With the turn of the century women-centric books and movies have seen a rise. Joining the ranks of contemporary works about women is ‘The Other End of the Corridor’.
SujataRajpal was a PR professional before she decided that all she wanted to do with her life was to write. In her acknowledgement she says that the this book wouldn’t have happened if it wasn’t for a dynamic journalist who called her ignorant and her ex-boss who made her feel useless. All writers need a push and hers was an unique one. I had the opportunity to interview her and I was delighted by her answers. Shifting focus to the book.
Leela is a 19 year old girl from Patiala. Her fault- being a manglik.Nineteen years old and she was already being auctioned off to prospective buyers or so she says. She was considered a bad omen in the family as soon as she was born. The pandit said that she would bring distress and death wherever she went. After the death of her younger brother her parents were more than ready to get her off of their hands. There wasn’t anything particularly special about Leela. An average looking girl with dark skin, her voice was her specialty and her ambition was to be a Radio Jockey. But here she was being married off to Vishal who was older to her by eleven years. Her parents are delighted about the match as Vishal’s parents are considerably wealthy.
Married at nineteen, Leela finds herself under the clutches of ‘Ma”, her mother-in-law. Ma hurts Leela emotionally pretty much all the time. Vishal is of no use as Leela comes to know that he was fired from his job. Leela realizes that her marriage is just a bunch of lies and then her nightmare begins. Vishal hits here and abuses her and asks for her forgiveness. Leela is stupefied by the change in him and comes to know that he is battling depression. After losing a baby to Vishal’s regular violence they shift to Bangalore as Vishal gets a new job. Here she meets the people who will play major roles in her life. Her old friends, Priya who is a fierce and independent lady and a single mother and Harleen, the socialite living a life of luxury.
The book follows the sorrows and happy moments of Leela. From her creating a fake Facebook account to being raped by her own brother-in-law. The book is roller-coaster ride of emotions and you begin to empathize with this rustic belle from Patiala. You rejoice with Leela and wipe your own tears when she suffers. SujataRajpal is amazing at character-writing as she describes each character so well that it makes you feel that they are not fictional but real. A stupendous effort from a debutant author.
My verdict
3
‘The Other end of the Corridor’ is a must read for not only women but for men too. It describes the daily angst faced by women.
