Portrayal of Women in Vikas Swarup's 'Q and A'

Portrayal of Women in Vikas Swarup’s ‘Q and A’ LT. Sujit S. Chavhan Dr. Ambedkar College, Deekshabhomi, Nagpur-10 E-Mail: [email protected] Abstract:- Being a man of international mark due to the best novel of ‘Q and A’, Vikas Swarup is a novelist of great responsibilities. Swarup always deals with the presentation and multiple struggles of female in his writings. The researcher has tried to review the female struggle and their representation in modern India. In order to critically assess the matter at hand, the researcher analyzes the struggle of women for existence and their empowerment in the modern age. After feminism, literature has presented female life in multiple perspectives and explored the critical life of women, their anxiety, pain and sufferings. Similarly, Vikas Swarup’s novel evaluates the life of women in a collective perspective. Present paper is focused on the status and life of female characters depicted in Q and A. The study also investigates an end number of problems of women and their place in modern India due to the democracy. The paper dealt how the female characters are showing the reality of life in which women are living in struggle full life due to the manmade social evils. Keywords: - Portrayal of Women, Empowerment, Harassment, and Social evils. Introduction:- Vikas Swarup is one of the most prolific writers cum diplomat of India. He was born in Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh in 1963 in lawyer family. He was brought up in Allahabad and got his education from the same city. He is a career diplomat and joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1986. During his diplomatic career, he worked in different countries such as Turkey, The United States, Ethiopia, The United Kingdom (2000-2003), and South Africa. He also worked as the official spokesperson of the Indian Ministry of External Affairs. At present, he has been appointed as the secretary in the External Affairs Ministry with effect from 1st August, 2019. Vikas Swarup is also a social activist known for his care and concern for women in India. He shows the struggle of women to find out her identity in modern society which is always against her will in present scenario. Vikas Swarup is an incontestable 205 outstanding figure in Indo- Anglian literature. He has contributed very much to the Indian literature and also uplifted his works at globe. His novel undoubtedly projects a lively image of India and amply reflects his passionate concerned with the surrounding of social reality of women. The Works of Vikas Swarup: The works of Vikas Swarup includes novels, short stories, articles, columns and he also participated in different literary festivals, film festivals and in various conferences across the world. Vikas Swarup wrote three full length novels with equal contentment and eagerness towards life of the women. His debut novel, „Q and A‟ published in 2005 which became world famous and translated in 42 languages. His Q and A is the best of his interpretation of the times, he lived in because the world famous movie „Slumdog Millionaire‟ achieved him great publicity, name, fame and his recognition was felt in the heart and mind of the readers. Swarup‟s second novel „Six Suspect‟ published in 2008 and also translated into more than 30 languages. His third novel is „The Accidental Apprentice‟ appeared in 2013, published by Simon and Schuster (UK). Besides, novels, Vikas Swarup have also authored a collection of short stories, A Great Event‟ was published in The Children‟s Hour: Stories of Childhood, an anthology of stories about childhood to support the children for their protection against the violence. Harassment of Women: Q and A is a novel of five women- Gudiya (Smita Shah), Nita, Swapna Devi, Neelima Kumari, and Meenakshi who struggled for their survival due to corrupt Indian social system and criminal activity. They all represent multiple generations and problems o women in India who still have no better life in men centred society. Vikas Swarup in his novel, Q and A thus focused on the issues as rape, kidnapping, murder, wife- battering, sexual abuse, eve teasing which are all examples of violence against women. There are some violence‟s as criminal violence‟s includes rape, abduction, murder, domestic violence‟s includes dowry deaths, wife bettering, sexual abuse, maltreatment of widow women and social violence‟s includes female feticide, refusing to give a share to women in property, sati tradition, harassing the daughter in law to bring more money as dowry. 