The Company of Women

by Khushwant Singh

Recently separated from his nagging, ill-tempered wife of thirteen years, millionaire businessman Mohan Kumar decides to reinvent his life. Convinced that 'lust is the true foundation of love', he embarks on an audacious plan: he will advertise for paid lady companions to share his bed and his life. Thus begins his journey of easy, unbridled sexuality in the company of some remarkable women.There is Sarojini Bharadwai, the demure professor from small-town Haryana who surprises Mohan with her ardour and sexual energy; Molly Gomes, the free-spirited masseuse from Goa, mistress of the sensual impulse; and Susanthika Goonatilleke, the diminutive seductress from Sri Lanka. After each affair ends and before the next begins, Mohan finds solace in the practiced charms of his obliging maid, Dhanno, and in the memories of his first lovers: the American Jessica Browne, to whom he lost his virginity, and the Pakistani Yasmeen Wanchoo, who brought him the heady passion of an older woman. In The Company of Women, Khushwant Singh, India's most widely read author, has produced an uninhibited, erotic and endlessly entertaining celebration of love, sex and passion.

Genres: Fiction, Erotica, Indian Literature, India, Novels, Adult, Contemporary

232 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1999

About the author

Khushwant Singh, (Punjabi: ਖ਼ੁਸ਼ਵੰਤ ਸਿੰਘ, Hindi: खुशवंत सिंह) born on 2 February 1915 in Hadali, Undivided India, (now a part of Pakistan), was a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, was among the most widely-read columns in the country.

An important post-colonial novelist writing in English, Singh is best known for his trenchant secularism, his humor, and an abiding love of poetry. His comparisons of social and behavioral characteristics of Westerners and Indians are laced with acid wit.

Reviews

[Vidhya Nair · Rating 3 out of 5]

In many other reviews, this book is considered as 'erotica.' I disagree. I found this book a discourse on the perils of male loneliness, the need for connections & companionship. The book is also a reflection on how Indian society treats a divorced man & what women are capable of & desire behind closed doors. He develops each of his characters fully & makes you vested in each of their journeys. By the end of the novel, I felt that I understood Mohan Kumar, his desolation, how temporary pleasures still didn't make him whole & what he had craved his whole life was not just carnal pleasure but for true love which eluded him.

[Johnnie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Khushwant Singh is rich and famous. I'm not sure why because this book was nothing more than a wet dream of an old man with a small penis.

I lost count of the number of times he mentioned how big his dick is - and we all know what that means. It's like someone continually telling you that they have a "great sense of humour".

I was given this book by a girl who told me "It is NOT an instruction manual". It definitely isn't, but it does, however, give an insight into Indian culture and particularly marriage and relationships.

Just stop telling us how huge your cock is Mr. Singh. It's not.

[Helly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Spoilers Ahead
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.
.

A man with immense sexuale urge gets married. Has affairs. Gets divorced. Boasts about the size of his...er.. Eventually gets an STD and commits suicide.

Again, why did I read this?

[Ahtims · Rating 2 out of 5]

Well, the company of women wasn't that enjoyable.
I read this book pushing aside all better reads just to satisfy my morbid curiosity.
Story of Mohan , a recently separated man, with a more than healthy sexual drive who is in a constant quest to prey upon (wrong word, as the women too wee equally guilty here) different women.
Part one is his escapades after separation, and part 2 in the form of his diary regarding his conquests starting at an early age.
On the whole it was insipid. The women involved were psychological replicas (though physically came in all sizes and shapes, which our Mohan hasn't failed to describe with gusto)
This book makes me pity humankind as it seems that all men and most women are basically polygamous and are just waiting for opportunities .
Left a bad taste behind, that slightly nauseating feel that descends upon one who reads late into the night, that too mediocre stuff.
The story had potentials, if his failing marriage would have been stressed upon, and the various escapades kept to a basic minimum.

[Riddhika Khanna · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read a few reviews of this book and I understand that I might be among a handful of people who liked this book. I particularly liked the bold writing style of Mr. Singh. He is a no nonsense kind of an author. I liked every bit of this book.
Apart from being a memoir of a womanizer, this book has showed the true face of Indian society. Especially on marriage. Unfortunately, in India, matches are based on factors which should be secondary. It is quite often that the girl and the girl's family look out for a guy who has a good price tag with him and is from the same caste and community, will gather a lot of praise on alliance rather than his qualities and way of life. Same goes with the boys. As mentioned in the book, guys usually fall for girl's beauty and on their being virgins and "beddable". That's all. If for some reason a marriage falls out, the society doesn't let you live in peace. It is difficult to have relations even with willing partners. Indians don't believe in privacy and that has been perfectly shown in the book.
Mr. Singh has also expressed his views on useless customs in the society which I enjoyed a lot.
It is a story of a womanizer, a guy who studied in USA and had many women in the course. He came back to India after acquiring his degree and married a girl who his father had chosen. Of course it was more of a business alliance than a matrimonial one. The marriage fell out and hence his affairs started. He never cared much about his children until old age struck him.
The story is quite simple and there is really nothing much to it. It is the writing style and the author's boldness to show the face of the true Indian society that I liked.

