Author Manjira Majumdar signing off a copy of her book ‘No Return Address’ at the Kolkota Book FairThe 46th International Kolkata Book Fair, one of the world’s largest book fairs by attendance was back with a bang after two years of a subdued affair. Held over the first two weeks of February, usually, it becomes an extension of a vibrant cultural exchange between the publishers, writers and book lovers.
Personally, this year was a special one for yours truly as my recently launched book ‘No Return Address’ was part of the fair along with those of many talented women authors. It was a proud moment when I got to sign off a few copies at the prestigious fair.
This year, my picks are three new books in three important areas of interest – partition, cinema and crime, by three well-known women writers. Chitra Banerjee Divakurni’s Independence, Shoma A. Chatterji’s Satyajit Ray – Frame to Frame and Moitrayee Bhaduri’s Trinoyni – the slaughterer of Sonagachi.
Chitra’s latest novel, Independence is an addition to the list of literature on the partition of India, the uglier side of independence. Her story is set in two Bengal which fills the lacunae of such literature in English from the eastern parts of the country, mainly the voices of the Bengali Hindus. It is divided between the two halved portions of Bengal which saw a division under the British, back in the early 19th century. Even if the destiny of Bengalis became marked, the call of Direct Action Day initiated by Jinnah, led to massive riots between the two communities. Her story is about three sisters set against this period and who are also women in pursuit of their own identity.
Frame to Frame is another gem from the prolific writer on gender and cinema Shoma A. Chatterji. Naturally the chapter I liked most was films through the gender lens – Mahanagar, in which we discover the metamorphosis of the sheltered housewife, who is compelled to take up a job of a saleswoman in face of an acute money crunch in her joint family. The mainstreaming of prostitution in Seemabadha, Pratiwandi, Ashani Shanket and Jana Aranya are an actual spin-off also from the role of earning money and in staving off poverty.
This apart, the literary liaison in Charulata, is all about friendship or even love a woman can experience beyond boundaries; a theme that Russian and French writers have widely explored. As Shoma analyses – women are penalised for no fault of theirs; often, by the whims of men.
Lastly, we have a thriller to relax with after the intense and good writing of these two senior writers. Trinoyni The slaughterer of Sonagachi is a spine-chilling story of a woman called Troilokya Devi who was considered to be a dangerous serial killer in and around the Red Light District of Kolkata. The journey from a very poor Brahmin widow to a murderer, with the help of a male accomplice, is nicely mapped. Her account is well documented in police records but she remains a mysterious figure who gave the police a slip many a times till she was ultimately nabbed. Moitrayee Bhaduri has done a good job in getting us riveted to a very interesting part of the city’s crime history through her thriller and the sad state of women therein despite the reforms taking place alongside.