Stronger. Thinker. Supporter. March Book Box

Description

Women in Literature.

Women on Literature.

Women of Literature.

As Anita Nair, author, quoted to the TOI: “Literature has always been ambivalent in its representation of women. Good women as in ones who accepted societal norms were rewarded with happily ever after. Even feisty heroines eventually go onto find content and life’s purpose in a good man’s arms, be it Elizabeth Bennett (Pride and Prejudice) or Jane Eyre (Jane Eyre). Alternatively, they are left to rue their lot with a contrived courage as with Scarlett O Hara (Gone with the Wind) or have to take their lives like Anna Karenina or Karuthamma (Chemmeen) or Emma Bovary (Madame Bovary).”

Reflection of women in literature are the reflections of women in society. With the tide of feminism and women perspective in the present times the portrayal of women has undergone a sea change. The women therefore will dominate your reading this month but with the subtle hints of everyday life and unwarranted musings.

Surviving, Thinking and Supporting women across regions in India through good literature is what this March Book Box is about. As we march towards newer horizons, equality is the way forward. This book box isn’t feminist but in everyday life and subtle nuances brings to you what a woman thinks, how she braves everyday world and how she moves forward with or without support.

Our March Book Box has –

1. Ambapali by Tanushree Poddar – Ambapali was beautiful, intelligent, talented and, as the nagarvadhu janpad kalyani (the bride of the city) she went on to wield immense power among the nobles. Until she renounced all worldly pleasures to embrace Buddhism.
   This vivid narrative tells the story of a young woman forced to follow a path because of the machinations of powerful people. Propelled onto the cultural center stage in the Vajji republic against her wishes, betrayed in love, disappointed by friends, Ambapali is  the story of a strong woman determined to take control over her life. This Paperback book is matched with the Pattachitra Bookmark painted on tree bark.
2. The Stomach that Chewed Hunger and Other Stories by Bama – Translated by Ahana Laxmi, these 12 stories written in everyday Tamil and in regional dialects are firmly rooted in the twin experiences of caste and gender and upend much of the received wisdom about what counts as ‘good’ literature. Bama is a celebrated contemporary dalit writer in Tamil. She has been in the forefront of feminist and anti-caste activism and has given dalit aesthetics tremendous visibility on the literary campus as well as at literature festivals in India and abroad.
3. The Blue Scarf and Other Stories by Anu Singh Choudhary – Translated by Kamayani Sharma, in The Blue Scarf and Other Stories, we meet young women from small-town India trying to find themselves in the big cities that they have moved to. Even as their dreams, desires and ambitions jostle for space in cramped hostel rooms, work cubicles or dead-end marriages, our protagonists carve out moments of solace and solitude, sometimes encountering profound moments of clarity and compassion.
4. Origami Bookmark by Ms Nima Mankar. (Merchandise)
5. Pattachitra Bark Bookmark that’s handpainted by artist of Odisa. (Merchandise)
6. Dainty Candle from Studio Resurgam (Merchandise)
7. Handwritten Note and other items.

MRP is 1499/- INR but you get a sweet discount of 100/- off!