Bali Kaur Jaswal has
done an excellent job of engaging the reader’s attention with a story that
involves Punjabi widows.
Nikki, a young
law-student drop-out, takes up the job of English tutor at the Indian Community
Centre at Southhall gurudwara, where widows enroll. The women don’t know to
read or write but they have bold fantasies and stories beneath their white
garment. The English workshop turns into erotic story-telling club.
Nikki encourages women
to share their dark secrets of longings and womanhood, The widow have great fun.
Only one woman writes the stories while others relate. The thrill begins when the stories leak out
of the classroom, and are passed through emails and photocopies to the whole of Indian community in
London.
At first, I was stunned
to read about the erotic detail of the older women of Indian community. Such
topics are taboo in our culture and we hardly hear such intimate stories. (not even amongst our close friends). I
even hid the book, when I had visitors at home, fearing judgement for a single
person like me seeking pleasures on a sly.
But as the story progressed, I found
Ms Jaswal cleverly weave the story of sex, murder and mystery into most
interesting plot that captivated me till the last page.
A hilarious book,
enjoyed reading it.