[Megha · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to read a Khushwant Singh book since a long time. Since Train to Pakistan seemed quite heavy, I decided to start with what I thought to be a light read; to get to know his style. And well, I did not like this book at all.

I knew the book was about a man's sexual escapades, or in his words- the company of women he had. But the way it is penned is not exactly what I had in my mind. The book goes on from his failed arranged marriage to his reminiscence of the various women he had sex with, when in the States. After his divorce, he seeks 'paid companionship' with women to get rid of his loneliness and his need for sex. No whoring or visiting escort services, because he believes in the woman belonging entirely to him for whatever time frame she is with him. This idea of live-in relations for short time periods leads him to have various sexual relations, the ones mentioned in the back cover of the book. Women from different walks of live, different classes; and he has a different type of relation with each one of them. One such encounter made him a defender of a neighbouring country with a supposed history of animosity. Lust, and not love proving to be a great healer, eh?

For him, love is an elusive concept and means different things to different people. He believes that we are fooled into believing that the basis of a happy relationship is love, according to him, it is all about sex. Love cannot last long without love. Lust is timeless AND is the true foundation of love. Precisely because of this reason, when looking for a suitable life partner, he concentrates on how 'beddable' she is. So much for not objectifying women.

This man is also very proud of the size his love organ.(He doesn't fail to remind us this bit because every time he is about to bed some woman, she comments on how remarkably big he is down there. Yes, we do get the point. Congratulations!) This may sound very wrong, but somewhere deep down I kind of feel he got the end he deserved.

Also, I don't quite understand the purpose of this book. Was it an attempt to enlighten the people that lust is a stronger driving force than love? Or was it just another collection of ideas of multiple sexual partners by a rich old man? If it is the former, then maybe I am missing out something very profound, because it pretty much seems the latter to me. Even for an erotic genre, it doesn't prove to be a good book. The writing lacks passion and seduction, pretty much how it is generally from the man's point of view. But I do agree with a line from the author's note. The book should have been definitely titled 'The Fantasies of an Octogenarian'.

[Suchi Banerjee · Rating 3 out of 5]

this book was one exciting adventure for sure!!! its strange and rather sad how a failed marriage can lead to such emptiness!!! so much so that a person is driven to going to such great lengths simply to fill up the void!!! this book simply reiterates my belief that materialistic considerations for marriage is an invariable recipe for disaster!!! mohan kumar wasn't exactly the sort to cheat unless pushed to it! sonu's character -my dear friends.......or should i say, fellow members of the fairer sex- should tell you all that you must not be like if you want to make a relationship work. a woman like her will drive any decent man to drinking! the female characters were quite well explored by the author. they were all in a class of their own. no one resembled the other in any any possible way for sure. be it the independent jessica, the assertive yasmeen,the sweet natured and talkative mary joseph, the sedate and scholarly sarojini, the worldly wise molly, the classy charmer susanthika or even the naughty subaltern dhanno,they were all unique and quirky.....like nobody else!!! so, keep aside your moral parameters of judgement and plunge into the book to go on a wild ride of raw sexuality!!! its certainly not a noteworthy piece of literature but a fun-read by all means.

[Aastha Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

So it happened, I only bought the book as I am a Khushwant Singh fan of 10 years (in my life of a little more than 2 decades.)The storyline was gripping and the book was readable enough, but it was just not one of those that leave you thinking about the plot for long after you have finished it or for that matter even when you're reading it. It is a book to be read without much thought. I won't go to say anything against the author, as everybody knows he is bold and cares little for the judgement of others. He already writes in the beginning of the book that the book can be alternatively titled as "Fantasies of an Octogenarian."

On the surface, the book is about a man who cares for nothing but sex but on a deeper level, he is also a man who just did not find long lasting love; perhaps because he was too late in realizing that he needed it. He lived and died alone, never seeming to mind that a lot. I wonder if his wife was a different woman, the story would have ended thus.Overall, I found it sad and depressing to imagine a man with so little in life to live and die for.

