Chemical Khichdi by Aparna Piramal Raje

Author:Aparna Piramal Raje [Raje, Aparna Piramal]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9789354925764
Publisher: Penguin Random House India Private Limited
Published: 2022-04-05T00:00:00+00:00

The third type of allies are networks, such as my Bombay Feminist Book Club and my writers’ group. The word ‘network’ underestimates just how much these special groups have helped me evolve as a writer and channel my creative energies.

February 2015, Mumbai

It is early evening. I am sitting in the balcony of my home in Mumbai with Marona, a Dutch friend from my book club. A few days earlier, we discussed An Unquiet Mind in the book club, and I had shared some of my writing on being bipolar with them. The feedback was unequivocal—do more!

Marona and I decide to continue the conversation and she comes over. She is the first person with whom I share my vision for the book—how I want to write a memoir that includes the perspectives of my family, my medical practitioners and more. ‘You seem pretty determined, I think you can do it,’ she says. Her encouragement leads me to the start line of this marathon. My book is born.

The Bombay Feminist Book Club, started in 2012 by Mary, an American expat, is a small group of women who read books by, of and about women. The club meets every six weeks to discuss a particular text. The discussions are nuanced and in-depth, and each member loves reading. This is why I thought it would be the perfect space to discuss my dream of writing this book—for honest, unbiased critique, as well as nurturing support. And that’s exactly what I received.

‘You had this group of relative, not strangers, but not intimate friends, certainly. And so I think that that had a certain freedom to it, that you could sort of bring a different aspect of yourself to that setting, than you would to your normal social circle. Maybe half of the group was expats, for a while. And there also could have been the fact that mental health may be more openly talked about in the West than it was, at least at the time, in India. And we were critically engaging with women’s roles in society as part of our discussion of books. I feel like that raised a lot of questions for all of us about our own roles as members of our families and mothers and sisters and daughters. I would say it was a progressive group in that way,’ observes Mary, who has now relocated out of Mumbai.

It became a safe space to share feelings as well as writing. On one occasion, I felt like one of my medical practitioners was being patronizing, undermining my writing ambitions. Upset, I formed a WhatsApp group with those in the book club I was closest to, sharing my exasperation. The group immediately responded with supportive comments. One member, who says she likes to fight challenges with humour, even came up with some memorable feminist memes to lighten the mood.

Another member Hema notices that, ‘when you enjoy anything, whether it’s a yoga class with a very small group you’ve had an intimate journey with or whether it’s a book club like ours, you have a journey with them, which is far more holistic.

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