Hindi writer Anjali Kajal’s anthology, translated by Kavita Bhanot, confronts the harsh realities of caste-based discrimination, the many battles women fight, and the oppression they endure
The lives of women in India are invariably beset by systemic oppression. The male gaze, perpetuated by deeply ingrained cultural norms and reinforced through social institutions, subjects women to relentless scrutiny; it dictates their behaviour, aspirations, and every aspect of their life. It functions both as a weapon of control and a mechanism of subjugation. Since infancy, girls are socialised into submissive roles; their worth is measured against archaic standards of femininity that prioritise obedience and servitude. Needless to say, this restricts women’s agency and breeds a culture of internalised misogyny, wherein the women become complicit in their own subjugation, estimating themselves through the distorted lens of patriarchy. In many cases, this also inflicts deep-seated psychological wounds, and a sense of inferiority and self-doubt.
If the spectre of physical and sexual violence looms ominously over them, the pervasive culture of misogyny enables perpetrators to act with impunity while women remain vulnerable to exploitation and abuse. At the heart of Anjali Kajal’s anthology, Ma is Scared and Other Stories (Penguin India), translated from Hindi by Kavita Bhanot, lies the struggles and aspirations of women belonging to the low-caste, particularly those from northern India. They also capture the quest for their independence — a promise held out to all citizens of the nation. For the women portrayed in these 10 stories, which won the 2021 English Pen Award, true emancipation remains elusive. Each of them illuminates a different facet of the female experience in the Hindi belt.
Their hopes for a better life
In the first story, Deluge, the protagonist looks back at her life, and wishes that her mother had taught her to ‘fight’ — it’s something that would keep her in good stead, equipping her for battles at every front. In the title story, ‘Ma Is Scared,’ Jasbir comes from a small basti in a city, and teaches judo at a school; she had represented her college at different judo events. But her mere journey from her home to her college and vice versa, on a cycle, was made difficult by men leering at her and trying to find an excuse to harass her.
The story depicts the aspiration of a Dalit family to move towards a city in hope of a better life but goes on to dig deeper into the ground realities and the hindrances that are put in front of them to make their journey even more difficult. It is also about the crippling fear of the world that we live in and the uncertainty regarding safety of women in our society.
‘The Newspaper’ — another story along similar lines — revolves around the overload of information about horrific incidents against women and what it can do to a person’s mind. The story starts on a positive note with a classmate of the protagonist appreciating the fact that her mother can read newspapers, which isn’t common in the basti, but it goes on to reveal her struggles in the past to even claim that right to reading a newspaper. Quickly, it returns to the present where her mental health rapidly deteriorates due to the violent news she comes across. It is not just a commentary on the kind of world we live in, but also the concern and fear that one has for her safety once she decides to leave her home for any purpose. It is also about the erosion of empathy, as we remain immune to the most heinous crimes today.
Daughter, unlike mother
The story starts on a positive note with a classmate of the protagonist appreciating the fact that her mother can read newspapers, which isn’t common in the basti, but it goes on to reveal her struggles in the past to even claim that right to reading a newspaper but quickly comes back to the present where her mental health rapidly deteriorates by the kind of violent news she comes across through it. It is not just a commentary on the kind of world that exists today but also, the concern and fear that one has for their safety once they decide to leave their home for any purpose. It is also about the erosion of empathy that we are not even moved by the most heinous crimes today.
Humans don’t exist as a monolith, and the struggles that people face are layered; hence, when it comes to women, the same parameter also applies. For example, in 'History', an unexpected reunion of two friends from college turns into a conversation about their shared past at their alma mater. Soon, the sheer contrast of what they went through is revealed, where the protagonist was subjected to humiliation based on her caste identity. She spiralled into multiple memories, which she believed made her more vocal and fierce against the rampant casual casteism at the institution. The story also explores the drastic change in the situation in local community colleges and the so-called elite institutions.
Kajal, who comes fron Ludhiana (Punjab) and now lives in Delhi, is a prominent Hindi writer and has published her stories in various magazines, but this is for the first time that her stories have been compiled into a book. Bhanot’s seamless translation has kept the authentic social contexts of Kajal’s stories intact and helps the reader grasp the layered oppression that women go through in our society. In many stories, Kajal has specifically portrayed the lives of a mother-daughter duo to show the contrast in their experiences and their resistance. The younger generation seems more aware of challenges and prejudices, ready to fight back rather than surrendering or accepting their pre-decided fate based on their caste. On the other hand, the older generation seems more accommodating of social norms enforced upon them.
A reality check
While the realisation of oppression is not absent, the urge to rebel is, but again, even that has a specific social context. She has also covered several other aspects of social ills that exist within the Indian family structure but are often overlooked and even justified as being a part of our ‘culture’. The abuse from natal families, obsession over motherhood, isolation of widowed women, and invisibilisation of women in joint families are just a few of the many layers that the author has intricately woven into her stories.
While every single story is different from each other, there is a common thread: the severity of ordinary lives, with an undercurrent of a call for change. The characters are portrayed with such authenticity that their experiences resonate deeply, firmly entrenched within the social fabric. Also, Bhanot’s decision to retain certain words in their original form made the reading experience even more intimate. As someone who grew up in the northern part of the country, this book felt like a reality check.
Amid the social media frenzy, the glitter and glam that influencers push, and the government’s promotion of data to bolster the ‘fastest-growing-economy’ narrative in the election season, it’s easy to lose sight of the lives of women, and the question as to whether their quality is truly improving. While these stories were originally written and published over a span of twenty years, they continue to reflect the reality of many. It’s precisely for this reason that this book becomes important: it shines light on the experiences of marginalised women that are often wilfully overlooked.
