BENGALURU: I want my child to be an architect. I want my child to be a surgeon. I want my child to be an engineer. The list goes on. These words echo endlessly, towering over us like dark huge shadows since childhood till we don’t exactly know when. Is it acceptable if we deviate from parents’ expectations? Is it normal for a child to find peace in embroidery? Is it still fine for a boy to love embroidery?
The sturdy and stubborn roots of patriarchy have seeped in deep and become a major part of how the world functions. Appealing to both young readers and adults, ZardoZi: Stitched With Love, a book by Debasmita Dasgupta, opens a world that questions gender norms, that otherwise are ingrained in our minds like clingy monsters. Dasgupta says, “It is to start questioning the things that we have been told to do. Questioning doesn’t mean you are being a rebel, but understanding what you are doing.”
The project stands on the belief that gender norms impact not just girls, but boys, too, and they need to be reinterpreted for a gender-equitable society. While there are pronounced discussions on girls breaking the stereotypes, there is a dire need for more work for boys who are caught in the pressure of masculine norms, to be ‘strong’, in many cases, leading to repression of emotions. The book, interspersed with narration and illustrations with minimum colours, is a visual feast for the readers – giving importance to the moods of each situation and the emotions of the characters.
ZardoZi is an offshoot of personal experiences and the surroundings Dasgupta saw growing up. Recalling an incident when she was young, the author says, “We had embroidery classes at school. I was terrible at it, but I remember my cousin, (he) was really good at it.” Dasgupta also urges parents to support the kids in choosing what they want to pursue and make them believe that they have the agency to do so.