I'm researching women and their way of life in 1700's Bengal. This hasn't been a particularly easy task. I am trying to read works by Indian women authors, as I feel they will infuse their books with truth from their own experiences and give me a more accurate portrayal.
As I read, I'll update the list.
An Unrestored Woman by: Shobha Rao
Heartbreaking accounts of women and men as they navigate living along the border of Pakistan and India. In 1947, the British Empire created the two sovereign states of India and Pakistan in an act known as Partition. Pakistan became an Islamic republic with a majority of Muslim population, while India became a secular state with a Hindu majority.
This act resulted in families and villages being torn apart and displaced with atrocities enacted on both sides, particularly towards women and children. According to this book, 50,000 Muslim women in India and 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women in Pakistan were abducted. When/if these women were returned to their families, in many cases they were not wanted as they were now considered impure.
To return these women to their families and attempt to correct the wrongs inflicted upon them, India legislated the Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act. The women involved in this recovery were commonly referred to as recovered women. The author makes an interesting note stating: "I have chosen to refer to them as restored. The distinction may seem trivial, but it is necessary, for I believe that while the recovery of a person is possible, the restoration of a human being to her original state is not."
This book contains stories of people on every side impacted by Partition, and it's raw and vicious and unflinching. You get a taste of several people's lives but no more. As I read, I hoped that the author would circle back and connect the stories; but, it wasn't to be. In many cases I was left wrenched, unfulfilled, and wanting to know more.
Goddess of Fire by: Bharti Kirchner
A novel based on the life of Job Charnock, an administrator in the East India Company and the man believed to have founded the city of Kolkata (then known as Calcutta), and his wife. As I am finding much of the time, women's stories are not included in the histories. The author notes she decided on a name for Job Charnock's wife as we don't know what her name actually was.
I devoured this book in the name of research. The author's writing style isn't my favorite, but I loved the rich details this book provides. I was transported to 17th century India, the land, the culture, the food, the traditions, the clothes, turns of phrase, and the prevailing attitudes towards women and the English merchants.
Moorti, a Hindu widow, is saved from Sati (the ritual sacrificing of widows on their husband's cremation pyre) by Job Charnock. At first Job rescues her because he cannot fathom a woman being forced to kill herself in so brutal a manner, but soon he comes to appreciate her for her quick mind, kindness, and hunger to learn.
Together they navigate the difficulties of a bi-racial love affair, discrimination, fighting factions within the Indian Empire and independent kingdoms, and their own human frailties.
As I read, I'll update the list.
An Unrestored Woman by: Shobha Rao
Heartbreaking accounts of women and men as they navigate living along the border of Pakistan and India. In 1947, the British Empire created the two sovereign states of India and Pakistan in an act known as Partition. Pakistan became an Islamic republic with a majority of Muslim population, while India became a secular state with a Hindu majority.
This act resulted in families and villages being torn apart and displaced with atrocities enacted on both sides, particularly towards women and children. According to this book, 50,000 Muslim women in India and 33,000 Hindu and Sikh women in Pakistan were abducted. When/if these women were returned to their families, in many cases they were not wanted as they were now considered impure.
To return these women to their families and attempt to correct the wrongs inflicted upon them, India legislated the Abducted Persons (Recovery and Restoration) Act. The women involved in this recovery were commonly referred to as recovered women. The author makes an interesting note stating: "I have chosen to refer to them as restored. The distinction may seem trivial, but it is necessary, for I believe that while the recovery of a person is possible, the restoration of a human being to her original state is not."
This book contains stories of people on every side impacted by Partition, and it's raw and vicious and unflinching. You get a taste of several people's lives but no more. As I read, I hoped that the author would circle back and connect the stories; but, it wasn't to be. In many cases I was left wrenched, unfulfilled, and wanting to know more.
Goddess of Fire by: Bharti Kirchner
A novel based on the life of Job Charnock, an administrator in the East India Company and the man believed to have founded the city of Kolkata (then known as Calcutta), and his wife. As I am finding much of the time, women's stories are not included in the histories. The author notes she decided on a name for Job Charnock's wife as we don't know what her name actually was.
I devoured this book in the name of research. The author's writing style isn't my favorite, but I loved the rich details this book provides. I was transported to 17th century India, the land, the culture, the food, the traditions, the clothes, turns of phrase, and the prevailing attitudes towards women and the English merchants.
Moorti, a Hindu widow, is saved from Sati (the ritual sacrificing of widows on their husband's cremation pyre) by Job Charnock. At first Job rescues her because he cannot fathom a woman being forced to kill herself in so brutal a manner, but soon he comes to appreciate her for her quick mind, kindness, and hunger to learn.
Together they navigate the difficulties of a bi-racial love affair, discrimination, fighting factions within the Indian Empire and independent kingdoms, and their own human frailties.
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xoxo, Eve