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A Topper's confict-lesbianism and Mandal Commision
May 04, 2007 11:31 AM 4852 Views
(Updated May 04, 2007 12:22 PM)

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I requested for this book to be added to Mouthshut for the following reasons




  1. Abha Dawesar has been listed among the 25 most promising  young authors in U.S.A. and yet the site did not have a single book written by her.




  2. Though she has written 3 books, it is Babyji which has brought her the above recognition and the fame.




  3. She has done her schooling in India, unlike many Indian born authors who have been brought up abroad. She studied here during the mandal commission days, and her own thoughts about the reservations are included in the book.






4.  To my knowledge, this is the first book by an Indian author, esp a female which has so explicitly dealt with lesbianism. The only authors earlier who wrote with sexual undertones were Kamla Das and Promila Kapur in the olden days( not including acknowledged pornographic books)




  1. This is one of the most discussed books on the Internet including on English and french blogs of Abha Dawesar, from where admin has to delete comments every day due to overt sexual content, probably about the author's sexuality and her sexual preferences.




THE BOOK


I felt guilty when I was enjoying reading this book because it is about the intelligence and sexual adventures of 16 years old Anamika, a girl studying in a Delhi school during 1991. In fact I only felt re-assured enough to review it after reading others' comments because it was Abha's prose and wonderfully descriptive style which kept me glued and not an abnormal voyeuristic tendency to peek into a young girl's bedroom.


Abha is obsessed with a few things in life


~  Sex


`Quantum Physics and studies in general


~SEX


`   Mandal Commission and her own admission chances


~ Sex


She wants to excel at everything. She is the head girl of her school, a tomboyish girl, full of energy. She is no introvert or geek with complexes. Belonging to a middle class Indian family as the only child, she has lot of privacy at home, with both parents away at work and she utilises this to follow her desires.


Having a brilliant mind, she justifies her behaviour and equates her sexual needs with quantum physics.Analysing her needs, she has 3 simultaneous lesbian relationships with 3 women




  1. India, a 30sh stylish divorcee whom she finds sophisticated and lovely, the upper class symbol.




  2. Rani-her maid, the poor, married, rustic lady, oozing sexuality. The maid is a reluctant participant but her baby's desires are maximum for her. It is the maid who calls her babyji-and tells her that she should save sex for after she gets married.




  3. Sheela-the peer, her classmate who is the most attractive girl to the boys of the school.






As the mandal protests carry on, Baby tries to analyse what will happen to them She feels that admissions would be difficult for her, a Brahmin, while easy for the ruffian of the class, a crude low caste guy who does his best to irritate her while she tries to win him with love in the end.


Along with raw sex, her confusion about relationships also grows and she has a Lolita like affair with her classmate's father(without any sex). She also has dalliances with  best looking boy in her class and the lower class guy .


The book deals with her school life, how she behaves as the head girl, the way she behaves so others do not appear fools as compared to her knowing all her stuff. There is confusion in the mind of a growing girl about choices in the academic world and in the end she decides to go abroad for her higher studies.


Reviewers have been overall kind to the author, saying these feelings are not lesbianism but growing pangs experienced by most girls of the age. The sex part is but a transient phase in a teenager's life. Most have acclaimed Abha for dealing with the topic well and bringing the issue out of the closet, thus offering a moral prop to the girls of the age who may be otherwise confused and guilty about their own feelings and desires.


Some have condemned the author for writing trash in the name of sensitive subjects but these critics are a minority.


As for my recommendation, well the book must be read for its prose and presentation. If you do not like the subject, put it away as an experience of life. If you enjoy the book and learn something about human feelings, well do visit Abha's blog and enter your comments for she needs all encouragement to win over the Indian moral brigade, since her next novel is about the relationship between a 75 years old man and a 20sh woman.


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