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Junglee Girl
Junglee stemming from the Sanskrit root, "junglee" is used in India to label the wild, the uncivilized, the untamed. Used most commonly as condemnation or censure, it aims to break the spirit of women yearning for personal power. The female protagonists in these eleven stories recklessly pursue their sensual paths through a complex social world that seeks to shut them out. With wily irreverence and a willful rawness, Kamani pulls back the veil of convention, inch by inch, and draws the reader into the disquieting truth of women's lives, charting territory both intimate and bizarre.
"In these 11 short stories, characters span the gamut of women, the irony being that in India's sexually repressive traditional society, this pejorative term [junglee girl] could be applied to any self-aware woman. But Kamani, a gifted, savvy writer, combines such precarious, complex elements as class, caste, gender and eroticism into readable, imaginative and often hilarious tales."—Publishers Weekly
"In these 11 short stories, characters span the gamut of women, the irony being that in India's sexually repressive traditional society, this pejorative term [junglee girl] could be applied to any self-aware woman. But Kamani, a gifted, savvy writer, combines such precarious, complex elements as class, caste, gender and eroticism into readable, imaginative and often hilarious tales."—Publishers Weekly
208 pages, Paperback
First published April 1, 1995
About the author
Ginu Kamani
6 books3 followersGinu Kamani was born in Bombay, India and moved to the U.S. at age 14. She graduated with an M.A. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Colorado, Boulder. Kamani returned to Bombay for three years to work in film production before returning to the U.S., where she spent time as a professor at Mills College and continued to work on writing and film projects. Two of her short stories from Junglee Girl and several of her poems were published under her full name, Gaurangi Kamani, in the anthology Our Feet Walk the Sky: Women of the South Asian Diaspora. Kamani currently uses her knowledge of herbs, oils, and gardening in her work with woodsmen-artist-farmers in a volcanic rainforest environment in Dominica.
(from http://auntlute.com/1/author/ginu-kam...)
(from http://auntlute.com/1/author/ginu-kam...)
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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
September 18, 2015
I've had this book for years, but never got around to reading it until now. The short stories are a bit uneven. Many of them seem to be a bit too fixated on girlhood sexuality in ways that seem gratuitous. The story that I enjoyed the most, "This Anju" was a bit predictable, but it's one of the best portrayals of an Indian mother-in-law that I've yet to read. It was almost painful to have to inhabit the mind of a mother-in-law for so many pages, to witness her obliviousness to her own jealousy and her self-centredness, but it was also extremely cathartic.
August 19, 2025
All in all, an interesting collection of stories and I'm glad to be diving into South Asian literature while I live here in India. My preferences were as follows:
1. Just Between Indians. My favorite story (perhaps predictably as an American?) because the dynamic between Daya and Sahil really interested me. I kept wondering if he was a blatant liar. The question of "indianness" among NRIs was interesting.
2. This Anju. Obviously I like the women who stand up for themselves, like Anju. I especially liked that this was from the POV of the mother-in-law. Exploration of mummy's boys and what happens when you (s)mother a bit too much.
3. Tears of Kamala. Kamala's unfortunate and tragic situation subdued by the manifestation of her pain through 100 tears a day. In her own way, she showed her resistance by refusing to cry more for her husband, and I liked this one even if it was sad.
4. Waxing the Thing. I used to wax my legs in high school (not the thing though) so I understood some of those women. I also stopped when I got to college, so I understand the opposite as well. I liked the discussion of who had the "right" to wax and why.
5. Younger Wife. Great story. I liked the framing of "father of Harinath" setting up how their relationship worked. I'm not into toes like that but I was very intrigued by the narrator's reverence of them. And, of course, the daughter/younger wife role was woven in nicely.
6. Ciphers. I gotta study all these regions of India. There's so much divide among geographical, religious, caste, and language divides that I haven't even begun to crack the code on this country. I do understand, however, the idea of modest or not, and I liked how this was set up in contrast with the mother on the train and how she gets to have her moment of letting loose too at the end.
7. The Cure. Bodily autonomy and fitting in with beauty norms in India. I loved the premise, hated the ending.
8. Shakuntala. Kind of lost me a bit with the tortoise and the kitten. I'm willing to admit I might be stupid but I couldn't tell if they were metaphors or not because I thought the tortoise was Shakuntala's period. Either way, this was one of a few stories with POV of a child who I didn't like, but I did like Shakuntala.
9. Maria. Another child POV messing with their house staff. These kids are a bunch of freaks! No, but seriously, I understand a theme of the book is sexuality and repression and exploration. I liked Maria the same way I liked Shakuntala. And her replaceable nature to the narrator when asking for another Maria at the end was revealing.
