Women Writing in India: 600 B.C. to the Present, V: 600 B.C. to the Early Twentieth Century

by Susie J. Tharu (Editor), K. Lalita (Editor)

Anita Desai, writing in the New York Review of Books, called the publication of these two volumes, “a landmark . . . revolutionary . . . presents a view of India in life and history never coherently put together before." These ground-breaking collections offer 200 texts from 11 languages, never before available in English or as a collection, along with a new reading of cultural history that draws on contemporary scholarship on women and on India. This extraordinary body of literature and important documentary resource illuminates the lives of Indian women through 2,600 years of change and extends the historical understanding of literature, feminism, and the making of modern India. The biographical, critical, and bibliographical headnotes in both volumes, supported by an introduction which Anita Desai describes as intellectually rigorous, challenging, and analytical, place the writers and their selections within the context of Indian culture and history. VOLUME I: ! 600 B.C. TO THE EARLY TWENTIETH CENTURY was hailed as a "monumental achievement” by Library Journal. It includes songs by Buddhist nuns, testimonies of medieval rebel poets and court historians, and the voices of more than 60 other writers of the 18th and 19th centuries. Among the diverse selections are a rare early essay by an untouchable woman; an account by the first feminist historian; and a selection from the first novel written in English by an Indian woman. VOLUME II: THE TWENTIETH CENTURY features poetry, fiction, drama, and autobiography by 73 writers born after 1905, some widely appreciated in their own time, others neglected or ignored. These works bring into the scope of literary discussion a whole new range of women’s experiences in and responses to society, politics, desire, marriage, procreation, aging, and death.

Genres: India, History, Feminism, Nonfiction, Womens, Short Stories, Literature

576 pages, Hardcover

First published February 1, 1991

About the author

Susie Tharu (born 1943) is an Indian writer, publisher, professor, editor and women's activist. Throughout her career and the founding of several women's activist organizations, Tharu has helped to highlight those issues in India.

(from Wikipedia)

Reviews

[Sookie · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is a tragedy that the writers had to make a case with scholars and academics to research into a subject that has received little to no attention or not take offense when asked "What was the point". Defying the boundaries set by the experts, two women traveled across the country meeting activists, feminists, aging journalists, old bookstore owners, librarians, archivists, women involved in literary circles and just about anyone who could offer them a morsel of information on the ignored half of the literary populace. The writers make a formidable case in the shift of perspectives women exposed in their literature that didn't comply with the literary canon. The shifting narratives of women through the course of time is a reflection of history and as the authors note, they women experienced a dichotomy of living under the strict social construct that was slowly mutating under the colonized rule. Thus the writing saw a drastic shift where the women expressed their position as a colonized person and as a person as well. Susie Tharu insists on recognizing cultural complexity and academic exposure of women who wrote in a culture that actively resisted and/or heavily criticized literature by women.

Given the complexity that is Indian diaspora, the authors of this book have been carefully sensitive about the regional culture that is ingrained in the works. There is much historical context that is necessary while delving into writings that are set in same period but in different parts of the country. This is critical in reading works such as these since it opens up conversations leaning heavily on feminism and the role of women in such a society. Though the works of women are accessible, their life story isn't always is. Its noted and repeated in the book several times where information about the women writers come from a completely different source - in the form of lectures, a commentary written by a prominent male writer or in case during Bhakti movement, by the monarchy. Its deeply saddening to be unaware of the circumstances of the writers while admiring the poignancy of their writing.

The writers of this book have carefully navigated through the available literature and have made available the works that speaks of the society and the response of a woman in historical context. Its fantastic in its approach as we see many of the early women poets like Akkamahadevi would write about piousness and divinity, and at the same time talk about the male gaze, body acceptance and denouncing what the society at that time deemed women should do. The integrity of the book lies in these poems, writings, where the women writers from the past have made notable observations and have expressed their opinion on various subjects.

Indian writing isn't just linguistically complex but comes with heap of cultural issues that have plagued the country for too long. While those women in places of privilege had some degree of independence, the class system played out much harshly to those who weren't considered to be in the upper echelon. These women suffered not just from harsh reality but their spoken and sometimes even written words never got the attention they deserved. Historically many such songs and stories remain and have become a part of folklore but the identities of these writers are forever lost. The editors of the book have made their case for choosing the writers quite clear - the content, the context and to throw light on those who have been ignored for centuries.

I will close the review with the below poem by Akkamahadevi - the brilliant medieval Kannada poet, rebel and mystic. I was twelve when we memorized some of her poems in school without understanding the philosophy or her life or the blatant disregard she had for the rigid structure of thought and society. I read a collection of her works recently with a hint of painful nostalgia since my school education failed to impart the nuances of her poetry and the feminist undertones it expressed. The poem Brother, you've come, is directly quoted from book, pg. 79. To give some context, Akkamahadevi rebelled against religious orthodoxy and some legends say she wandered naked, moving from town to town in search of divine lover.

Brother, you've come
drawn by the beauty
of these billowing breasts,
this brimming youth.

I'm no woman, brother, no whore.

Every time you've looked at me,
Who have you taken me for?
All men other than Chennamallikarjuna
Are faces to be shunned, see, brother.

[Kamakana · Rating 4 out of 5]

060817: only problem with this text, useful as intro, useful as u text, is of its nature: there is no particular unity except they are all written by women, some feminist, some traditional, all get brief bios preceding their work, poetry or prose, fiction or arguments or letters, which tend to blur into one if you read them consecutively... did I want something else? perhaps clearer culture, geographic, language organization, more sense of historical development. my problem, not the text... and usual effect of sections of work quoted: just when it gets interesting we go on to the next piece... so there are authors to read...

early work is without much detail, much knowledge of author, of time, of lost works. modern work captures a sense of India just when it came into contact with imperial England, with the changes to cultures, arguments between conservatives and reform-minded, some inspired by new Christianity, some more modern interpretations of Vedas, of traditional Hindu society. reform and nationalism did not necessarily involve women's rights. women did become sometimes important voices, and the subjects to reform include everything: child marriage, widow remarriage, arranged vs love marriages, education of women, freedom of writing, poetic and prose recounts of women's experience...

so this is a useful collection, many works, some very good, some less. translation loses some poetry perhaps- but does give an idea of range of women's lives... recovery of women's voices... women's histories...

[Nidhi Tambi · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quite intriguing.

[Shrishti Abrol · Rating 5 out of 5]

phenomenal...

[Subramaniam Thirumeni · Rating 5 out of 5]

An exceptional exhibition of the intellectual wealth of Indian women that may appear somewhat hidden but has always been an integral part of the Indian tradition