Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair

Meet Akhilandeshwari aka Akhila. 45 years old, spinster, an income tax clerk, a daughter, a sister, the only provider for the family after her father died. She has played all the roles all her life but she has never been herself. One day, she decides to shed off all responsibilities and buys a one way ticket to Kanyakumari, the southern most part of India, to be away from all the people she had known all her life, to find the ‘Akhilandeshwari’ which was lost somewhere in the midst of duties and responsibilities.  She travels in an all female coupe where she meets five other women, each of whom has a story to tell. These stories changes the way Akhila thinks and that changes her life.

The stories are all an attempt to answer Akhila's problematic question: Can a woman stay single and be happy at the same time?

In this novel, Anita Nair has tried to dwell on the complex issue of women's freedom in a male dominated Indian society, her dreams, desires and her needs. Although, I could not bring myself to connect with all the stories the women in the coupe tells Akhila, I can very well understand the plight of women who suffers because society does not see them at par with their male counterparts and it is always them who has to compromise with their aspirations. I found the whole premise scary, in the sense that it was depressing at times - women suffering the brunt of the rigid society. The end of the novel was somewhat uplifting, when Akhila comes in terms with her life, she knows what she wants of her life. The confidence she radiated was exhilarating. To me, the author has left what happened there after to the reader's imagination. 

What I could not comprehend was, how someone could pour out their life story to a stranger in an over night train journey. One of them  telling about her life is possible but when all five of the fellow passengers are so forth coming with their life story, you know it is part of fiction. However, the book made me ponder over how so many times women consider living is mere existence. It made me realize that a great deal inner strength is needed to break free of the bonds of relationships be oneself and be in charge of one's life.

A full blown chick lit book that will take you on a ride of deep introspection.

#17 Teaser Tuesdays ~ Ladies Coupe by Anita Nair

"Panic fans the flames of fear. Panic dulls. Panic stills. Panic tugs at soaring dreams and hurls them down to earth. Panic destroys. Akhila felt panic dot her face. She had escaped. But from what to what?"

Page: 41

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!

Mistress by Anita Nair

When I borrowed this book from my friend, I wasn't really sure what to expect from it. I just wanted to read a different kind book and was really attracted towards the cover page of this book. The cover page here is the picture of the face of a Kathakali dancer. Kathakali is an integral part of the book with each chapters beginning with an explanation of the one of the navarassas (nine emotions/expressions) and then the author goes on to draw an analogy from life for all of them. The story is set in Kerala and which is the mother land of this form of dance.

Kathakali  is a highly stylized classical Indian dance-drama noted for the attractive make-up of characters, elaborate costumes, detailed gestures and well-defined body movements presented in tune with the anchor playback music and complementary percussion. It originated in the country's present day state of Kerala, India during the 17th century and has developed over the years with improved looks, refined gestures and added themes besides more ornate singing and precise drumming.(Source:Wikipedia).

The story is about 4 people, a famous Kathakali dancer-Koman, her neice, Radha and her husband Shyam and about Christopher, who is a travel writer and has come to Kerala to interview Koman.

For the plot of the book, I am quoting the snyopsis from the back of the book:

When travel writer Christopher Stewart arrives at a riverside resort in Kerala to meet Koman, Radha's uncle and a famous kathakali dancer, he enters a world of masks and repressed emotions. From their first meeting, both Radha and her uncle are drawn to the enigmatic young man with his cello and his incessant questions about the past. The triangle quickly excludes Shyam, Radha's husband, who can only watch helplessly as she embraces Chris with a passion that he has never been able to draw from her. Also playing the role of observer-participant is Koman; his life story, as it unfolds, captures all the nuances and contradictions of the relationships being made--and unmade--in front of his eyes.

When I first started reading the book, I felt it was going to be a difficult read but soon I let go all my apprehensions and then I started enjoying the book. I won't say it was a light read but it was definately enlightening. It is an intense novel full of deep, mysterious, complex emotions that are so true to life. The story of each character unravels slowly and in the end culminates into a passionate story of life. Each of the character in this novel has a passion in life and in some way or other it decides the course of their life, and hence it becomes a demanding mistress. That is what the title of the book signifies.

It is a kind of book that can be re-read and there will still be new things to discover. I will definately recommend it to anyone looking for a serious read by an Indian author. To know more about the author and her work visit http://www.anitanair.net/home.php.

Thank you for stopping by. Cheers!

#12 Teaser Tuesday ~ Mistress by Anita Nair

'Suddenly I know who he is. Like everybody else seeking parallels,I sought him among heroes and villains. I should have looked, instead, into the shadowed zones of the stage, at the minor characters whose doing let men live or die.'
Page: 30


Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page

BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! Share the title & author, too, so that others can add the book to their TBR Lists!