10. Lucky Dip. The best part of the story in my opinion was Savitri, who I gathered was a dalit child. I appreciated her resistance to Maya's games, and was later moved by the bond she shortly shared with their ayah.
11. The Smell. Didn't really care for this one, mostly because I didn't like the narrator again. Maybe it didn't resonate with me as much because I'm not a vegetarian?
1. Just Between Indians. My favorite story (perhaps predictably as an American?) because the dynamic between Daya and Sahil really interested me. I kept wondering if he was a blatant liar. The question of "indianness" among NRIs was interesting.
2. This Anju. Obviously I like the women who stand up for themselves, like Anju. I especially liked that this was from the POV of the mother-in-law. Exploration of mummy's boys and what happens when you (s)mother a bit too much.
3. Tears of Kamala. Kamala's unfortunate and tragic situation subdued by the manifestation of her pain through 100 tears a day. In her own way, she showed her resistance by refusing to cry more for her husband, and I liked this one even if it was sad.
4. Waxing the Thing. I used to wax my legs in high school (not the thing though) so I understood some of those women. I also stopped when I got to college, so I understand the opposite as well. I liked the discussion of who had the "right" to wax and why.
5. Younger Wife. Great story. I liked the framing of "father of Harinath" setting up how their relationship worked. I'm not into toes like that but I was very intrigued by the narrator's reverence of them. And, of course, the daughter/younger wife role was woven in nicely.
6. Ciphers. I gotta study all these regions of India. There's so much divide among geographical, religious, caste, and language divides that I haven't even begun to crack the code on this country. I do understand, however, the idea of modest or not, and I liked how this was set up in contrast with the mother on the train and how she gets to have her moment of letting loose too at the end.
7. The Cure. Bodily autonomy and fitting in with beauty norms in India. I loved the premise, hated the ending.
8. Shakuntala. Kind of lost me a bit with the tortoise and the kitten. I'm willing to admit I might be stupid but I couldn't tell if they were metaphors or not because I thought the tortoise was Shakuntala's period. Either way, this was one of a few stories with POV of a child who I didn't like, but I did like Shakuntala.
9. Maria. Another child POV messing with their house staff. These kids are a bunch of freaks! No, but seriously, I understand a theme of the book is sexuality and repression and exploration. I liked Maria the same way I liked Shakuntala. And her replaceable nature to the narrator when asking for another Maria at the end was revealing.
10. Lucky Dip. The best part of the story in my opinion was Savitri, who I gathered was a dalit child. I appreciated her resistance to Maya's games, and was later moved by the bond she shortly shared with their ayah.
11. The Smell. Didn't really care for this one, mostly because I didn't like the narrator again. Maybe it didn't resonate with me as much because I'm not a vegetarian?
September 21, 2023
I almost gave up on this set of stories about women and their experience of sex and cultural oppression. In fact, I did give up, but having had a break from being startled and shocked and bewildered into disbelief and feeling that I was in the presence of yet more creative-writing guff, I picked the book up again. This time, being prepared for what I was likely to encounter, I was more receptive.
And I enjoyed the trip.
So: not creative-writing guff, but some energised and imaginative stories about Indian womanhood. One or two are surreal or couched in metaphor, but most interpret the ordinary experiences of friendship, love and marriage, servant-mistress relations, sexual awakening or rebellion in an openly critical or subversive or hilariously ironic way. I think. – but not knowing well enough the culture from which the stories originate, and being a bloke, I don’t feel confident asserting even those straightforward statements.
Some vignettes. In one story, Maria, the maid, is not only carrying on with the Brahmin cook but is also taking advantage of the mistress’ absences to use the shower. She is spied on by the seven year old daughter of the house, fascinated by her maid’s irregular, devil-may-care behaviour. At the same time, the mistress thinks she has sole access to the cook’s gross charms. In another story, a young woman from the country finds she can develop a good line in ‘waxing the thing’ for middle-aged wives who think her youth and unmarried status are acceptable for someone being asked to do such intimate and apparently necessary work. In a third tale, Daya, a woman emancipated by being educated in America, is forced to visit an uncle who has invited eligible cousins whom she resists with unerring determination while the older menfolk make pronouncements about what good wives should be. A fourth explores the experience of an unusually tall and still growing girl entering puberty who is subjected to an examination by a specialist quack doctor who suggests the only cure is for him regularly to take examples of her ‘fluids’, a practice which she comes to enjoy in her own right…. And other mind-opening and startling narratives.
Entertainingly styled, a variety of voices, often challengingly unsettling, and sometimes tenderly moving when portraying women in pain or states of yearning melancholia.
And I enjoyed the trip.
So: not creative-writing guff, but some energised and imaginative stories about Indian womanhood. One or two are surreal or couched in metaphor, but most interpret the ordinary experiences of friendship, love and marriage, servant-mistress relations, sexual awakening or rebellion in an openly critical or subversive or hilariously ironic way. I think. – but not knowing well enough the culture from which the stories originate, and being a bloke, I don’t feel confident asserting even those straightforward statements.
