Onaatah of the Earth: Adapted from a National Award winning film

by Paulami Duttagupta

Based on a national award winning film

Is there justice outside courtrooms for a rape victim? The law might take its own course, but what does a woman do when the society shuts its door on her?

Onaatah, a young victim of sexual assault, is shattered from inside. Shunned and shamed by the society, including the man she loved, she sees a very long and hopeless road ahead of her. When almost on the brink of giving up, she makes a journey, in search of hope, to discover her purpose in life. Along the way, she explores diversity of relationships and realises love has a vast and varied meaning.

Does she find what she is looking for? Does she remain a victim or emerge as a survivor?

“I must say that all of us were very taken up with this film (Onaatah). It’s a very admirable effort and the way it has been dealt with, very sensitively and very nicely. It is indeed one of the nicest films I have seen.” - Ramesh Sippy, Padma Shri , Chairperson of jury for Feature category of NFA.

198 pages, Paperback

Published March 1, 2017

About the author

Born in Shillong, many moons ago, with schooling at Loreto Convent, and an English Honors from St. Edmunds College, Paulami Duttagupta started her career with All India Radio Shillong. She had written and also given her voice to a few shows there. Later she came down to Kolkata and got a post graduate degree in Comparative Literature from Jadavpur University. She had also taken up a fancy to learning Spanish, but today confesses that she has forgotten most of it.
She has written for ‘The Times of India’ in the ‘Guwahati-Shillong plus Edition’ and also ‘The Shillong Times’. Television had always attracted her and was connected to the Bangla TV industry for about 6 years. She was associated with ETV- Bangla, Akash Bangla and Sony Aath in this period.
Having left her day job in 2012, Paulami took up full time writing. Her first novel, “Pinjar” released in early 2012.
Her second novel “Unplanned Destinty” released in 2014. She is also the screenplay writer of the national award winning Khasi film – “Ri Homeland of Uncertainty”.
“Ri” has been adapted into a novel and is releasing in Spetember’14.
She is currently working on her next project as movie script writer.
Apart from writing full length novels, she has written several short stories and articles. She has also contributed to the “Minds@work Anthology” and the “Family Matters International Anthology” in 2013.
Recently she has contributed to the “Learning and Creativity Anthology” , “Her Story Anthology”, and “Celebrating India – Love across Borders Anthology”.
When she is not writing or watching movies, Paulami is either reading biographies or classic pieces of literature. Cricket, food, cinema, books and music are an integral part of her life.

Reviews

[Rahul Ahuja · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Poetic…but poetry doesn’t hide reality…and reality is all your love will vanish…you will cringe…all this love is nothing. After all we are all part of a society that holds women responsible for everything.’
…Onaatah cried out.

Onaatah of the Earth is a novel by a novelist and screenwriter Paulami DuttaGupta. The novel is based on a National Award winning Khasi film by the same name. Onaatah was awarded the Best Khasi Film at the 63rd National Film Awards.

Onaatah is not merely a tale about a rape victim. It is in fact a journey of a sexually assaulted woman from darkness to hope; of how she goes through the complex corridors and the hypocrite systems of a modern day society and how she regains her lost strength during an unforeseen journey realizing the true meaning of life, relationships and most importantly that of love.

The author has aptly written down the characters and that is the true essence of this novel. May it be the multitasking and hilarious Duh or the young lovers Charming and Dariti or the wise Dondor, the author has done justice with each and every one of them. Even I found the use of Khasi terms and names quite interesting.

The character of Onaatah (Daughter of the Earth) has been presented in a poetic form. Like mother earth, a woman is also the creator of life. The flora and fauna never questions the character of their mother and still the society hasn’t learnt this fact and blindly holds women responsible for everything. Verily speaking, the daughters of the earth are in grave danger and it is high time that the society realizes its mistakes and allows them to breathe freely in the air of liberty and tranquility.

