RELEVANCE: 3.5/5
SUBJECT: 3.5/5
ENTERTAINMENT QUOTIENT: 3/5
Just recently, I read a very popular post on Facebook. The post talked about how there are thousands of Indian women living a caged life in the land of the free – America.
Reason?
When these young educated, often professionally qualified and career-oriented women follow their husbands to the US of A, they mostly do so on the dependent visa which curtails their right to undertake any employment or to do any business in the States, leading them to live a rather monotonous and caged life.
“Maid In India!” touches on an equally relevant and existential issue but closer home.
The book, very empathetically, tries to showcase the misery of a “married-with-kids” Indian wife.
Is childbearing, rearing and caring all that there is to lead a successful life? What happens when a woman has dreams of her own but cannot fulfil them because of responsibilities at home? Why is it that career-oriented mothers who want to carve out their own success stories still so frowned upon in our Indian society? What is wrong with a woman having dreams?
“Maid In India!” is the story of Maya, a housewife and mother of two and Pooja, a sweet innocent girl of fifteen who dreams of one day bringing together and supporting her younger siblings.
Maya is not happy with her life, she has dreams of her own but often bogged down with household chores, she finds it difficult to give wings to her imagination.
That is when she meets Pooja whom she employs as a house help. Pooja helps take care of her chores while Maya is able to allocate more time for her passion.
Life gets back on track and everybody seems happy except Pooja.
So why is Pooja unhappy? Will Maya be able to help Pooja find her way? What will Pooja do?
Well, to know this and much more, you will have to go read this book yourself.
What I liked about this book is the fact that it seems almost autobiographical (forgive me if it isn’t. It’s just a happy guess) and if that is true then the story is fairly inspirational.
The subject and the theme of the book could not have been more relevant.
This is an issue which will find acceptance and empathy almost amongst all modern Indian housewives for trusting me, it is that relatable.
I also liked the Hindi poetry which the book is so full of.
The words are deep and so are their meaning. I personally think that it will be great if the author comes out with her own anthology of poems.
Another interesting thing is the fact that the book has also been launched in Hindi. So those of you who like to read Hindi too should definitely check out the Hindi edition.
What I did not like in this book is the fact that it is not exactly like a book. It isn’t structured the way a book should be.
The thoughts and the story are random at the best. The narrative voice is often confusing and frequently switches persons and the storytelling style.
The editing is also very poor and takes away a lot of reading pleasure.
All in all, “Maid In India!” is a fair read and I end this review by giving it three out of five stars.
Do give it a chance for as readers/ reviewers it is our responsibility to promote debut authors. Everybody learns through experience and practise and what better way to hone a new author than by offering some constructive criticism.
I have seen a lot of authors bloom that way and I am sure with that deep-rooted poetry of hers, Laveena is just one of those roses about to bloom into something bigger and more beautiful.
Check out my YouTube Video Review below.
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