FEMINA
Gita Mohan's Blog
Literary Notes and Beyond...
MONDAY, 18 FEBRUARY
2013
On Saturday evening, my local library, Easy Library, had
arranged yet another fantastic author meet with not just one, but TWO women
writers whose works reach out to all of us. They were in conversation with
Shinie Antony, who needs no introduction to Bangaloreans. The first of these
was Sheila Kumar, a journalist and travel writer, from an Army background,
whose book of short stories, Kith and Kin, is a
collection centred around the individual members of a single Keralite
matriarchal family, the Melekat family. The second author for the evening was
Manreet Sodhi Someshwar, with books like Earning
The Laundry Stripes, The Long Walk
Home and, more recently, The
Taj Conspiracy.
The evening started with the two writers talking of their own backgrounds and that of the characters in their respective works. Manreet comes from a corporate background and gave us a delightful insight into her former world...one wherein she was the Area Sales Manager for the biggest consumer products company in India. She explained how the scheme included not just sales stints, but also a factory stint (so the sales personnel could understand the manufacturing processes) and a rural stint (as the heart of India lies in its rural hinterlands). Everywhere she went, she could see how "Women in rural India are in a bind". She said being in sales gave her a great insight into India - the real India. Her book Earning The Laundry Stripes draws heavily on her own experiences in the corporate world. In a way, The Long Walk Home too is an outpouring of her expression, hailing as she does from a border town. She grew up in a town closer to Lahore than to Chandigarh and Partition had a profound effect on most lives in the town. Almost every elderly person in the town had a story or two about the ravages of Partition. Manreet also grew up in the Khalistan era...The Long Walk Home paints a picture of Punjab over 80 years, from pre-Partition to the current times.
Manreet's latest book, The Taj Conspiracy, required extensive research and she came up with some really intriguing facts about the Taj itself! For instance, I am sure its news to most of us that the Taj, an iconic symbol of India to the rest of the world, was measured for the first time in its history only in 2001 - and that too by an Austrian Indologist! She also uncovered that the Taj was originally meant to be approached from the North, over the river, in the Mughal era, not from the South side, as contemporary visitors to the monument do...Manreet proudly declared that the Taj is a truly Indian monument as it not only is an Islamic monument, but also has Hindu aspects interwoven into its construction and architecture. She also believes that around 99.9% of Indians today know nothing much about the Taj except the story associated with its creation!
Sheila Kumar then took over and explained how, in her collection of short stories, while each story is about a particular individual, the matriarch, Ammini Amma, ties them all together. She is the central force of the book. These are all slice of life stories with all the 19 stories about the same clan. Sheila jokingly admitted that she used to come across all sorts of "life stories" when she was regularly handling the Agony Aunt section of Femina, the women's magazine, for years! When quizzed by Shinie as to how Sheila wrote about Pain without being "cloyingly sympathetic", Sheila explained that the catharsis was three steps removed as she was writing someone else's story. She deliberately kept it light as Life throws all sorts of things at people; some characters are in perpetual denial.
Shinie also complimented both writers on possessing a "quiet intelligence" and of keeping their writing extremely fresh. She felt both Manreet and Sheila firmly belonged to the School of Anti-Cliche! To which Sheila willingly admitted that she was definitely rebellious, while Manreet declared that all her works deal with the two Fs - Fundamentalism and Feminism. Sheila also explained that as a journalist, it was expected that the next step would be a book...
The talk then moved on to the use of dialects and the vernacular in their works. This was a rather animated part of the session as there were divergent views! While some present felt that English works HAD to use only words in English, others spoke out for the peculiar brand that is Indian English...Shinie felt that one is no longer apologetic about using the vernacular, as Sheila has used a lot of Malayalam words and phrases in her works, while Manreet too has peppered her books with regional flavours. Manreet defended the use of these as much is learnt from the context itself, while Sheila has used a mini glossary to justify her characters' use of language. The discussion then moved on to whether we are on our way to having multilingual works. Sheila felt that while her own use of colloquialism was for entertainment, Manreet's was for instruction...
Being held so close to Valentine's Day, the session ended with a light discussion on the place of Love in the books by these two authors! In Shinie's words, both authors were teasers on this subject...
The evening started with the two writers talking of their own backgrounds and that of the characters in their respective works. Manreet comes from a corporate background and gave us a delightful insight into her former world...one wherein she was the Area Sales Manager for the biggest consumer products company in India. She explained how the scheme included not just sales stints, but also a factory stint (so the sales personnel could understand the manufacturing processes) and a rural stint (as the heart of India lies in its rural hinterlands). Everywhere she went, she could see how "Women in rural India are in a bind". She said being in sales gave her a great insight into India - the real India. Her book Earning The Laundry Stripes draws heavily on her own experiences in the corporate world. In a way, The Long Walk Home too is an outpouring of her expression, hailing as she does from a border town. She grew up in a town closer to Lahore than to Chandigarh and Partition had a profound effect on most lives in the town. Almost every elderly person in the town had a story or two about the ravages of Partition. Manreet also grew up in the Khalistan era...The Long Walk Home paints a picture of Punjab over 80 years, from pre-Partition to the current times.
