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Kirthi Jayakumar is one of the most versatile writers we know - besides donning other hats as entrepreneur and activist. Her work on feminizing spaces truly resonates with readers.
Kirthi Jayakumar is one of the most versatile writers we know – besides donning other hats as entrepreneur and activist. Her work on feminizing spaces truly resonates with readers.
Every month, we identify three among our community of 2000+ contributors, as the featured authors of the month. For Dec 2017, stellar author Kirthi Jayakumar is one of our featured authors at Women’s Web. You can read her writing here at Women’s Web.
Authors are often asked this question, but everyone has their own reasons, very personal to them. So, why do you write?
I write because without writing, I’m not me. I love words, and I love expressing myself with them when I reduce them into writing.
What do you enjoy reading? Does any of it help your writing?
I enjoy reading human interest fiction and select biographies. It certainly helps me write because I write about emotion or at least, about emotion-evoking thoughts and ideas. To be able to understand human emotions and to be able to express them starts with reading, for me.
When it comes to writing on/for/about women, what questions and issues drive you the most?
Everything! When I write on/ for/about women, I find that I write about feminizing spaces, thoughts and ideologies. That qualifies as pretty much everything, right?
Could you narrate an issue or incident in your life which you think was gender related, and you handled it in a way that has made you proud.
I must have been eight or nine years old, when my grandfather brought home a tube of a fairness cream and gave it to me. He told me that I had to be fair because I was a girl. I couldn’t understand it, because he was a couple of shades darker than I was, and was policing my complexion – it was all so weird. Besides, I couldn’t understand what being a girl had (and I still can’t understand it) to do with being “white.” So I took the tube and went to the backyard of the house, and happily squished all the cream out of it, doodling on the ground in generous loops and hoops. Then I proceeded to walk all over the cream and leave footprints all over the rest of the backyard. I did get a sound yelling from my grandmum, my mum and my aunt, but when I explained what I did, my mum sat down and laughed so hard. It was my first act of resistance and I can’t tell you how awesome it felt.
Name 3 other writers on Women’s Web whose writing you enjoy reading.
Three! That’s TOO little a number! My top picks are Aparna Vedapuri Singh, Sandhya Renukamba, Anupama Jain, Anupama Dalmia, Anju Jayaram, Deepti Menon, and Rajashree.
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People say that women are the greatest enemies of women. I vehemently disagree. It is the patriarchal mindset that makes women believe in the wrong ideology.
The entire world celebrates International Women’s Day on March 8, 2024. It should be a joyful day, but unfortunately, not all women are entitled to this privilege, as violence against women is at its peak. The experience of oppression pushes many women to choose freedom. As far as patriotism is concerned, feminism is not a cup of tea in this society.
What happens when a woman decides to stand up for herself? Does this world easily accept the decisions of women in this society? What inspires them to be free of the clutches of the oppression that women have faced for ages? Most of the time, women do not get the chance to decide for themselves. Their lives are always at the mercy of someone, which can be their parents, siblings, husband, or children.
In some cases, women do not feel the need to make any decisions. They are taught to obey the patriarchal system, which makes them believe that they are right. In my family, I was never taught to make decisions on my own. It was always my parents who bought dresses and all that I needed.
14 years after her last feature film Dhobi Ghat, storyteller extraordinaire comes up with her new film, Laapataa Ladies, a must watch.
*Some spoilers alert*
Every religion around the world dictates terms to women. The onus is always on women to be ‘modest’ and cover their faces and bodies so men can’t be “tempted”, rather than on men to keep their eyes where they belong and behave like civilized beings. So much so that even rape has been excused on the grounds of women eating chowmein or ‘men will be men’. I think the best Hindi movie retort to this unwanted advice on ‘akeli ladki khuli tijori ki tarah hoti hai’ (an alone woman is like an open jewellery box) came from Geet in Jab We Met – Kya aap gyan dene ke paise lete hain kyonki chillar nahin hain mere paas.
The premise of Laapataa Ladies is beautifully simple – two brides clad in the ghunghat that covers their identity get mixed up on a train. Within this Russian Doll, you get a comedy of errors, a story of getting lost, a commentary on patriarchy’s attitude towards women, a mystery, and a tale of finding oneself, all in one. Done with a mostly light touch that has you laughing and nodding along.
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