Monday, 1 July 2019

PARO Dreams of Passion. By Namita Gokhale






Okay, another confession by me - I am just a mere male impressed by feminine pulchritude (that means beauty, for those who claim they loathe 'big words').The first time I read this book many years ago I was very much impressed with the hardcover copy, especially the photo of the then young lovely author at the back. And the blurb praised the book and the attractive Indian author to high heavens. I just had to read the book! I soon realised that the author wrote very well, sarcastically and jauntily to boot. Well the book was stated to be a satire of sorts. But as I read on I felt in the mould of the west African that I was (am!) that this was a very "cheeky" woman indeed - well, the narrator at least! What else can one call a woman who mocks others especially her husband, referring to his stinking breath, and even his flatulence when he is making love to her (but back to the hubbie a bit later on). The narrator, patently well read, even mocks classical literature (eg 'And dear reader I married him')....It is interesting that this work portrays middle class, privileged life a few decades ago - yet such is the world we live in right now, that it appears odd that there were no smartphones then, never mind the tantalising world of social media that enthralls our existence now. There is a lot of melodrama, not only on the part of the 'celebrated' Paro - even her demise is quite melodramatic- but the same is ubiquitous. Strange how all this could unfold in a society quite sedate and serene. Yes, I certainly felt a lot of sympathy for Priya's husband, Suresh. He is entitled to expect more from his wife; after all, he liked, admired, loved her...otherwise why else would he marry her, take care of her, work hard, make sacrifices etc? But our narrator hardly even likes him and keeps on making fun of him in her write-ups or diaries, whilst admiring the shameless, wily Paro. And Priya even admits to her husband, who is shocked at the contents of her writings, that he means little to her. One can imagine the pain and agony the poor lawyer would endure, which is of course glossed over. The winner takes it all?
- Eric Bolaji

3 comments:

  1. An interesting work. If only I could get a copy to read.

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  2. One of those memorable books worth revisiting.

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  3. Sounds interesting...a confident woman voice

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