Women’s writing isn’t sitting in the punishment corner any more: Annie Zaidi

Mumbai-based writer Annie Zaidi is no stranger to most formats and styles when it comes to contemporary women’s literature in the country. The poetess (Crush), short fiction writer (Love Stories # 1 to 14), author (Gulab), playwright (Jaal, So Many Socks), and now a filmmaker (In Her Words, Shor Se Shuruaat) released Equal Halves: Famous Indian Wives, an anthology of essays profiling influential Indian married women across time and professions, who were successful while also supporting their famous husbands. Here, the editor of the anthology talks about her latest project, her other works and women’s writing in India.

About the anthology

The publishers of Equal Halves approached Annie with the idea of editing the anthology. They aimed for the essays to span over several centuries, which made it more interesting as a project for her and she said yes. “I was very keen that the book represent women’s many talents across all professions. We were looking at a fairly narrow selection, only about 10, so I was keen on paring it down while keeping it as wide as possible,” she states. Coming up with names of “well-known” women and men from thousands of professionals was a daunting task. “We, in our mainstream culture, rarely discuss the work of scientists and mathematicians, or even teachers. And that was the caveat — the women had to not just be successful in their work but also be famous. And then, many of them would be famous but would turn to be single!” she says. After some back and forth, fructified the list of names including film personality Devika Rani, conservation architect Gurmeet Sangha Rai, danseuse Mrinalini Sarabhai, Empress Noor Jahan, warrior princess Mastani, crusader Aruna Roy, etc.

Mastani: The most surprising essay

Even though impossible (and unfair as the authoress points out) to pick the most fascinating essay, the one by journalist Kusum Choppra on Mastani came as a surprise for her. “All I had heard about her was from the Bollywood film (Bajirao Mastani), which isn’t the best source of history! She doesn’t feature prominently in history books either even though much of the Peshwa wealth and growing influence was possible because of her marriage to Bajirao,” says she. Mastani’s plural faith also deeply interested her. “There has been a lot of misinformation as well as loss of memory around India’s capacity for generating new strands with faith. Mastani was brought up in the Pranami faith, which was actually a different religion, drawing upon both Hinduism and Islam. There is so much in these essays that really make you think about very large historical questions, and not just ‘women’s questions’,” she says.

The history of women writers

Annie has another anthology — Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian Women’s Writing — in her repertoire. “I was more aware of what to look for this time around,” she says, “Unbound was also a project cutting across time. I had learnt a lot about the development of questions, the change in society and how the lives of women reflected these changes. Each generation pushes forward, stands upon the shoulders of their fore-mothers.” Her documentary In Her Words is also about Indian women writers, covering writings by nuns, bhakti poetesses, folk singers, activists, courtesans and so on. “It was working on Unbound that shaped my ideas about women and literature and civil rights. And my desire to do a documentary like In Her Words arose directly from having researched the book,” she informs.

Times are a-changing

As one of the contemporary women writers in India, Annie is mindful that things have changed significantly for her ilk. “Certainly, women’s writing isn’t sitting in the punishment corner any more. There is a problem of being taken seriously by male readers, especially when it comes to women commenting and analysing history, politics and economic policy,” she says. Among the writers she admires, “There is little doubt that a writer like Mahasweta Devi towered over her contemporaries, male or female. I would have named her as one of my favourite living writers, but she isn’t alive any more. I am in awe of Krishna Sobti, and not just because of her writing but also her life choices,” she says.

The Bollywood project

After short films such as Ek Bahut Choti Si Love Story and Engine, Annie had a big screen outing with the sci-fi Decibel in Shor Se Shuruaat where she was mentored by Sriram Raghavan. “It was fun and very educative,” says she of the experience, “Sriram pays a lot of attention to story and script, and rightly so. He taught me to think harder and struggle with what is essential and what is dispensable.” From writing, editing, and filmmaking, Annie identifies herself as a writer the most. “I think that’s the core thing that connects everything I do. I basically write in different genres,” she says. The authoress is currently trying to write some short-long stories and essays.