover image. The genius of the textual narrative finds resonance in the sensuous movement of the snake, slithering as it does across the spine to the back cover. The deep integration of the title and the author’s name into the illustration is thoughtfully rendered. The selected visual appropriately and aesthetically represents the core and movement of the story. The typography aligns seamlessly with the coiled serpent offering a unique and emblematic visual identity to the book,” said the Jury consisting Indian politician, writer and Member of Parliament, Shashi Tharoor, Author, Indian columnist and novelist, Shobhaa De, well known author, Kunal Basu, Author, Publisher and Festival Director, Namita Gokhale, Director, Apeejay Surrendra Group and the creative force behind the Oxford Bookstore chain, Priti Paul.

Winning cover design is a basic piece of the achievement of a book and artists assume a key part in helping a book wind up plainly significant and make review.

“I got the cover brief from my editor and we discussed the ideas in detail. I then went on to read the MS and discussed the ideas in further detail with the editor and the author. As I mentioned, the challenge here was my own phobia for reptiles, so a photographic approach was completely out and I decided to go with an illustrative one. I chose to work with Nirupa Roa for the cover art and she wonderfully translated the illustration brief into a spectacular visual. With the illustration, I designed the fill cover and presented it Sales and Marketing team and finally to the author. Everyone really enjoyed the approach and the final outcome. It was later adopted by several international publishers,” said Ahlawat about the process of designing the cover for the bestselling book.

“I feel any appreciation in any form is good for the creator of that work. And in that light, these awards are a great source of recognition for the individuals behind the scenes,” He says about the importance of awards.

The jury also made a special mention of Pinaki De’s evocative cover design for ‘Moom’ by Bani Basu, translated by Arunava Sinha and published by BEE Books.

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Poonawalla: Drawing is very important medium

Poonawalla’s works explore universal, socially engaged topics that resonate with a diverse range of audiences, creating powerful memories and moving experiences…writes Sidhdi Jain.

The language of artist really wonderful and it always give a wide range of meanings to its audience. Celebrating friendship and companionship during these challenging times, five portraits taken by artist Michelle Poonawalla in her home city of Pune, are part of an ongoing exhibition in an Ahmedabad gallery.

Poonawalla, an artist who lives and works between London and Pune, is showing this new series of drawings as part of ‘Kagaz’, a group exhibition of works on paper which runs until February 26 at 079 Stories.

For Poonawalla, drawings and works on paper represent a very personal and emotive medium, allowing her to delicately portray the emotion of the subjects. As with Poonawalla’s larger body of work the drawings are intended to create a moment of reflection for the viewer and ask them to think about their surroundings and the wider world.

Talking about the exhibition, Poonawalla says: “For me drawing is a very important medium. Whilst audiences may be more familiar with my larger installations and digital work, drawing forms the base of everything I do and I was delighted when 079 Stories asked me to present a series of works on paper.”

Poonawalla’s works explore universal, socially engaged topics that resonate with a diverse range of audiences, creating powerful memories and moving experiences. Her practice combines cutting-edge technology and traditional artistic mediums in an emotionally charged and poetic form; often utilizing sound, video mapping, projection, motion sensors and other techniques to bring her innovative paintings and installations to life.

Paper is the strongest and the most versatile medium of expressing oneself may it be in the form of words, crafts, or art.

‘Kagaz’ is a celebration of this and alongside Poonawalla the exhibition presents 21 artists from across the country displaying works on paper including Anuj Ambalal, Al Qawi Nanawati, Ashish Kushwaha, Claire Iono, Ghanshyam Rathod, Hindol Brahmbhatt, Krishnendu Roy, Malabika Burman, Milburn Cherian, Pradeep Ahirwar, Rachnan Badrakia, Ronak Sopariwala, Satish Gupta, Shahanshah Mittal, Shefali Nayan, Shrikant Kadam, Vikesh Ghosh and Viraj Mithani.

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SPECIAL: HALF-LIFE OF A HUMAN

Celebration Time General

Our life, our existence, and our careers are like enriched uranium. The tragedy, however, is that when we reach our half-life state, most of us do not notice the fact. Other people come to learn of it before we do …. Writes, Niranjan Gidwani, Director and Former CEO of Eros Group Dubai

Life, careers, the genuine way to live an ethically balanced existence, and the radioactive nature of nuclear fuel – all have very interesting similarities.

Niranjan Gidwani, Director and Former CEO of Eros Group Dubai

Consider the very nature of nuclear fuel. Its value is at its peak when in an enriched state. Then it goes into a state called ‘half-life’ and begins to lose energy. After attaining this state, the decay of the nuclear fuel becomes exponential. Thus, at its half-life, much of its utility is over and it becomes what is known as ‘spent fuel’. At that state, it is an environmental liability.

Our life, our existence, and our careers are like enriched uranium. The tragedy, however, is that when we reach our half-life state, most of us do not notice the fact. Other people come to learn of it before we do.

The interesting aspect of all this is that the time to reach half-life in many areas of our life, including our careers, is shrinking. There was a time when many of us reached their half-life only in their mid-forties. That has been reduced by at least 5-7 years if we look at any area of our existence today.

