Tales from Manipur

A woman on periods worrying her kids might get late for school because she can't enter the kitchen and the husband can't cook to save his life. A ' feminist' man who inspires many with his books and speeches on feminism, finally admitting that it hurts to play the second fiddle to his wife. A young widower falling for a Paan seller and questioning the deep rooted mentality of society that believes it is all over for women once her husband dies.

These are some tales from Manipur published in the book  Crafting the world: Writings from Manipur, a collection of stories , poems and graphics from Manipuri writers , edited by Thingjam Anjulika Sanom. Manipur has rich culture of story telling which is quite evident from this book. They have many Sahitya Academy winners as well and some of the stories from them have been published in the book too.

Stories feel like everyday lives and times of Manipuri women and they effortlessly take us to Manipur where women work as hard as men yet strive for equality and respect. In one one of the stories, a woman lives alone with her three kids while her husband lives in the hills with his lover. The woman grows herbs and vegetables in her small kitchen garden and sells in the market and that;s how she makes a living for herself and her three little children. There is a man she calls brother sometimes visits her to offer her help . But when the  neighbors came to know of it, they threw her out of the locality.

All the stories talk of deep patriarchal society, alcoholism and AFSPA in Manipur. There are poems that depict mothers' yearning for children they lost to Army brutality. There is a graphic story about a woman who eats beef and is helped by her husband in household work.

Zuban Books have published some really great books from the North Eastern part of India and this book one is just one of them. You should check out more. 

Reading Bridget Jones' Dairy in 2020

Alcohol : 2 beer, it's Saturday

Smoke : None. I am in my thirties, I need to take care of my skin. Also, the air outside is so polluted, it is already fucking my lungs. Also, I need to save money.

Calories consumed: 2500. Had a piece of chocolate. Damn, it made me so happy

Water  : 10 glasses. Yayy ! Hello happy liver and great skin.

Number of hours spent watching Netflix : 2.5 hours

Number of pages read from the current book : None. Okay. Okay. I will work on it

Screen time : 3 hours . Damn

Number of unread texts : 569000303. Damn. Anxiety.



I think this is what Bridget Jones' dairy will look like if it was written in 2020. I did enjoy the original book, don't get me wrong. The thoughts of thirty- something living in posh central London have been captured with great clarity by the author Helen Fielding. And I am sure many women in 1996 must have related to it even if they did not have a job in publishing where their role was not well defined. They must have seen themselves in Jones even if their lives were not all about parties and vacation. The novel must have spoken to them even if their parents might not have set them with someone as cool as Mark Darcy. So what , if she easily got a great job in Television after an okayish job in publishing, Bridget Jones' was just like them, wasn't she ?

Twenty four years have been passed since Bridget Jones' dairy. It is 2020. The world has been gripped by pandemic and I am writing this post from my parents' house in Lucknow, India. I have worked in Media and I have lived alone for years. Let me tell you living alone when you are in a publishing job is not as glamorous as Ms Fielding would like us to believe. I could hardly party twice a month and by the end of the month I was only left with enough money to buy my vegetables and milk.

Yes. I had issues with my body. I have spent a significant amount of time worrying about how I looked. But now that I am as old as Bridget Jones, I can say this with absolute conviction that I love my body and I think I am beautiful. Hating her body should be the last thing on Bridget Jones' mind in 2020 when she is not even sure if she would be able to save her job wherein she works hard.

Bridget Jones of today's world knows that there is nothing wrong in being imperfect. She fails in her diet but then she starts all over again. She neither bodyshames others nor herself because she knows all bodies are beautiful. She wears what she likes and doesn't think twice before sharing a mirror selfie or eight on Instagram.

She frets over a guy who doesn't respond to her texts but then she doesn't lose her power over him. She has great friends who don't judge her when she ignores their calls or cancel plans ( during non- pandemic ) days. They know once she recharges her battery, she will be her usual self.

Yes, sometimes it hurts her that she doesn't have that perfect love but then she doesn't let it affect her mental health over it. She bakes, she paints, attends book club meets, blogs, starts a podcast and maybe start a Youtube channel too. Even if she doesn't do any of this, she knows she is just fine and she congratulates for getting through yet another day with ease because she knows she is fine just the way she is and she doesn't need any Mr Darcy to feel that way.