Some vignettes. In one story, Maria, the maid, is not only carrying on with the Brahmin cook but is also taking advantage of the mistress’ absences to use the shower. She is spied on by the seven year old daughter of the house, fascinated by her maid’s irregular, devil-may-care behaviour. At the same time, the mistress thinks she has sole access to the cook’s gross charms. In another story, a young woman from the country finds she can develop a good line in ‘waxing the thing’ for middle-aged wives who think her youth and unmarried status are acceptable for someone being asked to do such intimate and apparently necessary work. In a third tale, Daya, a woman emancipated by being educated in America, is forced to visit an uncle who has invited eligible cousins whom she resists with unerring determination while the older menfolk make pronouncements about what good wives should be. A fourth explores the experience of an unusually tall and still growing girl entering puberty who is subjected to an examination by a specialist quack doctor who suggests the only cure is for him regularly to take examples of her ‘fluids’, a practice which she comes to enjoy in her own right…. And other mind-opening and startling narratives.
Entertainingly styled, a variety of voices, often challengingly unsettling, and sometimes tenderly moving when portraying women in pain or states of yearning melancholia.
November 27, 2025
By coincidence, I was reading the stories of Junglee Girl at the same time that I was reading the stories of Heart Lamp. And while both books are compilations of stories focused on the lives of women in India, Heart Lamp won the International Booker Prize for this year. And yet, I remember the vividness, the daringness, the broad scope of talent in Junglee Girl far more. These are the stories that remained with me.
January 20, 2017
The characters sketched out in the stories were kind of odd as per me. I felt like all women were portrayed as weird which is very hard to accept. Even if the attempt was to show how women lived or their plight, the book kind off put them in a bad light.
June 2, 2022
Wonderful short stories that have stuck with me.
June 22, 2025
disturbing(?) set of stories for me personally... i think i need to be older before i read this again :')
June 11, 2016
Sarebbe questa l'India?!?!
Dove sarebbe la tanto sbandierata ribellione di certe "ragazze selvagge" indiane? La loro ribellione sarebbe quella di "scopare" ovunque, con chiunque e comunque?
Mah...l'ho trovato gratuitamente volgare e inutile...sesso ovunque anche dove non serviva assolutamente...Ginu Kamani: NON CI SIAMO! Forse ti servirebbe un pò più di attività fisica vera e propria così la smetti di scrivere libri del genere!
Dove sarebbe la tanto sbandierata ribellione di certe "ragazze selvagge" indiane? La loro ribellione sarebbe quella di "scopare" ovunque, con chiunque e comunque?
Mah...l'ho trovato gratuitamente volgare e inutile...sesso ovunque anche dove non serviva assolutamente...Ginu Kamani: NON CI SIAMO! Forse ti servirebbe un pò più di attività fisica vera e propria così la smetti di scrivere libri del genere!
June 23, 2007
some pretty engaging stories of budding female sexuality in south asian women. some stories i thought were more impressive in their concept or idea than in their execution, but i can see how sexuality is always difficult to tackle without relying on sensationalism.
January 31, 2008
This book has excellent short stories based on different perspective of young Indian women. There are various settings from India to New York. The stories are witty and take you directly into the experiences of the characters.
August 7, 2008
a disturbing series of stories about the internalization of misogyny (and the battle against it) in a culture where birth defines your limits and worth. still i fantasize about all of us (female types) holding hands and creating our own reality.
August 19, 2008
I read this book a long long time ago. Found another copy at a book sale and have picked it up to read a few short stories. Liked "waxing the thing" and "Between Indians". If you are interested in american-east indian culture, its worth read.
July 3, 2012
I am extremely sorry to say that with my low level intelligence I did not understand what the writer was saying. Are the stories realistic or surrealistic or what? The starting is almost like reading Chetan Bhagat. Sorry but I cannot give it more than 1 star.
May 28, 2018
i know that this book is too one-dimensional, but i still really enjoyed it. i wish she would write more, but it was critically panned so maybe i'm alone.
May 11, 2009
These stories have been hard to forget.
April 3, 2011
I have mixed feelings on this. Some of it was really bizarre, graphic. But. I did appreciate seeing some more intimate portraits of Indian girls.
June 27, 2012
Wonderful, strong stories
July 12, 2012
Excellent read.
February 11, 2013
Both disturbing and enlightening. I found the writing style incredibly compelling, even if some of the stories were hard to understand. A bit triggery for potential rape situations.
June 3, 2013
A mix of stories that range from "sigh, how many pages to go?" to quite good. Worth reading for "Waxing the Thing" and a few others.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews