Author and publisher Namitha Gokhale can be called a mover and a shaker, and even a trendsetter, when it comes to the literary scene in India. As co-founder of the Jaipur Literary Festival (along with author William Dalrymple), Namitha has gone a step beyond the isolated world of writing bestsellers and has created a platform for vibrant interactions between author and reader, and also author and author.
In an interview with MetroPlus, Namitha, one of the participants of the first-ever Hay Festival in Thiruvananthapuram, re-visited mythology with her In Search of Sita , a collection of essays that she edited, and spoke at length about the many facets of Sita – how the mythological character's life and her choices remain a powerful impact on the Indian psyche.
Bold endeavour
Likewise, most of her works of fiction such as Paro: Dreams of Passion , Shakuntala , and A Himalayan Love Story narrate tales of strong women, as does her non-fiction work Mountain Echoes: Reminiscences of Kumaoni Women . In fact, with her first novel Paro (1984), written when she was 26, she raised quite a few eyebrows with her candid depiction of promiscuity among the elite of Delhi and Mumbai – an “extremely bold” endeavour considering the times.
“Funnily enough at the time I never thought that Paro was bold or that it would create such an uproar. Even my normally reticent father, V.C. Pant, was like ‘can't you have been more discreet!' On that note, I am not a feminist, nor do I aspire to be one; agreed, strong women do come through. Maybe it's because we as a society are a bit regressive towards women and I want to alter that. It just happens,” says Namitha.
Perhaps the strong female voices also come through because of her own experiences as publisher of Super , one of the film magazines of the 1970's? “Perhaps... There I was fresh out of college – sans degree because of a technicality – newly married, and running a magazine at the age of 20 to boot! That was a time when Bollywood had yet to become the Bollywood. But we ran it for seven fabulous years. Many an influential film critic including Bhavana Somaiyya and Rauf Ahmed began their careers at Super ,” grins Namitha.
The author is also “deeply fascinated” by Indian mythology, with a lot of her books inspired by its tales and characters. It has also led her to writing books such as The Book of Shiva (on Shaivaite philosophy) and an illustrated version of the Mahabharata for children. “The more I read, the more interested in mythology I become. After all, being in India, one simply can't ignore it.”
Her next book, though, is a take off on the social satire of Paro . “It's a funny novel called Priya ; funny because it picks up from one of the characters in Paro . It's a social comedy set in contemporary Delhi, because Delhi is the seat of high comedy, isn't it? It will be released early next year,” says Namitha.
