Writers interviewed: 1. Shashi Deshpande (English). 2. Sara Joseph (Malayalam). 3. Jeelani Bano (Urdu). 4. Imtiaz Dharkar (English). 5. Alka Saraogi (Hindi). 6. Bani Basu (Bengali). 7. Gauri Deshpande (Marathi). 8. Vaidehi (Kannada). 9. Neelesh Raghuwanshi (Hindi). 10. Manisha Joshi (Gujrati). 11. Shahjahana (Telugu). 12. Maritreyi Pushpa (Hindi). 13. Jupaka Subhadra (Telugu). 14. Githa Hiranyan (Malayalam). 15. Rajani Parulekar (Marathi). 16. B.M. Zuhara (Malayalam). 17. Varsha Adalja (Gujarati). 18. Sugatha Kumari (Malayalam).

The book is a collection of interviews of the above eighteen award-winning Indian women writers currently writing either in English or in one of its regional languages. It was published jointly by Asmita Resource Centre for Women (which works to empower women and promote sustainable development and peace), and Women's World (a network of feminist writers that focuses on issues relating to gender based censorship). In 2001 Women's World had undertaken a ten-language partnership project with Asmita involving two hundred writers. The project's goals were to build a network of women writers who would provide solidarity and support to one another as well as facilitate the creation of alternative forums for women's writing and publishing. The project also intended to aid in producing gender-sensitive material; to analyze how, and when, particular forms of censorship operate; and to resist threats to freedom of expression by religious groups or the state. An anthology of women's writing in Urdu has also resulted from this collaboration.

The book not only introduces the writers but, more than that, provides the context for each of these women's taking pen to paper. They come from every social strata and region of India, from the privileged background of Imtiaz Dharker to a member of the Malayalam Christian minority (Sarah Joseph) being a writer having to live in a chawl. Individual tones range from conciliatory (Jeelani Bano) to seething (Sara Joseph). All the writers interviewed have one thing in common: the theme of social injustice towards women and the condemnation of institutional and societal gender bias. Most acknowledge themselves as feminist writers although all have different interpretations for the term.

Other writers, not included in the book, have long been doing similar work. Mahasweta Devi, for example, has written about women. But perhaps she is more recognized as a writer of subaltern issues than as a feminist writer per se when she combines women's causes with political movements. Nevertheless, the female characters in Devi's short stories Draupadi and Stanyadayini, among others, evolve into strong individuals. This book is also an addition to a plethora of information in different mediums, from websites to anthologies to journals, on Indian or South Asian writing. I found this book informative in that, apart from Shashi Deshpande, I was unacquainted with the other writers writing in the many regional languages of India.

What I found particularly interesting are ideas presented about the craft of writing itself. Although some of them started since their childhood, most began writing only after their children had grown up. It was either to fill the void of an empty nest, or to reckon with a gradually disappearing self-identity amidst a joint family. Taking pen to paper proved not only therapeutic, but became a medium through which to vent pent up anger. As Deshpande says 'I write because I am angry or unhappy about something.' I found Shashi Deshpande's interview particularly interesting. She writes in English, a language, as mentioned in the preface, spoken only by two percent of the population in India yet one that can fetch worldwide recognition.

Shashi Deshpande's experience with writing in English ("I thought the only people who could exist in English were the Johns and the Mary's") will strike chords with anyone who has attempted to write about South Asian characters in English, or tried to read English books translated into Bangla. Even after producing two novels Deshpande felt that she was consciously translating Indian culture into English. It was only after writing her third one that she became more at ease. Each writer has different work habits and practices. While Jeelani Bano or Imtiaz Dharkar find mixing of marriage and writing quite workable, Sara Joseph thinks marriage robs one's individuality. Rajani Parulekar started writing only after the break-up of her traumatic marriage. For all, a supportive family is greatly conducive to writing.

All of them agree with the importance of upholding a woman's perspective. Virginia Woolf's concept of an androgynous writing is not feasible when one is beset with conflicts that only a woman could identify and which a man would tend to overlook. A particular event materializes into two different versions depending on who chooses to tell it. None can be termed as being the more authentic. But as often happens with women's writing, being termed 'feminist' can prove to be counter-productive since it tends to narrowly, and unfairly, pigeon-hole their work. This is the dilemma long faced by many Indian woman writers. Traditionally, if they stepped out of the boundaries drawn by men they were ignored, sidelined or silenced. Yet if they chose to speak their mind they would come out as loud and shrill. Happily, the trend is changing. Many women authors are now expressing themselves freely on a variety of themes. The coming of foreign publishers such as Penguin and Harper Collins to India has provided South Asian women writers a much-needed opportunity and a platform. When Shashi Deshpande wanted to publish her first novel, Roots and Shadows, there was hardly any multinational publishing house to whom to send her manuscript. But after 1980, 'publication was no problem.'

These writers lay bare their souls, their heart-aches and pleasures. On a personal note, it is revealing to see that many had problematic relationships with their mothers. Mothers were often not role models, simply by being too entrenched in the dominant ideology of being a submissive wife and a dutiful. To a daughter, bursting with ideas and intending to change the world, such a model of subdued domesticity could not be a kindred spirit. Daughters, ironically enough, turned towards their fathers as the harbingers of modern ideas. To Deshpande, her mother connoted domesticity, a figure completely in the background. Interestingly enough, such has been true in other cultures as well whenever the newer generation of women searched for a stronger figure to emulate within the household. Adrienne Rich has written: "It is a painful fact that a nurturing father, who replaces rather than complements a mother, must be loved at the mother's expense, whatever the reasons for the mother's absences."

Finally, I would like to comment on a disturbingly common trend of taking pot-shots at particular religions as being the sole villain in female subjugation. Among the three Muslim writers in this volume, two blame Islam for their sidelined status. Shahjahana decries the constraints she faced as a Muslim woman. Yet earlier in her interview she denies the influence of Islam on her upbringing, never having been taught the Koran or having been forced to pray. Complaints of oppressive Islamic customs from her sound forced and one wonders, not for the first time, if religion is not being exploited as a convenient whipping boy, or as a conspicuous platform for agitation. A judicious look into patriarchal laws, lack of education and superstition within the communities would go a long way in dispelling popular misperceptions and stereotypes regarding Muslim, or Hindu, or Christian women's status, as well as to engage in serious debates on gender and religion.

Over the years and throughout the political instability which has affected Indian society at large, along with innumerable other influences which have affected culture, language and social patterns, women's literature in India has evolved to show common experiences, a sense of sisterhood and a range of female experiences that question the recurring face of patriarchy. Dom Moraes once said in an interview about women writers, 'Their themes are really feminine, close to the home and hearth.' Though women writers do reveal a spectacular absorption in these domestic situations, their writings these days often go beyond 'hearth and home'. This book is a good read for the general reader as well the academic.

Rebecca Sultana teaches English at East-West University, Dhaka.