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The Liberation of Sita

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'The Liberation of Sita' by Volga is translated from Telugu by T. Vijaya Kumar and C. Vijayasree. It is a collection of five short stories and an author interview. This short read of 125 pages comes under the foray of 're-visionist myth-making'  - the act of looking back into an old text with a new critical eye, here it is through a women's perspective forging bonds of sisterhood between Sita and the sidelined almost-mute women characters in Ramayana.  "Through their retellings, women not only break the hold of tradition but free tradition from its fixity and take it to a free zone where multiple mutations and trans-mutations become possible." The women here - Urmila, Renuka, Surpanakha and Ahalya, have their own voice, re-present their story from alternative points of view, and convey their life's experiences to Sita providing her the strength to break free from the mortal relationships, and find true liberation.  "You belong to this whole world,

Queeristan by Parmesh Sahani

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  Queeristan (Amazon Link) Thanks to Audible Free Trial I listened to this amazing non-fiction on LGBTQ inclusion in Indian workplaces. Author Parmesh Sahani identifies as gay Indian, working closely with Godrej higher management and employees for years to create an inclusive workplace, both legally and in spirit. This book is a result of those years of experience, research, collaboration with individuals from difference spectrum of the society and organizations who has successfully transitioned into a queer friendly one.   Indian history is inclusive. From the Khajuraho temple architectures, to Konark to the Rig Veda, there is existing proofs even 2000 years ago of Indian inclusiveness of queer. It’s the draconian British law that criminalised it, which was scraped in 2009, came into effect once again following a sad judgement in 2013 and eventually was scraped off for good in 2018. I am in awe of the lawyers who fought this legal battle- colleagues and partners – Arundhati Katju

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