Two years after she shook up literary circles in Kerala with "Njan, Laingikatozhilaali" (I'm A Sex Worker), Nalini Jameela is back with an English version of her book that she says is less fictional.
NEW DELHI: Two years after she shook up literary circles in Kerala with "Njan, Laingikatozhilaali" (I'm A Sex Worker), Nalini Jameela is back with an English version of her book that she says is less fictional.
"Some incidents in the first book were fictional. So I thought of re-writing the book despite it being widely accepted in Kerala. The new book narrates the same story, minus the exaggerations," said Jameela, who is in the capital for the release of the English version.
"I want to create awareness about AIDS. I want every one to know how the virus affects the physical and mental health of people who are part of our profession," Jameela said.
"Njan, Laingikatozhilaali" was a controversial bestseller, with the book going into six editions in just 100 days and selling over 13,000 copies.
But Jameela's entry into the literary world was not well received by many noted writers of Kerala.
Sachidanandan (Anand), a Malayalam writer based in Delhi, said, "There is no doubt that people who have had such harrowing experiences should write about them. But many do it for commercial reasons."
M Mukundan, a pioneer of modernity in Malayalam literature, condemned her works as "prurient money- spinners".
"It proves one thing -- present day audiences like books penned by sex workers describing fantasies and immoral activities, and in future there will be more such writers than serious novelists," he wrote in a magazine.
But Jameela brushes aside such criticism, saying "My book highlights the ordinariness of sex work in the lives of poor women and its place along side other demeaning work situations quite invisible to Kerala's educated elite."
She claimed to have the approval of Sara Joseph, Civic Chandran and Gangadharan Mashe, all acclaimed writers in Malayalam. "It was Sara who told me not to elaborate on sexual encounters," she said.
The publisher of the book agrees with Jameela.
"We decided to support her for two reasons. Because of the commercial reason as the Malayalam version did great business in Kerala.
Secondly and more importantly, due to the social reason," said Nilanjana S Roy, chief editor of West-Land Publishers.
"Jameela writes on behalf of downtrodden sex workers. We really want to support a woman who has fought for her fellow beings," Roy said.
Jameela, a Hindu who later embraced Islam, turned a new leaf when she decided to champion the cause of fellow sex workers in 1999. She soon headed AIDs prevention campaigns and was appointed president of the Kerala Sex Workers' Forum.
She worked closely with Jwalamukhi, an organisation championing the rights of sex workers. While working with Jwalamukhi, Jameela met J Devika, an activist who helped her translate her book into English. "I have known her for a long time. So I offered to be a translator for her. It was an experience for me," Devika said.
Jameela is also excited about the release of Marathi, Hindi and Tamil versions of her book. "The Tamil edition was released by noted actor Nasar," she remarked.
She expects the English version to do "decent" business outside Kerala though she does not expect it to match the sales of her first book.
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