Short Stories That Inspire Women To Stand Up For Themselves

Ganga’s Choice and Other Stories by Vaasanthi is a collection of 15 powerful stories, set in different parts of India and abroad, the tales depict situations ranging from the problems faced by migrant labourers during a lockdown. An excerpt:

Her mother beat her forehead. ‘You stupid girl! You are like a kid, with no idea of life’s priorities. That man who said that is different. The man I am now referring to is different. He has his own business and money it seems. You need not suffer doing housework. He will take care of you well. I will bring him over this evening. Wear a sari. Don’t wear a churidar.’

The Madiwala Lake was motionless. Everyone—her mother and the women who lived in her street—seemed to be strangling her. She could not understand what was the right thing to do. Mother kept insisting that she needed to find a partner. The neighbourhood seemed to indicate that it would accept her only if she lived with a man. ‘He will take care of you. You need not go out and work as a maid.’

Some ‘madams’ she worked for did not have a job. They would be reading the newspaper or watching TV. They would cook a variety of dishes and wait for their husbands. Would she have to wait that way too? What was interesting about that, she wondered. She would be dependent on her husband for every paisa. That seemed like a massive humiliation to her. Oh well, let him arrive. I will set forth my conditions. She rose. Her seething mind now felt more peaceful. Tiger danced with joy when she reached home. As if she had been missing for a while and was only now returning home. She wore a sari to placate her mother. Her mother came with a snack packet. That man came behind her, climbing the steps slowly. He had a smiling face, as if he were the most benign man in the world. He looked all right, she thought. He did not look old, but definitely looked as if he was her father. She had already told her mother that she would not prostrate before him and so her mother refrained from making that request.

After the man had been welcomed with snacks and tea, she looked at him and said, ‘I have to tell you about myself’.

Her mother looked at her in panic and gestured, asking her to remain silent.

‘So, tell me,’ he said with a smile.

‘I will not stop working.’

‘Who asked you to stop working?’ A smile.

‘I like wearing a comfortable churidar.’

‘Ok wear it.’ A smile.

‘I have stuck Rajinikanth’s poster in the terrace. You should not ask me to tear it down.’

‘I won’t ask that,’ he laughed.

She felt confused. Why was he laughing?

‘This dog will always be with me.’

‘Let it be. A dog is good company.’

She kept quiet, unable to think of anything further to say. Her mother sported a triumphant look. The man with the smile was sitting with one leg upon the other, as if he already owned the house.

‘I have a problem. I can’t have children.’

‘I know. I already have children. They won’t bother you.

They are married and live in other towns.’

She had not seen a man like this until now.

‘When shall we organise the marriage?’ asked her mother.

‘Can I ask something?’ he asked. ‘This house has been leased, right?’

‘Yes, why?’

‘I want to know. I need to see the agreement papers.’

She was gripped with a strange sense of fear. Is he a policeman or an investigating officer? ‘I don’t understand what you are trying to convey.’

‘There is no mortgage or loan on this house, right?

‘No. Why are you asking?’

‘Shouldn’t I know all the details since I will soon become its owner?’

She felt a shooting anger.

‘How will you become the owner?’

Her mother blinked. She made meaningless gestures at Ganga.

‘In place of a dowry.’

‘Stand up.’

‘What?’

‘Please get up. I bought this house with the money I earned with my own sweat and blood. How can a stranger like you make it your own?’

His face changed. The smile vanished. ‘Then who the hell will marry you?’ he snarled.

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‘I don’t want marriage. Hey, go. Go away!’

‘Kaliamma, I thought I was mistaken but your daughter is indeed an arrogant woman. I should not have come here believing your words.’

Her mother followed him down the steps, cursing Ganga.

Ganga got up and locked the door.

‘From now on, this door will not be opened to any man,’ she told Tiger. The snack packet her mother had bought was still there. Thool pakoda. She lit the gas stove and made tea for herself. She switched on the television. Rajinikanth appeared before her.

Tiger lay with his head on her lap. The pakoda and tea tasted great.

‘My way is a unique way,’ declared Rajini. The women of the neighbourhood hid in shame.

‘I need to buy a new Kochadaiiyaan poster tomorrow,’ Ganga decided.

Original Tamil title: Thanivazhi

Translated by: Sukanya Venkataraman

Excerpted with permission from Ganga’s Choice and Other Stories by Vaasanthi, published by, Thornbird, an imprint of Niyogi Books.

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