The problem is that, by the time we reach the half-life state, it is too late to re-enrich our radioactive state. The process of re-energizing must happen much before a person hits the peak.

If you prefix ‘new’ to any randomly picked word, the result will be a term that stands for a more progressed state. New manager. New friend. New movie. New learning. New skill. New city. New physical and mental health. New hobby. New car. New sport. Renewed ethics. We could go on and on.

Before we consider how best to do that, let us first ask ourselves: what is the telltale sign that one is closing in on one’s half-life? The answer is inherent in the ability to answer another question: “What is new and different about myself that I can think of in the last six months that went by?”

Children walking in street during Covid 19 surge in the US

Now take the word ‘new’, and look at every other single word in the dictionary. If you prefix ‘new’ to any randomly picked word, the result will be a term that stands for a more progressed state. New manager. New friend. New movie. New learning. New skill. New city. New physical and mental health. New hobby. New car. New sport. Renewed ethics. We could go on and on. If we step back and periodically ask ourselves what was new in the last six months, a few of these ‘new things’ should jump out of the mind to indicate that we are still in a state of enrichment.

The Covid and post-covid environment has shown us how millions of lives can turn upside down in a matter of days. How many of us have used this phase to make a conscious effort to de-clutter our thinking. How many of us have re-aligned ourselves towards more meaningful causes.

How often, and for how long in our individual lives will we do things contrary to the simple truths.

Coming back to the ability to answer the ‘what is new and different in the last half year?’ question, one has to go a step further. Our radioactive state is of no value unless it converts itself to usable energy. By the laws of nature, usability always takes place outside the element that contains energy. In other words, we must create meaningful value for someone else.

Almost everyone, at a subconscious level, lives and exists with the belief that whatever new needs to be done, has to be done necessarily with our physical looks, our career re-skilling, material comforts, and generating returns on our financial and material assets. Not realizing that, the only asset that we truly possess to look after all our assets is our own existence. At a deeper level.

There is usually a gap between knowing and doing; let’s call it the ‘know-do’ gap. As the world around us is becoming more complex and demanding, the know-do latency is shrinking. As  humans we need to be cognizant of this and make sure our radioactivity is never past its half-life. The danger is, when it does get past, we may sadly be the last to know.

Age, as they say, is only a number in the mind. Regardless of our age, at a more holistic level of existence, how many of us have become “spent fuel”, and therefore, an environmental liability?

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MODI: The Yogi of Populism

Mihir Bose Book

Former BBC editor, Mihir Bose, releases new book – ‘Narendra Modi – The Yogi of Populism’ through publishers Bite-Sized Books …. Reports Asian Lite News

Mihir Bose, prolific author and equality advocate, has released his new book that explores the idea that India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, provided the model for Boris Johnson and Trump to seize power.

The notion of Modi providing the template for Donald Trump and Boris Johnson to seize power may sound absurd. What can the Prime Minister of a developing country, who leads a hard right Hindu party, have to teach two leaders of sophisticated rich countries which pride themselves on being long-established democracies?

Mihir Bose’s new book addresses that question and answers it decisively.

India is the world’s largest democracy and Modi’s playbook for winning elections has provided a model for both Trump and Johnson. The Modi template says to win power you must convince enough people that they have lost their country. That they need to do something very radical if they are to regain their country.

This is such an emotive call that it can galvanise people even when there is no merit whatsoever in the argument. Modi’s success came in the Indian general elections of 2014 which, contrary to the predictions of all the pollsters, and the views of India’s chattering classes, saw his Bharatiya Janata Party sweep to victory with a thumping majority.

This book is an important and challenging analysis that will inform the global political debate and provide real insights into how Trump and Johnson gained power.

David Smith, Economics Editor, Sunday Times quotes, “This is a fascinating and original take on one of the most interesting political leaders of our age”.

Ben Fenton, former Daily Telegraph and Financial Times, said: “ Brimming with Bose’s intimate knowledge of his homeland, this brief description of the Indian prime minister’s rise from tea-seller to premier tells new readers all they need to know about what we might call the Modi Operandus.

“Bose explains in flowing prose how Narendra Modi exploited dormant anti-secularism among India’s Hindu majority and reversed its multicultural trends. Modi’s brand of populism predates Trump or Brexit or Bolsanaro”.

Mihir Bose, who was born in India but has lived in the UK for half a century, is an award-winning journalist and author. He writes and broadcasts on social and historical issues as well as sport for a range of outlets including the BBC, the Financial Times, Evening Standard and Irish Times.

Mihir Bose

He has written more than 30 books and his most recent publication is Lion and Lamb, a Portrait of British Moral Duality. His books range from a look at how India has evolved since Independence, the only narrative history of Bollywood, biographies of Michael Grade, the Indian nationalist Subhas Bose, and a study of the Aga Khans.