206 Vikas Swarup has expressed various women centred issues at length in his writing. He is not, unlike other novelists who are completely lost in the colourful world but is aware of the present situations of the women. His first novel, Q and A is the most thought provoking in which predicament of the woman has described. The incident of train is sensitive in which Ram is travelling. He saw the brother and sister, Akshay and Meenakshi with their family entered into the compartment of the train for Mumbai. Abruptly, a dacoit entered into the train. He declares that every passenger should climb down from their berth otherwise, he will shoot everyone. Further, he pushes the blouse of the lady who is giving milk to her baby. He demanded all valuable items as wallets, watches, purses, bangles, gold chains and any cash in their pockets. Swarup says that the dacoit physically tortured to Meenkashi. It is equivalent to sexual violence. A similar emotion has been expressed by Deb and Walsh as, “Sexual violence specifically includes touching of private body parts, fondling, penetration and rape". The dacoit also says- „You are much more “beautiful than a bangle, my darling‟ Meenakshi is facing physical torture in the train but no other passenger including Ram did not come forward to save her from the clutches of gangster, only her father came forward but dacoit hits him with the butt of his pistol. Lastly, when the train begins to slow down, all dacoit jumps down from the train except one dacoit. He came back to the compartment where Meenakshi was present. He demanded goodbye kiss from Meenakshi waving the gun at her in front of her parents. He also orders to show her breasts and some skin of the body. This is a nation where lady has to open her inner body part in front of the own parents, this is a big tragedy for all Indians. Even though, there are a more complications in the life of actress in real life, it is important to discuss about the love of Neelima Kumari and its consequences. Her lover visited to her at her house to torture physically. The description also through light on the problem of sexual violence with the words of Ram Ahuja, “Sexual violence is any situation in which force or threat is used to obtain participation in unwanted sexual activity.” He used cigarette to burn which marks all over her chest. Her check and left eyebrow has swollen. She has not capable to speak. When Ram asked her about the man. Notice what Neelima Kumari says: 207 “It is the destiny of a woman to suffer in silence and what he has done to my face is nothing compared to what he has done to the rest of my body”. (p. 264) A woman is considered as the same as men in modern era, but the challenges in her daily life has not ended. At present, a large number of groups of women are involved in the prostitution. It is an illegal business in our cultured society but to live life and to provide meal to their own family they have to involve in it. Nita, a beloved of Ram is also involved in prostitution due to her brothers, (Shyam) pressure. Nita becomes the victims of sexual harassment done by unknown man at the palace hotel. He has paid five thousand rupees to Nita‟s brother. Nita physically tortured, has livid bruises all over her face and her lips, her left eye is blackened and blood is gushing from mouth. Actually, forceful sexual harassment is strictly prohibited in our polished society but when our own blood related family member forced to women for involvement in such an illegal business, suffering women cannot raise the voice. The novelist presents the miserable condition of women in urban Indian society. Even in digital era, women are sold and forcefully involved into prostitution. Swarup‟s appeal for women‟s position in the era of globalisation can be directly confirmed with as quoted by Usha Kundu, “Woman is considered a cheap commodity which can be used, misused, degraded and even destroyed when the society want so.” As Nita is involved in prostitution due to her brother Shyam. Furthermore, her brother demanded four lakh rupees from Ram to handover Nita to him. It shows how own brother is ready to sell own sister for the lust of money. By focusing on the life history of Gudiya, Nita, Swapna Devi, Neelima Kumari, and Meenakshi in his novel Q and A, it is undeniable that not only women but also men novelists attempt to seize factual condition of women in their writings. Although, Swarup as a men novelist, he focused on female predicament and women empowerment through his novels. He expresses himself not only a men but human being. It is a picture of India as Pankaj Sachdeva comments on the Q and A of Vikas Swarup. Sachdeva views: „„Swarup‟s Q and A shows us the dark side of India which is not „Shining‟ by highlighting on adultery, friendship, betting cricket, train dacoit, prostitution, sexual abuse, poverty, love, and even black magic‟‟ 208 Representation of Empowered Young Women: The entry of Smita Shah as a lawyer in the novel makes the book an interesting reading and thought- provoking.

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