Author and social commentator Shobhaa De is back with her new book Srilaaji (Simon and Schuster; Rs 399) and to commemorate the launch, Oxford Bookstores got together with Simon and Schuster to talk about the book over an online session with Oindrilla Dutt, director of Open Doors Event Management Company. “Srilaaji just turned up in front of my eyes, demanding to be written about,” said the author on the book written and released during the pandemic, at the session which she began by reading an end portion of the book.
Conceived in the shower, like many of her previous novels, it took all of 15 minutes to convince her publishers that Srilaaji was a fabulous idea. Addressing social issues through the character of Srilaa, De writes about a 12-year-old child confusing her first menstrual cycle as death and the permanent need for a girl to get married to a ‘good guy from a good family’. Srilaa has a remote mother and an absentee father in a dysfunctional family setup, we learn, and conversations around sex, relationships, gender, still remain a taboo in households to this day, the author feels. The idea was not to preach but to highlight that such conversations are long overdue in every household in this 21st-century existence.
The book also deals with complicated relations as explored through unrequited love and what defines a ‘successful marriage’. “Srilaa completely understands her husband’s passion for another man and the love and trust is truer than a lot of marital relationships that are unhappy,” she added. For a Marwari girl, Srilaaji is shocking bold but given that, her choice of men leaves a lot to be desired. What drives those choices in her, asked Oindrilla. “It is not a desperate quest for acceptance or love. She is just a girl who lives by her instincts and doesn’t adhere to society’s rules which she finds puritanical,” said the author.
De never wanted to elaborate upon the ‘mysterious mother’ to Srilaa, who would disappear in the afternoons, resulting in a neglected childhood. Men being philanderers is commended amongst his peers but a woman taking lovers, that too with complete abandonment, is unheard of. Financially independent, good-looking, secure and happy women have also found themselves falling for rogues and it was this facet that De wanted to highlight through her protagonist.
The author’s connection with Calcutta and her familiarity with the Marwari community and their business acumen spill into the book but only sparsely. Money, it turns out, is not a turn on for Srilaa as is her sexual adventures and thus the author doesn’t focus too much on a financial angle in the book which would otherwise feel important in a book about the community. Her life is marked by words like ‘luxurious’ and ‘privileged’ and thus money doesn’t play an important part in the protagonist’s life. Her fantasies act as the main source of energy for her. Reflecting upon how fantasies are perceived in society, De says, “We should never be apologetic or feel self-conscious about our fantasies, or even try and explain them. Fantasies are there for that very same reason — they offer a release and an opportunity to discover so many aspects of ourselves. She even spoke of the guilt that came with harbouring thoughts that are considered ‘scandalous’.
Srilaaji the book and Srilaaji the character are both rebels, breakers of rules and teachers of living life with careful abandon! The author who has previously written books like Shethji, Sandhya’s Secret, Superstar India, Sultry Days and Socialite Evenings to name a few, has often courted controversy with her anti-establishment remarks and opinions. Never the one to shy away from topics considered taboo in civil society, one can’t help but wonder which aspects of Srilaaji comes from the author herself. One can surely guess till one deep-dives into her latest book that she is extremely happy about.
The entire video recording of the session is available for viewing on Oxford Bookstores Facebook page and the book is now available at stores near you.
