An Interview with Sarojini Sahoo
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International Journal of Advance Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 10S, (2020), pp. 7791-7796 An Interview with Sarojini Sahoo Dr Shivani Vashist Professor, Department of English Manav Rachna International Institute of Research & Studies Abstract The interview of Sarojini Sahoo was taken as a part of doctoral research work which was undertaken under my supervision. The intention of taking the interview was to know Sarojini Sahoo’s views on Feminism as the research work was focused on short stories written by her from a feminist perspective. Though it was difficult meeting her physically, the interview was taken through electronic media. Her frank and direct answers throw light on her views and her approach towards her characters. 1. What made you choose the form of Short Story writing to express your views? Ans: “I write poems also but I don’t know why it seems that poetry is an incompetent media for me to express myself .I feel comfortable with fiction where I can open myself freely .I often use my poems within the fiction and critiques say my prose are more poetic. My first short story was published in the Sunday Supplement of an Odia newspaper when I was a high school student. My stories had been published in the Jhankar, a prestigious literary journal which only published the scholarly writings from reputed authors, when I was only an undergraduate student. In fact, even my teachers failed to publish there. In my teen age I met Jagadish Mohanty (my husband) as a pen friend. My interactions and study with Jagadish Mohanty, with whom I later fell in love and married, made me more serious about literature, especially fiction”. 2. Would you consider yourself to be a Feminist by choice or Feminist by societal circumstances. Ans: “No, I never accept feminism or read any book on feminism in my girlhood days. But, is it necessary to read any book on feminism to become a feminist for a woman? Isn’t her life more a guide to the way of feminism in any woman’s case? In my book Sensible Sensuality, I have written ,when I was born, my father was not present beside my mom. Finding my self a female baby, my mother had a shock, because my father was expecting a son and my birth might be the reason of her humiliation in future. My mom told me later, she could not sleep the night with fear of facing my father with a girl child. She was praying all the night to God for changing my gender, but God did not pay attention to her pathos cry and hence my Gender was not changed. But my father is a strong headed man and he could not forget his sorrow of not becoming a son’s father. I was brought up as a boy as I was born as a girl beyond to my father’s expectation for a son. This story compelled me to think about feminine mass. After crossing my teen age when I read anthropology and could feel and understand how gender theories approved by these anthropologists stand opposite to my own realization and conviction. Anthropologists often believe that the differences in temperament between men and women were not a function of their biological differences, rather, they resulted from differences in socialisation and the cultural expectations held for each sex. Simone de Beauvoir’s well known saying that ‘Women are made, not born’ supports that theory. But I felt from my girl hood experiences that the theory did not seem to true in my case. As my father had an obsession for a male child, he wanted to see me as a boy and therefore, I was dressed as a boy; my hair was cut like a boy’s; and I used to play boyish games with boys instead of girlish games with girls. In my book, I mentioned my Portuguese friend’s query, where he asked whether this had any impact in my sexuality in later life or not. It is clear that these cross-gender activities did not make any difference in my later life and I grew up normally as a woman. This realization made me more interested in gender studies. But before reading these anthropological philosophies, I started writing stories which are clear paint of women’s life. In 90’s Delhi Doordarshan decided to make a TV profile of mine and Dr. Satti Khanna of Duke University was engaged to shoot my life. Satti Khanna hadn’t read any of my writings and in order to celluloid my life, he did read some of my stories and told me ‘you are the ISSN: 2005 -4238 IJAST 7791 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advance Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 10S, (2020), pp. 7791-7796 most endowed feminist writer I have ever read. I think, he is the first reader to point out that comment on me”. 3. How do you think the times have changed over the years for the women in India? Ans: “Yes, times have changed over the years for the women in India, the ratio of women education, participation in every field has increased and women have become more independent to live and lead their life alone in metro city but could really their problems disappear at all? Perhaps no, are they not exploited by their senior authorities in their work place? The ratio of rapes has not increased. Still our society needs a girl who should be a virgin and typically bride type who should serve the family besides her 12 hours office work. That type of mindset still exists in our society. Female foetus killings are still prevailed in Indian society. In religious rituals and customs also females are barred to take part in all worship. In Kerala, females are not allowed to enter in the Ayeppa temples. They are also barred to worship the God. You could find how much huddles have come between “Triple Talaq”. 4. The common thread that binds all your stories is the sorry treatment meted to women by the patriarchal society. What steps, do you think, other than education, can be taken to liberate women from this chaos? Ans: “What I want is to develop equal mutual relationships of caring and support between all genders and I want to focus on strengthening women in areas such as assertiveness, communication, relationships, and self esteem. As a human being, I always argue about equal status for women and I refuse to believe that by denying our sexual selves, women can be equal with men”. “But what I oppose is patriarchal society’s unfortunate decision to grant more liberation for a man than a woman. Our current society uses woman as an object and not as a human being. If a painter paints a nude of a woman, we can appreciate it as a masterpiece. We can enjoy the erotic sculpture showing women’s nude bodies on the temple wall. We can digest all these from the pen and brush of a male artist, but if Kamala Das writes, we feel disturbed thinking that society is now in danger. When Sunil Ganguly writes about his affairs with other ladies, it is cited as a literary boldness, but when Kamala Das expresses her passion, it is considered as perverted thought. For my story Rape, (published in Waiting for Manna) I was criticized for using the word fuck in my story for several years. It was a story of admitting sexual desire of a woman and it was intolerable for a patriarchal society to find a woman speaking about her sexual desires. The story has a central idea whether a woman has no right for sexual desire even if only in her dreams. I believe in women’s body women’s right. Sometimes critics misunderstand me, women body does not mean only passion it’s also concern about the total entity of a woman, what she is, what she wears etc. The female foetus killing, bride burning cases are also concerned with body”. 5. We all know that you are an inspiration to the women of the entire country. How do you see the patriarchal mindset changing over the years? Ans: “In those days time changed a lot, but is patriarchal dominancy disappearing from our society? No not all. Our girls are now getting facilities to study extensively. They are going and settled in other state or abroad for job sake, they are staying even live in relation but still the greed for dowry, expectation bride culture, expectation of son and above all the male dominancy co- inside in patriarchal system”. 6. As we understand, a mother has no favourites. Still, any particular text/ story which is really close to your heart? Ans: ““Misery knows no bound” is very close to my heart. The story actually based on my daughter. I feel, I failed to narrate the pain of a little girl yet”. ISSN: 2005 -4238 IJAST 7792 Copyright ⓒ 2020 SERSC International Journal of Advance Science and Technology Vol. 29, No. 10S, (2020), pp. 7791-7796 7. In one of your very popular stories, Proxy, Suparna, the protagonist, experiences a fleet of emotions, including a subtle acceptance of her husband’s extra-marital affair. What made you finish the story on such a note? Ans: “ Every man has a dark Abode. Sometimes it’s exposed and times hide behind the whole life.This thought reflect in the Proxy”. 8. The narrator in your story Volcano comments how girls were married off very early and how dressing up nicely meant inviting trouble.