[Kirthi Jayakumar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have had the luxury of knowing Paulami DuttaGupta, even if only digitally, but our interactions have had enough substance to hold water in the face of a real-versus-virtual friendship. That said, I was wary of a potentially difficult book to read, coming to the theme with baggage of my own. But Onaatah has come alive in my drawing room, in my every day life, and in my thoughts. She has guided me in her own, gentle way, teaching me that trust is possible, and can be learned, again. Paulami has done a phenomenal task of evaluating the myriad narratives that dovetail into one cause, emanating from one core incident - and so, when Onaatah faces what she does, she doesn't do so in a silo. The incident affects her, and many around her, and each narrative is as precious as the next. Paulami allows Onaatah to be human, and not a dramatized version of human. And so, Onaatah allows herself to falter, to fall, to hurt, to grieve, and then, slowly, to heal, and to find the unconditional, in unconditional love. What struck me as tremendously real is that giving up is an option, it IS an option, although not the best - and Onaatah shows you the why and how of embracing oneself entirely, despite all that one faces. Paulami writes like a charm, and the narrative flows like water. In a few parts, one wonders where punctuation went missing, but it doesn't take away from the narrative. Above all, Shillong comes alive in her writing - and for one who has only dreamed of visiting, it is but a tantalizing glimpse into the world that it is: lush green, pure, sylvan and natural. And, Indian.

[Kanchan Jindal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even after knowing Paulami personally and watching Onaatah of the Earth on screen, i am surprised how much i loved reading it as a book! A story that touches the ground reality and to which people always opt to keep mum.

The story revolves around the Onaatah (daughter of the earth), a rape survivor and her struggles to overcome the ordeal to create a life of her own! She is fearless and strong! Totally loved the potraization of the character.

My most loved characted in the story is Duh! He is cute, funny but a very strong character.

Onaatah of the Earth is just not a story of a fictional girl , its story of every girl in the world who faces the hardships of after Rape.

Though they are Rape survivor, society never backs down to ultimately blame her.

Kudos to you paulami for this breakthrough concept and writing. You always make me fall in love with your writing!

[Tamanna · Rating 3 out of 5]

Brought it @ Delhi Book Fair, while its well written it lacks the flow of a seasoned writer/ maybe this aspect can be worked upon.

[Ranjini · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an engrossing, sublime, subtle, yet an uplifting read.

What do you expect when you pick up a book that narrates the tale of a rape survivor? To be drowned in a pool of tears by the end?

But the story of Onaatah is different. There was a deep sense of oh-so-wow and contentment.

Based on a National Award winning Khasi Film, this is an uplifting account of a rape survivor who stands up for herself in the face of adversity and emerges out of it, stronger and wiser.

Onaatah is a young nurse who lives with her her parents and her younger sister, in Shillong. She is fiercely passionate about her work and carries out her responsibilities with full dedication and delicate compassion. Preparations for her marriage with her fiancée, Peter, are on in full swing and she is looking forward to spending the rest of her life with the man she loves. In a horrifying turn of events, she is sexually assaulted by a group of men, one of whom turns out to be her college batch-mate. In one instance, her world upside down leaving her family crestfallen. Onaatah decides to fight it out in court; but is let down by our insensitive and judgemental society which indulges in victim-shaming and victim-blaming, and looks at a sexual abuse survivor with contempt.

Are her perpetrators pronounced guilty?
What does the court verdict do to her?
Does it put an end to her miseries?

Shunned by society, desperate to give up on life, she reaches her uncle’s village, where she hopes to learn how to re-live, where people won’t judge her and where she feels she can start a new life all over again.

But can she?
Will her past haunt her and or stay with her forever?
Can she find respect (and perhaps, love) again, or will she forever be “a rape victim”?

This story highlights comprehensively the apathy of our society towards such victims.

Not a literary masterpiece - as it’s a re-telling of a movie.
But, there is a balanced and realistic portrayal of her character and the soul of the story remains in her acceptance of her own self, if she ever manages to achieve it.

Definitely worth a read.

But - movie buffs can watch it too!

[Ashima Jain · Rating 4 out of 5]

Duttagupta narrates a moving tale of a young woman who runs away to find peace, only to realise she that she cannot find it alone.
Onaatah is a deeply introspective story, one which shows that everyone has it in them to move on from hardships and tragedy, albeit with patience and love. As long as we are receptive to it.