The Common Language
It could also be because of the language factor which poet and author Anita Nair rightly points out, “The contemporary Indian woman is at an age where English is a language she could write effortlessly in. In fact, it is the language she thinks in and naturally it becomes her chosen language for writing. Also with English the authenticity of the voice is enhanced and in comparison the borrowed moments penned by Western writers seem bloodless.”

Or it could be a test of the language itself, of its elasticity. Veteran writer Anita Desai in an interview to ‘Magda Costa’ summed it aptly: “You are alone with that page and with that pen... imagining thoughts and images with the best words suitable. It’s an exploration of language, how much can language do; how far can it pretend human experience and feelings.”

Together with the increasing choice of English as the language to write in, the projection of women themselves, have changed. Shoshana M Landow in ‘Changing Images Of Women In South Asian Fiction’, says, “the image of the women in South Asian novel has undergone a change in the last three decades.

Throughout this period, women writers have moved away from traditional enduring, self-sacrificing women toward conflicted female characters, searching for identity. The interests of women writers have changed with South Asian society and its relationship with the West.”

Crossing The Hurdles
The writing happens and then comes publishing and, this is where it seems to come apart. The apparent rosy tint gives way to a black void. The economics of the market come into play here. Sagarika Ghose minces no words: “The future of ‘The Book’ itself is in jeopardy. The publishing business is becoming totally philistine because the marketing guys are calling all the shots and often good books don’t even get published because it’s felt that they won’t ‘sell’. Arundhati Roy’s success is a blessing as well as a curse. On the one hand, ‘The God Of Small Things’ opened up new markets.

On the other, all women writers are now all expected to be pretty, with high ‘marketable personas’ and write exotic books about faraway exotic places. Publishers like books they can sell as ‘Chick Litt’ or cool books written by sexy young things. In that sense, Indian women writers face a danger of being imprisoned in a gilded cage.”
The given yardstick seems to be of two kinds — either one is marketable or already famous! Meher Pestonjee claims that, “Unless you happen to be Vikram Seth or Arundhati Roy, writers remain at the mercy of publisher’s whims and inordinate delays.”

But just getting a book published is only the first step. There’s so much noise out there, so many books, so many magazines, so much TV, so much stuff to read on the Internet, and so little time. Obviously, every book could do with a little push.

There is Margaret Mascarenhas who says, she would “like to see publishing houses in India invest more to promote the work of their authors after it is published. Otherwise, it places a huge and annoying burden on the authors, requiring them to be well connected with the press, and placing them at a decided disadvantage if they are not. At the moment, first-time novelists in India have to be both, independently wealthy and very well connected to contemplate a career exclusively devoted to fiction.”

However, she does believe that the introduction of branches of major publishing houses in India has facilitated access to Indian authors.

What should fiction writers do then? Namita Gokhale, the writer-publisher, suggests that the solution is not to give up. “It’s never easy to get the attention of publishers, although there are so many new and dynamic publishing houses around these days,” she concedes and attributes it to lack of literary agents.

“Unfortunately there are no literary agents that I have heard of operating in India. One could seek to contact an international literary agent with an interest in India through the Internet, or else the aspiring writer should send a brief synopsis and an introductory chapter to the editors at the publishing houses, and be patient and persevering in trying to project their work.”

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