Mihir was the BBC’s first Sports Editor, and the first non-white to be a BBC editor. He covered all BBC outlets including the flagship Ten O’clock News, the Today programme, Five Live and the website. He moved to the BBC after 12 years at the Daily Telegraph where he was the chief sports news correspondent but also wrote on other issues including race, immigration, and social and cultural issues. Before that he worked for the Sunday Times for 20 years. He has contributed to nearly all the major UK newspapers and presented programmes for radio and television and has edited several business publications.

Mihir was awarded an honorary doctorate from Loughborough University for his outstanding contribution to journalism and the promotion of equality. He has won several awards: business columnist of the year, sports news reporter of the year, sports story of the year and Silver Jubilee Literary award for his History of Indian Cricket.

Mihir is a former chairman of the Reform Club and has recently been appointed to the Blue Plaques selection committee of English Heritage.

Amazon books: https://tinyurl.com/k8rfh6vj

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Contemporary art of transformation

 In this exhibition, the artists have manifested the nostalgia, history, sense of responsibilities, fear and hope in an ingenious way and conveyed the message very purposefully to the viewers…writes Siddhi Jain.

Every sectors in our life is in a reviving mode after fighting a whole year with the pandemic. An art exhibition titled ‘Transformation: Change is Constant’, featuring the works of eleven Indian contemporary artists, is all set to go on view from March 6 at Delhi-based Triveni Kala Sangam.

As per the organisers, the artists and other members of art community in India and the world have faced the pandemic challenges, and are now transforming from Covid-19 to a new normal in enthusiastic, creative and more technical ways. This transformation is shown in the artworks of the participating artists in this exhibition.

“Transformation is a process of in depth and fundamental change that gives an orientation of a human being or an organization to a completely different level of effectiveness. Transformation is all about creating values and ensuring the improvement in the results. It is not only the reactive process but also the strategic movement for betterment of the individual or the society.”

“The change is constant and hence transforming the function or a process towards the demand based, business centric and more creative to get better results is mandatory. Artists were being challenged during the Covid-19 pandemic to learn new tools, new approaches and new expectations and all these fundamental changes required to manage the transformation to strategize the long term vision of an artist,” says a note on the exhibition organized by Arth Art International and supported by Brajesh Verman.

In this exhibition, the artists have manifested the nostalgia, history, sense of responsibilities, fear and hope in an ingenious way and conveyed the message very purposefully to the viewers.

This exhibition will be displayed in both the physical and virtual galleries; and ArtisteSpace, Inc. (Philippines) is the virtual gallery partner for this exhibition. This exhibition is curated by Sushil Shriwastwa.

The participating artists are Brajesh Verman, Dharmendra Rathore, Harmeet Rattan, Hemraj, Jagadish Dey, Kalicharan Gupta, Krishan Ahuja, Niren Sen Gupta, Manomoy Das, Satosh Verma and Tapan Dash.

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Women stories beyond ‘Laxman Rekha’

Unapologetic and real, they embrace the entire range of the human experience, from the sweetest of loves and sacrifices to the most horrific of crimes…writes Siddhi Jain.

International women’s day is very special day for all women in the world. Of course every day should be celebrated as women’s day by respecting and loving her. But its a fact that most men and even women discuss the space and importance of women in a society exclusively on this particular day.

Ahead of the International Women’s Day on March 8, two collections of short stories of flawed, rebellious and most importantly real women, are set to be published by Penguin.

Women Who Misbehave

The new titles — “Women Who Misbehave” and “Impetuous Women” — are stories of women who step across the Laxman Rekha, who are unapologetic, strong and unconventional but always flawed.

“Women Who Misbehave” is written by Sayantani Dasgupta, an assistant professor of Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina Wilmington, and much like the women within its pages, contains multitudes and contradictions. At a party to celebrate her friend’s wedding anniversary, a young woman spills a dangerous secret. A group of girls mourns the loss of their strange, mysterious neighbour. A dutiful daughter seeks to impress her father even as she escapes his reach. A wife weighs the odds of staying in her marriage when both her reality and the alternative are equally frightening. An aunt comes to terms with an impulsive mistake committed decades ago.

In this wildly original and hauntingly subversive collection of short stories, Sayantani Dasgupta brings to life unforgettable women and their quest for agency. They are violent and nurturing, sacred and profane. They are friends, lovers, wives, sisters and mothers. Unapologetic and real, they embrace the entire range of the human experience, from the sweetest of loves and sacrifices to the most horrific of crimes.

Impetuous Women

“Impetuous Women” by Shikhandin (the nom de plume of an Indian writer who writes for adults and children) is about women who step across the Lakshman Rekha, whose transgressions fly in the face of the establishment, the patriarchy, often their own families and loved ones.

From two housewives who play a potentially lethal game of keeping up to an expert baker who serves revenge with chocolate sprinkles on top; from a stern hostel warden who examines her relationship with the teenagers she must surveil to a grouchy widow shuts out the world; From a couple madly in love and desperate for a bit of privacy to a tender bond between a husband and wife, these stories create an unforgettable portrait of modern-day India and the experiential realities of being impetuous, of being women.

This darkly comic, thrillingly tragic collection of stories is sensuous, bittersweet and whimsical by turns, and always wildly, subversively original.

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