She & Everything - A Window to Her Soul

Most of the protagonists such as Payal, Anukriti, Divya and Ketaki are progressive in nature and do not surrender to the challenges of their lives. As the blurb of the book says, -'These stories grab life by the horns and peep deep into inter-personal relationships.' The stories silhouette the vulnerability and velocity of female experiences. The plethora of woman's emotions are exhibited carefully with a paradigm shift of woman's identities in the new time and space. 

She & Everything is a debut (but very promising) fictional work of Archana Rathore.The book is subtitled appropriately as 'A Window to her Soul'. The world of women and their challenges (in contemporary times) across the globe remain the same and thus this collection of short stories explores the universality of women's experiences. The anthology has eight short stories, which offer diverse experiences in relation to the female identity (there is a thread of oneness though). This collection does not offer numerous stories of different women rather it presents different shades of a woman's life and issues. The beauty and brilliance of this collection lies in making the extraordinary into ordinary.

Most of the protagonists such as Payal, Anukriti, Divya and Ketaki are progressive in nature and do not surrender to the challenges of their lives. As the blurb of the book says, -'These stories grab life by the horns and peep deep into inter-personal relationships.' The stories silhouette the vulnerability and velocity of female experiences. The plethora of woman's emotions are exhibited carefully with a paradigm shift of woman's identities in the new time and space, which is also intensified with passionate flashes of her point of view (in terms of creating her own space.)

The very first narrative of Anu in 'Committed' is all about perplexities that are offered by life to Anu, an independent woman who loses her love before marriage and tries to regain when a chance is given. The situation is quite complex as she finds it a little difficult to move according to her heart. However, she is not a woman who is bothered about being a perfect woman as per the patriarchal norms. The meticulous details related to motherhood and the dilemma of reclaiming her self are the universal trials and tribulations faced by mothers around the world. Simple language and meaningful words are used to make the protagonist seem more real and relatable.

An urge to have the same love, which she craves and cherishes, brings Anu to an enigmatic situation wherein she is encountered with a challenge to break the commitment to another woman or to regain the love of her life. The denouement of the story leaves the reader with moist yet respectful eyes. 'Till I am with you, you can't lose anything.'

'You Can't Stop the Spring' is another narrative of a young girl falling in love with a young guy whom she happens to meet by chance in a garden. The story is far removed from the love affairs of the digital world where the fragrance of a woman's love turns out to be magical. The story depicts innumerable flowers and their significance in every middle-class Indian family. On the other hand, 'Talisman' uncovers highlights a daughter's emotional and special bond with her father. Accustomed to his unconditional support, the daughter has to bear the pain of losing him as death intervenes. 'You feel like Home' is a thematically ambitious story of Divya who dares to love a boy from another community establishing the unalloyed virtue of love. The story is set in the backdrop of communal tension and dilemma of minority. The narrative shows the perseverance and commitment of Divya to sustain her love life despite all adverse circumstances. The female infatuation towards a male body is overtly described thus- Kabir was a tall man comfortable in his skin. He could not easily be called a Casanova but there was something very intense about his eyes and a twitch in his mouth that tempered the smile that was stifling to come out of his lips. In this collection of short stories, Sapna is another example of a mature and educated woman who is craving for sexual fulfillment. She believes that sex is not between legs bit it is between ears. Her sexual frustration in her married life leads her to explore it in an extramarital affair, which eventually ends as a fiasco. What is noticeable in all these stories is a common voice of 'she' – for instance 'she was sandwiched between her son and her husband', 'she suddenly felt very brave', 'she managed to revert',' she felt the unease generated from the constant fight between desires, morals and the stark reality…'''she hardly had time or remote to watch any TV', and so on and so forth. These are flash fictions in themselves.

There are other narratives too. Mitiksha finds an attractive mentor in a Captain whereas Deepti wonders at the aloofness of the man she is attracted to. The story of Payal is all the more striking as it opens the so-called mystery of a woman's disposition. The woman is perplexed by her hormonal changes (how it becomes of paramount importance and her will dwindles down the drain.)

All the female characters in the stories demonstrate the strong and passionate spirit of womanhood. The different shades of 'she' are manifestations of the strong will of today's women who are not mere victims. They fight the battle of their own lives and strive to create their own space amid the hue and cry of today's paradoxical times. The anthology has also captured some very precious (precise and intricate) cultural details that are prevalent in the Indian middle class and focuses prominently on privileged women. The beauty of the stories lies in recognising all the multiple voices of women as 'my story', 'your story' and 'her story'. The stories are narrated in a very engaging way and evoke the fragrance of the female world. This book is fortified with emotional wisdom and is recommended for everyone who fancies stories that are laced with the multiple and myriad intricacies of a woman's world.

By

Dr Abhisarika Prajapati

Associate Professor

School of Arts, Humanities & Social Sciences

REVA University, Bengaluru

abhisarika15@gmail.com

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