The beautiful Slayer ; My sister, the serial killer

“How was your trip?”

“It was fine…except…he died.”

That was Ayoola  telling her sister , Korede about her trip to Dubai with her married boyfriend. She tells her he died of food poisoning. Both know that's not true but who cares? 

 My sister, serial killer, is a story of two sisters who have nothing in common. Ayoola, the younger one is beautiful and curvy while Korede is tall and bony. Ayoola, a fashion designer, is the one who gets any guy she sets her eyes on while Korede, a nurse, can't even confess her love to her colleague. Ayoola is the who kills while Korede is the one who cleans the evidences. 

We are never told why does Ayoola kill but I think that is the beauty of this book. She has done it thrice. She carries knife on dates and when she is done with the deed, all she needs to do is to call her sister. But then comes this handsome doctor Korede had been crushing on. He falls in love with Ayoola the moment he looks at her leaving Korede scared for HIS life. Does Ayoola kill him too ? It worth finding out. 

The writer, Oyinkan Braithwaite lives in Lagos and this is her debut novel. The book is short, dark and extremely funny. You will chuckle throughout the book for sure. But then something was missing. For instance, I did not get to see much of Lagos in it. What is it like living there as people ? What the city is like ? Yes, there is a mention of Jollof  rice once but that's it. 

It is a fun read but could have been better. 

An easy read : Difficult Daughters by Manju kapur

There's so much to do in life and just look at me. What am I doing ? Just waiting to be with my lover ?   

Virmati is sitting in a women's conference in Lahore but her mind is in Amritsar, where her lover lives. This is the Laohore of 1940 we are talking about. It was all set for Veermati, being the eldest of eleven siblings, responsibility came early to her. She was Pehenji to her siblings and a responsible daughter to her parents. And then she fell in love with a a married man. Her mother's Kasturi's who is  educated till class eighth often wonders how did her daughter grow wings and take decision for herself . Wasnt' women lives all about getting married, cooking, making Phulkari and producing kids and most importantly carrying family's honour on their fragile shoulders ? 

Kapur's novel further explores what education meant for women back then and how it changed things for them. But getting degrees was never a plan for Veermati. Yes, her elder cousin, Shakuntala  was a teacher in Lahore and she was quite in awe of her achievements  but then she only admired her from afar. True, they belonged to Aryasamaji families where girls were supposed to get basic education but Shakuntala's accomplishments never meant a thing to her mother because she chose to remain unmarried.

Veermati was certain that she would never follow her cousin's path till she fell in love with Harish Chandra, her neighbor and teacher. Now, Harish was married with a child but that did not deter him from falling in love with young Veermati, who he lovingly called Veeru.

His wife was no good for him because she was uneducated and Veeru, on the other hand was unattainable. Her family found out and they sent her to Lahore to study further believing distance will make her forget Harish.

Little did they realise that distance makes heart grow fonder. And the rest of the novel is all about their struggle to get united in the backdrop of World war 2 and Freedom struggle.

It was pleasant for me learn that Lahore was a city of intellectuals and thinkers back then. Manju Kapur has painted a nostalgic picture of Lahore in such a way that your heart will yearn to visit the city at least once in your life.

The congress league, the meetings of muslim league and women league- Lahore was a happening city and epitome of Hindu- Muslim unity. But like I said, the book is not about that. It is all about one woman's journey towards marrying the man she loved.

Veermati is a feisty woman and you would admire her for her guts. She has gone through a lot but she still stands strong. She gets her degrees while she was waiting for her lover to take an action for her and not because she was particularly interested in them.

Punjabi families and their daily lives have been predicted well by Kapur. While reading the book, you will yearn for white butter and lassi.

The book is long but Veermati's story needs detailing. There had not been a single dull moment in her story. Her life before meeting Harish, her decision to go to Shanti Niketan when she felt Harish might never gather enough courage to leave his family for her, the way she moved back to Lahore after finally marrying Harish and how a separate country was formed amidst everything. What is not to love ?