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A feast of the flesh

By Shobha Sengupta

Electric Feather is a collection of 13 short stories with sex or erotica as pivot, put together by Ruchir Joshi, documentary filmmaker and novelist. The mark of any good story is that it should hold the interest of the reader from beginning to end, and good writing on sex should not descend to the level where there is only titillation and no story. The short stories are immensely readable, and both the storyline and the sex hold the interest of the reader equally.

The quality of writing is much higher than that in many recent bestseller chicklits. These are mature writings by South Asian writers chosen by Joshi because, as he says in an interview: "They were people who didn’t need to be told the difference (between erotica and pornography)". Joshi (who launched the book in New Delhi, with belly dancers entertaining guests!) wanted "to see which boundaries got poked and pierced" by these writers from India, Pakistan and Bangladesh.

The writers include Rana Dasgupta (of Solo fame), Kamila Shamsie (Pakistani writer of the brilliant Burnt Shadows), Samit Basu (Simoquin Prophecies trilogy), and acclaimed poet Jeet Thayil. The others are Ruchir Joshi, Paromita Vohra, Sonia Jabbar, Sheba Karim, Niven Govinden, Parvati Sharma, Abeer Hoque, Tishani Doshi and Meenakshi Madhavan Reddy.

The cover is attractive and subtle. The introduction is aptly named "Repairing Vrindavan". Vrindavan, of course, is the forest on the Yamuna riverbank where Krishna romanced Radha and the gopis. Joshi explains in an interview: "Despite the idea of India being a very repressed society, people have deep memories of erotic freedom, erotic exchange, and it’s completely connected to various texts — Geet Govind, Laila Majnu..." But caught as we are between "the inexorable bulldozers of mostly male-driven hard porn" and "people setting fire to the forest from inside" (that is, Hindu Talibanisation), our inner Vrindavan, writes Joshi, is being subjected to a "double rape". But times are changing, and with "people travelling, getting married, divorced, remarried", attitudes are changing. And the book, he believes, reflects that changing outlook, while attempting to awaken a buried part of our psyche.

Joshi uses the phrase "erotics of discovery" in his introduction to describe the bond between writer and reader, comparing them to lovers. The writer is trying to seduce and entrance. Not surprisingly the 13 talented writers mostly do not disappoint, and write with humour and insight.

The seven women writers have excelled. Paromita Vohra’s Tourists is imaginative, with twists expected of a short story. Sheba Karim’s tale of a young girl’s infatuation with her aunt is subtle in the treatment of complexities. There is a certain sadness in it when the girl realises that marriage can be equated to prostitution. Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan writes of the seduction of a 27-year-old male virgin. Tishani Doshi writes tenderly on the sexual desires of a 39-year-old woman, another virgin, ensnared by a married man. The Advocate by Sonia Jabbar is absolutely hilarious, even if implausible. Niven Govinden’s story of two gay lovers in Amsterdam is well-written, with a cat and mouse game of who can exploit whom. Abeer Hoque’s Confessions is rather funny, even if the footnotes are somewhat distracting. The more established authors have lived up to expectations.

Electric Feather is a commendable effort. Boredom never sets in. The 13 stories occupy the whole spectrum from the graphic to the sensual. From a romp of two best friends at a Bengali wedding to a late-20s guy losing his virginity, to a love affair between the sun and the air, to a woman who finally learns how to climax — the stories are fun, uninhibited and imaginative as they explore heterosexual, gay and lesbian sex, infidelity, lust and longing. It’s a mixed lot in terms of the sense of surprise, pleasure, danger and defiance. There is often incisiveness and an edge, both marks of good writing. What is important is that at no point there is any stomach-churning vulgarity. One never feels revulsion, though of course, this is a book obviously meant for mature adults only.

Shobha Sengupta is a freelance writer and the owner of Quill And Canvas, a bookstore and art gallery in Gurgaon