Journey of a woman: From victim to exploiter

When Saanvri: The Story of a Concubine landed, I sat staring at the sensuousness spread out on the cover. What, with a not-so-hazy imprint of a woman’s bare back lurking against a jet black backdrop. Nah, nothing really startling; for, with filmmaker Vinod Pande as the author of this novel, there ought to be sensuousness, spread out, on not just the cover but inside the pages as well. Remember, he gave us films like Ek Baar Phir, Sins, Yeh Nazdeekiyan and several offbeat films, where women together with their wants take centrestage.

I read this novel at one go. More than the story it’s Pande’s racy dastangoi style that’s gripping. It’s an easy read, though I should stress the story is along the average format. There is nothing really excitingly offbeat about it. The reader should not expect and with that not look for anything refreshing, at least as far as the storyline is concerned. After all, it is one of those hackneyed tales revolving around the turns and twists in the life of a woman who transforms herself from a victim to an exploiter.

Pande dwells on the circumstances which go a long way in paving way for a young girl from the Nat tribe who grows up to be nurse, to be exploited by three men who’d strayed into her life — the one she marries, the one she loves, and the one she chose to manipulate. Those basic backgrounders to the nurse-woman unfold as one night she disappears whilst visiting a patient. It doesn’t seem to be a case of abduction as no demand for ransom comes up. And with that the layers of the characters start unfolding.

Perhaps, Pande does realise the tale he has authored isn’t offbeat, as he says, “There could be many Saanvris around; only few manage to survive, others get crushed by the layers of hypocritical deceit that lies embedded in our society. Saanvri’s journey is that of pain and humiliation before emerging as a formidable force I wanted to highlight the woman’s grit and was all set to make a film on it and had even written a full script. But as I did not succeed in raising the finances, hence chose even a more fulfilling option of expressing on paper, where the issues of length, costs were not to be the obstacles.”

The highlight of this novel is Pande’s characteristic bare-all style which is more than apparent throughout the novel. There’s never a dull moment. Even simple conversations are woven well to suit the characters. Heady descriptions of the several sexual encounters are tucked in the confines of this novel. Only few of those can be termed lovemaking as most are lustful and releases along a set strain. They are not playful either for each move of Saanvri and the men who are using her or she is using them comes across as not just well planned but well executed.

This is a reflection of what’s happening on the political and social circuit —the who’s who use and misuse gullible people with baits of all possible hues and shapes and kinds. Men and women use each other. Some survive while others perish in the maddening fury of surcharged sexual wants

Take for example, “She wanted to say something but just then she felt a shaft coursing her backside. She was appalled .The man was not merely lecherous, he was an animal. Course and shameless with his lust. But she had no choice. In her quest for worldliness; she opted for it — willingly. The fire that had flashed in her eyes receded slowly and now what shone, instead, was an avenging gleam. Deciding to put him out of his misery, she turned around slowly and, drilling his eyes with a mysterious gaze, she asked, ‘Where is your bathroom Mantriji ’ Just as he straightened and turned to look at the bathroom door, his jaw dropped. Almost with the practiced ease of a supermodel in a fashion show, Saanvri, clad only in her slinky panties and a brassiere, appeared at the doorway and took a few paces towards him.”

The conclusion doesn’t have clichéd “the end”. Pande keeps Saanvri’s defiant spirit hovering around amidst a haunting strain. Even towards her end, Saanvri the “plaything” rises to become the player; she gets killed in the process but not before destroying her destroyers.

Saanvri is a story of the times we are living in, with that maddening fury of surcharged wants. Perhaps, some could quip that these desires were always there. But in today’s world these desires have reached a saturation point and that has begun to kill and throttle. Perhaps, Pande’s next novel Destiny which is said to be near completion could carry the strain somewhat further, along destined turns.

Humra Quraishi is a Delhi-based writer, columnist and journalist. Her books include Kashmir: The Untold Story, Views: Yours and Mine and Absolute Khushwant