In Bhumika: A
Story of Sita, Aditya Iyengar envisions a life for his protagonist without
the Man – God who has come to define her in the collective consciousness. In
the twilight of her life, a somewhat embittered Sita is given an opportunity by
Sage Vishwamitra to find out what could have been if a certain someone hadn’t
prevailed at her swayamwara, won her heart and spirited her away to fulfil the
dictates of his destiny. What if she had never married Rama or been abducted or
cast aside because her purity had been called into question? What if in an
alternate life, Sita had been Bhumika, a Queen who will defy convention and
fight to live life on her own terms?
Bhumika, is a feminist reinterpretation of Sita, who
has long been held up as the ideal woman given her perceived docility, innate
goodness and submissiveness although there are those who would argue that like
other strong women in mythology, it is only the jaundiced lens of patriarchy
that has rendered her thus, since this remarkable character has always been
more complicated and strong than most believe likely. Be that as it may,
Bhumika cleaves to more contemporary views of the feminist ideal. She can lift
and string the mighty bow, Pinyaka and is more than capable of ruling her
Kingdom without a man’s help, thank you very much.
This Queen is determined to include women in the
workforce and free others from restrictive gender expectations. Bhumika’s
crusade is a lonely one though and she has neither close friends nor lovers but
only strife for company. Sita later wonders if it had all been worthwhile.
Iyengar leaves the reader in no doubt that both their choices were valid and
ultimately it is all about making your peace with the decisions made for better
or worse.
Shanta Gokhale’s One
Foot on the Ground: A Life told through the Body has its feet planted
firmly on the ground with all things earthy, profound, and practical. It is a
remarkable autobiography of a life lived fully, unapologetically, and narrated
with oodles of grace and humour to spare. The feminist perspective on display
in these memoirs is subtle, matter – of – fact and entirely effective.
Gokhale bares intimate details about her life
through her body never shying away from discussing her tonsils, misaligned
teeth, adipose tissue, breasts, buttocks, menstruation, childbirth, menopause,
glaucoma, cancer, and bunions. While navigating the topography of her body, she
takes the reader on an arresting journey across the landscape of her life that
includes badminton, idyllic childhood vacations, dance lessons, a stint in cold
England for her education, young love, failed marriages, disappointing
relationships, children and a varied career as an author, translator,
journalist, critic and an executive at Glaxo, the pharmaceutical company,
amongst among things.
The most inspiring takeaway from the book, is
Gokhale’s cheerful acceptance, boundless optimism and ever present equanimity
even in the face of the trials and tribulations that cropped up at regular
intervals the way that terrible two is wont to. Whether it is a relationship gone
wrong, the ineptness of doctors who almost certainly exacerbated severe health
issues she faced in her later years like failing eyesight and cancer, or even
the household help who molested her, Gokhale has the refreshing air of one who
has made her peace with the past and is free of resentment or anger. Her
independence, free spirit and absolute refusal to point fingers at anyone for
the little and big things that went wrong along the course of her existence is
a valuable lesson for everyone in this age where it is fashionable to play the
name, blame and shame game with impunity.
Dust
under Her Feet, Sharbari Zohra Ahmed’s confident debut
novel is a historical romance set in 1940s Calcutta, when American troops set
up an army base in India to beat back the Japanese from Burma. Yasmine Khan is
the unlikely proprietor of a night club – The Bombay Duck, which exists as a
utopian zone, where the rigid boundaries separating people on the basis of
caste and race are supposedly blurred, except they aren’t actually. Soldiers
roped into a war that is in truth being played out by pig - headed politicos in
the interests of imperial greed with no expectations of anything but that of
getting slaughtered find some respite when they watch Yasmine’s girls sing and
dance, helping them forget their troubles however briefly.
Yasmine’s motley family include her childhood
friend, the gorgeous and talented Patience as well as people from all walks of
life and she looks out for them while running the business with an iron hand.
She doesn’t expect to fall in love but naturally she allows herself to be swept
off her feet by the much married American Lieutenant Edward Lafaver. What
follows is a tale of love, lust, and betrayal while the Second World War and
famine rages all around them.
Ahmed dapples with burning issues like
discrimination on the basis of race, caste and gender but it mostly feels
superficial and half – hearted, given the author’s preoccupation with the
ultimately undercooked romance and a friendship gone awry. A horrendous
incident of rape and its repercussions are dealt with in a particularly ham –
fisted manner, existing mainly as an area of contention between the lovers. Dust under Her Feet strives to be epic
but succeeds only in being occasionally engaging.
This review was originally published in The New Indian Express.
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