Drawing the Line - Edited by Priya Kurian, Larissa Bestonasco and Ludmilla Bartscht

I found this in Anjali's collection - a graphic short story collection compiled and edited by Priya Kumar, Larissa and Ludmilla. The byline for the book - 'Indian Women Fight Back' - says it all. Fourteen contributors feature in it and its quite a read. I loved it.

'That's Not Fair' by Harini Kannan is about the deep bias for fair skin and how everyone is trying to get their daughters to be fair so they have to pay less dowry. 'Mumbai Local' by Diti Mistry is about the world of a women's compartment in a Mumbai Local - all emotions on display including how they stand up and care for one another. 'The Photo' by Reshu Singh is about a girl who does not want to get married but everyone has a take on it. 'An Ideal Girl' by Soumya Menon compares the Ideal Boy with the Ideal Girl and we realise that the Ideal Girl has much loaded against her - job, family, children food etc. 'Ever After' by Priyanka Kumar is about the life of an average Indian woman - boredom, TV and the mundane dinners, conversations and acts. 'The Prey' by Neelima P Aryan gives the metaphor of a hawk and how the woman traps the predator.

'Melanin' by Bhavan Singh is about the Indian obsession with fair skin. 'The Walk' by Deepa Sethi takes us on a walk home from the protagonist's work place - a beauty salon worker in a small neighbourhood - from the beauty industry to everyday problems of women it captures everything. 'The Poet, Sharmila' by Ita Mehrotra is about the writers experience of meeting Irom Sharmila Chanu in Manipur and the impact it had on her. 'Asha, Now' by Hemavathy Guha is about the real life experience of a woman who had been sexually abused by her older brother since her childhood leaving her traumatised even now. 'Basic Space' by Kaveri Gopalakrishnan questions the idea of space for a woman - gives the constant alert on battle stance in every space to safeguard herself. 'Broken Lines by Vidyun Sabhaney' is about a story where a woman's fingers are chopped off as punishment to appease the family cows - a story from the pata chitra tradition of Bengal. 'Ladies, Please Excuse' by Angela Ferraro' is about how the job scene for women is loaded against them despite their qualifications. 'Someday' by Samidha Gunjal is about how the woman will someday become Kali and consume the males who have for centuries subdued and subjugated them.

Loved it.