‘Millions of women like me are squirming and fidgeting’: Shobhaa Dé revisits her book on India

I haven’t made it to Bharat so far. I am stuck in India. Bharat is suspicious of people like me. The biggest strike being that I am a woman. “Too much attitude … doesn’t she know her place?” Oh, yes, I do. It is right here where I am. And, sorry, I am not moving! Kya bolein? Women are not having it easy in Bharat. What’s worse, it’s going to get tougher.

When Superstar India was published in 2008, I had written about India’s Mayawati moment. Today, we are experiencing the Mahua Moitra moment. I had also mentioned the Rakhi Sawant phenomenon back then. Today, we have a young reality show contestant named Uorfi Javed replacing Rakhi in the publicity stakes, while Sunny Leone no longer shocks India and has gone disappointingly “establishment’’, plus, created her own, unique niche.

All these women are trailblazers. But a decade and a half after this book appeared on bookshelves, can we honestly claim there is better acceptance of those individuals who break rules in our maddeningly diverse country – men or women?

I am a misfit in Bharat. I simply don’t belong. Millions of women like me are squirming and fidgeting uncomfortably, as all sorts of labels are being stuck on...

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