Check out 16 Return-To-Work Programs In India For Ambitious Women Like You!
The Other Woman anthology broadens the narrative of adultery to go beyond the usual themes of seduction and guilt.
Home breaker. Husband-snatcher. Many are the names thrown at the “other woman”, often viewed as the third spoke in an otherwise perfect husband-wife wheel. While the philandering husband gets away, it is the other woman who faces opprobrium for being a “temptress” and for her low moral standards.
The Other Woman, a collection of 16 short stories on the subject caught my attention while browsing at an airport bookstore, and I picked it up hoping that it would bring something new to the discourse. It doesn’t disappoint.
Edited by Monica Das, and containing stories from stalwarts such as Mahasveta Devi, Amrita Pritam, Sa’adat Hasan Manto, Jayakanthan and M.T.Vasudevan Nair, The Other Woman is engrossing and versatile in every way. For starters, it draws on stories from a breadth of Indian languages, bringing to the reader many different settings, urban and rural.
Even more importantly, it brings the idea of the other woman down on its head by presenting her in completely different avatars. From the unattractive Manorama in Sunil Gangopadhayay’s Our Manorama, who is at once a guilty pleasure and a treasure to be guarded, to Damayanti in Indira Goswami’s The Offspring, driven to illicit relationships by poverty, and yet conscious of caste-purity, no two women in these stories are the same.
One of the results of this multiplicity is that the stories as a whole move the narrative of the other woman beyond guilt, encroachment and morality, even as they deal with these subjects, among others. The other woman is no longer a shadowy seductress, but every woman. In my favourite story from the collection, Mahasveta Devi’s Chinta, the other woman becomes ‘other’ not to a couple, but to an entire community.
Even in stories from the wronged wife’s perspective such as Amrita Pritam’s The Unfortunate One, it is the ordinariness of human beings and their relationships, including adulterous ones, which becomes evident.
If at all there is a grouse with this anthology, it is that in including stories translated into English from many Indian languages, the quality of translation has not always been taken into account. Happily, this is only in a few cases, with the majority reading very well indeed.
If you’re willing to look into the grey areas of relationships and reserve judgement for a while, The Other Woman is definitely worth your time.
Publisher: Harper Collins
If you’re planning to purchase The Other Woman, do consider buying it through this Women’s Web affiliate link at Flipkart. We get a small share of the proceeds – and every little bit will help us continue bringing you the content you like!
Founder & Chief Editor of Women's Web, Aparna believes in the power of ideas and conversations to create change. She has been writing since she was ten. In another life, she used to be 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