At the ongoing Kerala Legislative Assembly International Book Festival (KLIBF) in Thiruvananthapuram, authors Thanuja Bhattathiri and Sheela Tomy engaged in a powerful dialogue on the transformative journey of women's writing. The session, titled ‘Women in Writing – Beyond Place, Time, and Boundaries’, highlighted how contemporary female authors are boldly claiming new literary territories and moving past traditional constraints.
Breaking Free from Domestic Confines
Thanuja Bhattathiri opened the discussion by reflecting on the historical pigeonholing of women's literature. She noted that for a long time, writing by women was confined to themes like marriage, parenthood, and family life. "There is a world beyond that," she asserted, emphasizing that these experiences are universal, not exclusive to women. Today's women writers, she observed, are increasingly exploring a vast spectrum of wider human concerns, complex social realities, and intricate inner worlds.
To illustrate this conscious expansion, she cited the example of acclaimed author KR Meera's novel ‘Aarachar’. Bhattathiri pointed out that women writers now deliberately travel to immerse themselves in unfamiliar landscapes and lived realities to add depth and authenticity to their narratives. She shared that her own short story, ‘Manchaaya’, was inspired by visual images from the Wayanad disaster. The muddy water in those images, for her, reflected the inner struggles and interconnected lives of women across different generations.
Redefining the Concept of 'Place' in Writing
Elaborating on the theme of place, Thanuja Bhattathiri argued that it should not be viewed merely as a physical location. "Where I sit is my place, my space. Women's stories are now flowing into these spaces," she stated. She described the present literary moment as a natural and powerful continuation of the past, where women are defining their own creative domains.
Writing Rooted in Lived Experience and Global Realities
Sheela Tomy provided a compelling account of how her writing is deeply anchored in personal and witnessed experiences. Tracing her literary evolution from ‘Valli’ to ‘Aa Nadiyodu Peru Chodikkaruthu’, she explained how her years living in Wayanad and among the Gulf and Middle East diaspora have profoundly shaped her perspective and stories.
Her work carries the weight of real-world pain and conflict. "The pain-filled stories of my Jordanian, Palestinian and Syrian colleagues form the soul of the novel," she revealed, stressing that her engagement with issues like the Palestinian struggle stems from working in the region, not from a tourist's viewpoint. She recalled the visceral impact of witnessing Israeli forces storm the Al-Aqsa Mosque, which led her to write ‘Jerusalem is Burning’. "From a humanitarian perspective, it became clear how easily long-standing suffering can erupt," she said, connecting local narratives to global humanitarian crises.
The dialogue at KLIBF underscored a significant shift in Indian literature, where women writers are not just participating but are actively reshaping the literary landscape by drawing from a vast reservoir of local and global experiences, thereby transcending all traditional boundaries.
