United by a different genre

Four different books, four different themes integrated by an overriding sensitivity that only women writers can exhibit

HN Bureau Delhi

No matter what they write — fiction, autobiography, travelogue, or anything else — women writers and their works form a genre defined by a way of seeing and a way of showing what they see: the "female perspective". There is something intrinsically engaging in their works: although the attraction cannot be pinned down, it undeniably holds readers in its sway. Interest in the "female perspective" — virtually, subaltern sociology — has deepened with time, leading to many women coming out with books that underline their particular sensibilities.

Take Geeta Chandran, Paro Anand, Gnana Moonesinghe and Amrit Kent — four women writers, four different works.

Geeta Chandran is a well-established Bharatnatyam dancer. She recently came out with a coffee table book titled So Many Journeys. Why a does a dancer need to publish a book to express herself? Chandran says that a book is a way of reaching out to a wider audience. "It is a way of educating the people, especially those who are not aware of the beautiful world of dance," she says.

What is interesting is that Chandran, even as she advocates the cause of tradition in dance, sees it from a modern perspective. "Today's dancers have to find their own ways to adapt to a changing environment," she says. "It is not possible for a dancer to devote an entire day to practice. What with a family to look after and kids to monitor, one finds very little time for dance. And yet, in the short time that one has, the practice has to be intense. That is commitment."

The purpose of the book, she says, is to "empower" her readers. And this empowerment happens only when people realise the effort that has gone into a dance performance. So, she has tried to reach out to a large section of the not-so-artistically-inclined and to convince them of the commitment, passion and hard work that go into the making of a dancer.

But she doesn't believe that Bharatnatyam should be confined to the elite. "We have to think about taking art to the people, something we have not done till now," she says. "In the earlier days, dance was performed in the temples. Today, however, we need auditoria, lights and a proper setting to be able to perform. I feel this should be done away with. We need places where people can all get together and informally watch a performance and appreciate it. So, it is time we thought about how to sustain the dance form."

Since dance is an art form that uses the human anatomy for expression, Chandran believes that women are best suited for it. The grace and beauty of a woman's body comes out clearly in dance, as it does in this book — sensitivily and committed, and yet with a firm grip on reality and the hardships involved.

The book is divided into seven sections titled "Anjali", "Guru Dakshina", "Navadarshanam", "Rasika", "Bhakti", "She Rahasyam" and "Samarpan", all of which speak of the slow but steady evolution of Bharatnatyam and, simultaneously, of its exponent. Available intact with breathtaking photographs, So Many Journeys should proudly adorn any bookshelf.

Gnana Moonesinghe was deeply troubled by the violence that has ravaged Sri Lanka for decades. Her desire to heal by portraying a ravaged and dismembered society and to arrive at the truth behind whatever happened in Sri Lanka is embodied in Build a Bridge, a collection of five short stories set against the backdrop of the internecine conflict. "I am not inspired by any writer, I am inspired by situations," says Moonesinghe. "And not just by any situation, but by conflict situations." And it is the miasma of conflict that covered Sri Lanka like a shroud after its independence that motivated Moonesinghe to write this book. One can sense a heartfelt need in these stories to build emotional bridges in a country that has few left standing.

"The situations I have portrayed in my book are common to everybody. So, although the situations are specific to Sri Lanka, the concept of terrorism and violence are familiar to everybody," Moonesinghe says. And, for this reason, she does not have a specific target audience for her work. Through the characters, we see Sri Lanka as it was yesterday and as it is today. We see in them a picture of our own country and our own people. "People, especially rural folk, are very trusting and gullible. It is when they are faced with difficult situations that they change," Moonesinghe says. It is this loss of innocence that she portrays in her work.

Lucidly written and sincerely told, the story brings to us a feeling of unease at its end: after all, isn't it time something is done to simply make things better?

Build a Bridge portrays a woman's perspective, a woman's mind: it is a fervent desire to make peace, establish goodwill and understand the underlying cause behind violence.

Paro Anand is another writer who has been moved by human misery. No Guns at My Son's Funeral is a realistic account of the lives of Kashmiri children, their problems and daily struggles. "We've heard so much about terrorism and violence in Kashmir, but [there is] not a single book on what effect these kinds of subversive activities could have on the children in the valley," she says. Kashmir's lost children have never been so sensitively portrayed. "They have gone through a lot of trauma and pain. Many of them have even been witness to the killing of their parents," says the author. Through her encounters with children who have lost their families to terrorists, Paro Anand has woven a poignant narrative and a gripping novel.

No Guns at My Son's Funeral deals with the life of a young boy, Aftab, who cannot help but get inspired by a "handsome and intelligent" terrorist and craves to emulate him. The narrative is dominated by Paro Anand's sense of independence and objectivity. Bold enough to criticise and objectively view society around her, she typifies the woman of today through her penetrating analysis of terrorism in Kashmir. This book is the result of five years of research and seven drafts, and it does seem that the book will be etched in memory for far longer.

Amrit Kent's latest book Rumi: Unveil the Sun is an emotionally intense play in two acts, dealing with a relationship between two men that surpasses all known realms of friendship. It is highly lyrical and deeply passionate. "I have always been influenced by Sufism and the Guru Granth Sahib, both of which speak of forsaking greed and avarice, and of existing as human beings with humane qualities. This is what inspired me to write the book. Hence, Rumi, the Persian mystic poet. Moreover, I have always felt that the Western world, especially America and Europe, know more about Rumi than we in India. So, I wanted to Indianise Rumi and univeralise his thoughts," says Kent. "Rumi stands for the higher things in life. He stands for humanness and a purging of all mean traits in us. And this is what I want to emphasise in my play."

Rumi: Unveil the Sun is an exhortation to aim higher in life and to quit hankering after petty things. It is a study of the ego and, by extension, the human mind. The central characters are Rumi the poet and Shams-e-din (or Shams), his mentor and guide.

The "female perspective" shines through four vastly different books. It's a way of looking at life that's here to stay.

With inputs from Anita Joseph, Parul Sharma and Trina Joshi