Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
Interview with Janice Pariat, author of Boats On Land, a collection of 15 short stories inspired by life in North-east India.
Janice Pariat, author of Boats On Land
Interview with Janice Pariat, author of Boats On Land – a collection of 15 short stories inspired by life in North-east India.
Janice Pariat is the editor of Pyrta, an online literary journal. Her debut book, Boats On Land, is an intriguing collection of short stories set in her hometown, Shillong.
What was the hardest thing about writing Boats On Land?
As with every collection of short stories, attaining a balance between too much and too little. With a novel, there is space for a story to breathe, expand, diverge but with short stories the line is far more precarious. Too much and it ceases to be compact and contained and too little may make it hard for a believable reimagining of a world, a life, a character.
Which is your favourite story in Boats On Land?
None. All. It varies. I like the tone and humour of ‘The Keeper of Souls’, the explosive emotional pulse of ‘Boats on Land’, the Gothic eeriness of ‘At Kut Madan’. Then on some days, I wish I could rewrite each and every one.
How do you find inspiration for your stories?
For as long as I can remember I’ve been a fond and careful listener of stories told by friends, family and strangers. I also come from a community of oral story-tellers for whom the ‘word’ is powerful and transformative, whether it’s folk lore, rumour or song. With Boats on Land, it was important for me to document a place and a people, to find a way to interweave the mundane and the marvellous, the quotidien and the mythic.
If you were a man, would there be anything different about Boats On Land?
For Virginia Woolf, women writers developed what she termed the ‘female sentence’ or the ‘sentence of the feminine gender’, which is looser and more accretive than the male sentence. Some French feminists – Luce Irigaray and Hélène Cixous – assert there is a difference between men and women’s writing but found it hard to give concrete examples. I prefer to quote Philip Pullman, who says “I don’t think the narrator is male or female anyway. They’re both, and young and old, and wise and silly, and sceptical and credulous, and innocent and experienced, all at once.” It’s the same with writers.
Who was the first to read Boats On Land? What was their first reaction?
That would have to be Trisha Bora, my editor at Random House in Delhi. And she said, “Jan, we’ll give you a beautiful book cover.”
One book you would love to have written?
Boccaccio’s The Decameron. Stories within stories within stories, superbly irreverent and wise.
Future literary plans?
For now, a novella. I am fascinated by their precise and perfectly balanced form; like a piece of sculpture, really.
*Photo credit: Janice Pariat.
Previous Interviews in Author’s Corner can be accessed here.
Women's Web is a vibrant community for Indian women, an authentic space for us to be ourselves and talk about all things that matter to us. Follow us via the read more...
Stay updated with our Weekly Newsletter or Daily Summary - or both!
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.
Please enter your email address