Manreet's latest book, The Taj Conspiracy, required extensive research and she came up with some really intriguing facts about the Taj itself! For instance, I am sure its news to most of us that the Taj, an iconic symbol of India to the rest of the world, was measured for the first time in its history only in 2001 - and that too by an Austrian Indologist! She also uncovered that the Taj was originally meant to be approached from the North, over the river, in the Mughal era, not from the South side, as contemporary visitors to the monument do...Manreet proudly declared that the Taj is a truly Indian monument as it not only is an Islamic monument, but also has Hindu aspects interwoven into its construction and architecture. She also believes that around 99.9% of Indians today know nothing much about the Taj except the story associated with its creation!
Sheila Kumar then took over and explained how, in her collection of short stories, while each story is about a particular individual, the matriarch, Ammini Amma, ties them all together. She is the central force of the book. These are all slice of life stories with all the 19 stories about the same clan. Sheila jokingly admitted that she used to come across all sorts of "life stories" when she was regularly handling the Agony Aunt section of Femina, the women's magazine, for years! When quizzed by Shinie as to how Sheila wrote about Pain without being "cloyingly sympathetic", Sheila explained that the catharsis was three steps removed as she was writing someone else's story. She deliberately kept it light as Life throws all sorts of things at people; some characters are in perpetual denial.
Shinie also complimented both writers on possessing a "quiet intelligence" and of keeping their writing extremely fresh. She felt both Manreet and Sheila firmly belonged to the School of Anti-Cliche! To which Sheila willingly admitted that she was definitely rebellious, while Manreet declared that all her works deal with the two Fs - Fundamentalism and Feminism. Sheila also explained that as a journalist, it was expected that the next step would be a book...
The talk then moved on to the use of dialects and the vernacular in their works. This was a rather animated part of the session as there were divergent views! While some present felt that English works HAD to use only words in English, others spoke out for the peculiar brand that is Indian English...Shinie felt that one is no longer apologetic about using the vernacular, as Sheila has used a lot of Malayalam words and phrases in her works, while Manreet too has peppered her books with regional flavours. Manreet defended the use of these as much is learnt from the context itself, while Sheila has used a mini glossary to justify her characters' use of language. The discussion then moved on to whether we are on our way to having multilingual works. Sheila felt that while her own use of colloquialism was for entertainment, Manreet's was for instruction...
Being held so close to Valentine's Day, the session ended with a light discussion on the place of Love in the books by these two authors! In Shinie's words, both authors were teasers on this subject...
Good Reads review II
Sep 13, 12
...nice ride on nostalgia. It does have a lot of characters but
then the clan Sheila talks about was large. It's telling as short stories does
make it more accessible. and didn't find all those malayalam terms problematic
either, unlike the Amit Chaudhuri book we encountered :). Well, it probably has
to do with being familiar with those terms. The book does sag a bit in the
mid-regions.
Oh, yes, the book does enliven all those lovely memories of that land and it's some what crazy people. they stare, for one.
and how do you end a book like this - with some good ol' vedikattu!...
Oh, yes, the book does enliven all those lovely memories of that land and it's some what crazy people. they stare, for one.
and how do you end a book like this - with some good ol' vedikattu!...
Feudal mindsets and declining influence
By Express Features - KOCHI
Sheila Kumar, journalist-turned-author.
Sheila Kumar has been a journalist for twenty years. Along the way, she has done numerous stories on the ecology, environment, travel, profiles, food and opinion pieces, and the occasional political piece. Based in Bangalore, her life was going on at a hectic pace, when, suddenly, one day, the image of Ammini Amma, a matriarch of the Melekat (Nair) family in South Malabar arose in her mind. Soon, others characters appeared, including Ammini’s siblings and descendants.
There
were years of ‘No book’ and suddenly, there it was, a book inside my head,”
says Sheila. “So it was imperative that I write these stories down and
hopefully see them in print.”
So, for
the next seven months, Sheila wrote the 19 stories that comprise the book,
‘Kith and Kin’. “It was written in fits and starts, amidst the hurly-burly of
everyday life,” says Sheila. “And no, it is not autobiographical at all.”
Asked
whether it traces the decline of the Nairs, Sheila says, “Yes, to some extent,
the Melekats are well past their glory days, but they stubbornly cling to a
feudal mindset, despite changing times. The family is still well-off, but the
power attached to the name has waned. The older generation still basks in the
feeble warmth of that light, while the younger generation, though almost all of
them have an inordinate pride in their lineage, are going about their
business.”
And there
are other aspects that Sheila looks at. “It casts a sympathetic glance at the
twin hells of old age and ill health, graying Malayalis, mental illness, love,
loss, betrayal, and all the other emotions that life comprises of. There is
even a ghost who has come to terms with the fact that she was murdered.”
There
is also a wannabe journalist in search of the perfect story, a girl in search
of a husband, and a woman in search of a reason any
reason to leave her husband. ‘Kith and Kin’ will be released by
noted director Renjith Panicker, on Saturday, November 17, at 5 pm at the
Bristol Hall of the Lotus Club.
