Powered to face fears

Promising us a peek into the artistic process of the book, she takes a quick walk down the memory lane recalling her journey from advertising to the events that led her to pen her first book.
Awaken the Durga Within was launched on Saturday at Odyssey
Awaken the Durga Within was launched on Saturday at Odyssey

CHENNAI: Women the world over, and especially in India, are trained to be seen and not heard, to serve and not seek their rights. Education and employment make only a marginal difference to a woman’s status at home or at work. But how can the world prosper when half of its population is suppressed?” asks author Usha Narayanan as she talks about her latest book Awaken the Durga Within. The book was launched on Saturday at Odyssey.

Promising us a peek into the artistic process of the book, she takes a quick walk down the memory lane recalling her journey from advertising to the events that led her to pen her first book. “After my post-graduation in English literature, it was a natural progression to creative writing,” says Usha who has worked for many years in senior positions in advertising, radio, corporate communications, and publishing.
A short story that she dashed off for a friend, whetted her appetite for creative writing after which she wrote The Madras Mangler, a thriller. When it received good reviews, there was no looking back for Usha. She then went on to write a light-hearted romance, Love, Lies and Layoffs and later plunged headlong into the life of her unsung hero, Pradyumna: Son of Krishna. “The breathtaking world of gods and demons, glorious wars and gorgeous goddesses became my playground,” she says.

Her eighth and latest book, Awaken, is an easy-to-follow guide to help women. “Faced by a multitude of powerful forces, women began to accept the limitations placed on their life. From when and whom to marry to whether she can work or not, everything is decided for her. Such stringent control sometimes expands into physical or emotional abuse and the turmoil takes its toll on her peace of mind,” she says.
Her book offers a three-step process that women can begin using at once, to recreate life in a better way. “Women can learn to identify their underlying fears, develop the confidence to tackle them, and overcome the hurdles they face,” says Usha. The book brings in the lesser-known stories about goddesses from Hindu mythology, and each chapter in the book has a section titled ‘Lessons Learned’ which highlights the relevance of the myth to our lives. “For example, in the story of Durga fighting the demon Mahisha, we see that the Devi too is seen as an object of lust, her ‘No’ to his proposal is dismissed as an attempt to increase his lust. Durga summons her daughters to fight against exploitation and inspires you to fight relentlessly against injustice or humiliation,” she asserts.

With several #MeToo stories doing the rounds, she says that such books are the need of the hour. “The #MeToo movement is long overdue. The harassment must be stopped. The balance between the genders must be corrected. Women must be given the same rights, powers and opportunities as men. Books are tools that can bring about a transformation,” she says.

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The New Indian Express
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