TV
journalist Elizabeth Thomas will hold a question and answer session with the
author. This will be followed by a reading of excerpts from one of the stories
by business woman Rema Tharakan. Which, in turn, will be followed by tea and
snacks, and a book-signing session.
Friday, 26 October 2012
While she writes
anything and everything that interests her, Sheila Kumar’s, Kith and Kin –
Chronicles of a Clan, pretty much wrote itself! The author, a non-resident
‘Mallu’, writing as an insider yet never giving herself up just like her
novel’s protagonist Ammini Amma, weaving emotions of love, hatred, resentment
and treachery in one big web of a family, successfully sketches each of 19
characters! Sheila Kumar ex-adwoman, journalist, travel writer, book editor, lives in
Bangalore and writes about anything and everything that interests her. She has had
her short stories published in three anthologies.
Here’s a getting to know how author Sheila
Kumar went about bringing her book to life.
(Interviewed
by Nikita Banerjee Bhagat , iSahitya)
Q. When you first decided to pen your book, why did you choose
to write the story of a clan?
Sheila
Kumar : From the beginning I
wanted, to borrow from JRR Tolkien, one ring to bind all my stories together.
That one ring became a clan which I named the Melekat clan. So while the
stories are all standalone, after a bit, the reader starts to recognise the
characters that come and go.
Q. Sketching so many fictional characters and bringing them to
life, what was your biggest challenge when it came to forming them?
Sheila
Kumar : Keeping all the
different skeins attached to one hook, one clan. There had to be physical and
emotional common threads, threads the reader can easily ascertain, running
through the generations.
Q. You narrate this story as an outsider, watching each
character closely, yet there is no judgement passed by you. How did you manage
to do away with the biases, if you felt any?
Sheila
Kumar : These are people
rather past their glory days and fighting that fact, at least the older lot.
Here, character traits determine each character’s trajectory. I merely relate,
I do not pass judgment.
Q.
Every author has a favourite character. Of the many in your book, you'd say
your favourite is? Why?
Sheila
Kumar : I’d say Ammu from the
story `Passing Through. ` She’s a funny girl, with the incipient eccentricities
of the Melekats already showing. She spends a harrowing night at Rome’s
Fiumicino airport but emerges unscathed, in a manner her clanswoman Ammini amma
would have approved of.
Q. Kith and Kin take the reader across different states and
countries. Yet each character is rooted and somewhere relates to Ammini Amma
& Mon Repos. Was it difficult to draw such connections?
Sheila
Kumar : Kith And Kin tell
slice-of-life stories about a set of people who just happen to be linked to
each other. And in most families, there is always one overarching figure in
whose shadow the others nestle happily or with resentment. In this book,
it is the matriarch Ammini amma. As for the family house, most of the older
Melekats have strong memories of Mon Repos; the younger lot have heard about
it.
Q.Well, each one of 19
characters has had something to say except for Ammini Amma. Why is there no
story from her perspective?
Sheila
Kumar : That is deliberate.
Ammini amma’s presence runs through every story like a ticker tape. But I
wanted the lady revealed through the perspective of her family. The reader gets
to know enough about this formidable woman through her siblings, her offspring,
and their offspring. I just didn’t feel the need to give her a direct voice.
Q.Colours and the Bench. I loved both these stories and found
them to be very different from the rest. While with ‘the bench' one can
understand the nostalgia but Colours was a complete surprise. How did it come
to be?
Sheila
Kumar : My generation of `good
Mallu girls` were inevitably put through the `boy/girl-seeing` drama. If
they were lucky, it was lucky- first- time. `Colours `
are a humorous collation of many such `seeing` sessions. Do note that Beena is
not in the least traumatised by the fact that she is shown to many `boys!`
Q. Ants is another story I loved reading. Why is it called so?
Sheila
Kumar : If you recall, the
young girl Omana wakes up to see a line of ants on the bedroom wall,
industriously plying whatever their trade is. Omana is visiting her elderly
aunts who are as industrious and disciplined as the ants in their house. As set
in their ways, too. She has news for them but isn’t too sure that people
who wake up and do the same thing every day, will be receptive to the slightest
ripple in the smooth fabric they have made of their lives.
Q. What was your biggest challenge when it came to writing this
book?
Sheila
Kumar : Staying true to the
authentic Malayali flavour; I am a non-resident Keralite so it didn’t come too
easy.
Q. The book begins with Suvarna and Sumant and ends with them
too. Not with an ending one was expecting! Was this deliberate? Or was there an
alternate ending?
Sheila
Kumar : You know, Kith and Kin
pretty much wrote itself! The characters all seemed to know just where
they were headed. So no, there was no alternative ending.
Suvarna and Sumant, these were two people who
appear forever trapped in the `might-be. ` And then suddenly, there is no more
might-be. Sad but that’s life...
Q. Some quick questions
Sheila Kumar : Sure
1. Your favourite
authors – PG Wodehouse.
Shakespeare.
2. Literary
Influences – None really
3. Kerala –A sense of roots.
4. Writing –Always and forever a pleasure.
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