[Prabhjot Kaur · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book takes on a bold premise and delivers it well in my opinion. It is an infamous book by the famous Khushwant Singh. Ordanarily, he gets a lot of applaud for his writing and his books but this took a lot of backlash and I can understand why but that doesn't mean I didn't like the book. This may be not the masterpiece from Khushwant Singh but it is still good.

It talks about arranged-marriage, affairs, sex, divorce and complicated relationship between men and women. It also talks about finding love but not realizing it sooner. It also has triggering themes such as STD, suicide and of course cheating so I understand it may not be for everyone but it isn't terrible.

3 stars

[Aishu Rehman · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was not what i expected. Just disgusting. Seemed more like a porn book which merely describes the sexual escapades of a rich businessman.

[Salawat Ullah · Rating 4 out of 5]

প্রথমে অনুবাদ সম্পর্কে একটু বলে নেই। আমার পড়া আনোয়ার হোসেন মঞ্জুর তৃতীয় অনুবাদ বই এটি। একদম ঝরঝরে অনুবাদ। মনেই হয় না যে অনুবাদ বই পড়ছি, মনে হয় লেখক বুঝি বাংলায়ই লিখেছেন বইটি।

এবার আসা যাক 'The Company of Women' সম্পর্কে। বইটি 'Classical Erotica' এর চমৎকার
উদাহরণ। লেখক খুশবন্ত সিং ৮৫ বছর বয়সে যখন এই বই লিখলেন তখন পুরো ভারতবর্ষ জুড়ে আলোচনা সমালোচনার ঝড় বয়ে গেলো। কেনো এই বুড়ো বয়সে তিনি এমন যৌনতায় ভরা একটি বই লিখলেন! এ ব্যপারে তার সুন্দর একটি ব্যাখ্যাও আছে--- "পুরুষ বুড়ো হলে পৌরুষ আর দন্ডায়মান হয় না তখন মস্তিষ্ক আরো সচল হয়। চিন্তায় সে অনেক দূর পৌছে যায়, চিন্তা ডালা পালা মেলে, গভীর থেকে গভীরে। আর এমনি এক কাল্পনিক চিন্তার ফসল এই বই।"

আমি এসব জেনে নিয়েও বইটি পড়া শুরু করেছি, কারন খুশবন্ত সিং এর রসবোধ। তিনি আমাকে নিরাশ করেননি, এ বইয়ের পৃষ্ঠায় পৃষ্ঠায় তিনি তার রসবোধের সরব উপস্থিতি জানান দিয়েছেন। একটা নমুনা দেয়া যাক-----

গল্পের নায়ক মোহন কুমার একজন ভারতীয় শিক্ষিত যুবক। সে উচ্চ শিক্ষার জন্য যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের প্রিন্সটনে যায়। সেখানে তার সাথে পরিচয় হয় আজাদ কাশ্মির তথা পাকিস্তানের চল্লিশ বছর বয়সী মহিলা ইয়াসমিন ওয়ানচোর সাথে। একদিন ইয়াসমিন মোহন কুমারকে ডিনারে ডাকে এবং যা ঘটার তাই ঘটে। প্রথমবার সাদামাটা মিশনারি স্টাইল। কিন্তু দ্বিতীয় বারের বার ইয়াসমিন বলে এবার আমার কথা মতো হবে, এবং সে মোহন কুমারকে নিচে রেখে নিজেই উপরে উপগত হয়। পুরো পুরি নিঃশেষিত হয়ে ইয়াসমিন মোহনের উপরে শুয়ে থাকে এবং আবেগ জড়ানো গলায় বলে --" মি. মোহন, আমরা ভারত আর পাকিস্তান নিজেদের মধ্যে সারাক্ষণ ঝগড়া-বিবাদ, যুদ্ধ এসব না করে এভাবে ভালবাসার মাধ্যমে সকল সমস্যার সমাধান করতে পারি না?" উত্তরে নীচে শুয়ে থাকা মোহন বলে --"হ্যাঁ, অবশ্যই পারি। তবে পাকিস্তানকে সবসময় উপরে রেখে।" এই হলো সর্দারজীর রসবোধ।

কৈশোরে একসময় প্রচুর রসময় গুপ্ত পড়েছি। সেগুলো সাহিত্য ছিলো না; স্রেফ কতগুলো ভারসম্যহীম সম্পর্কের গল্পের ছলে আমাদেরকে কতগুলো নতুন শব্দের সাথে পরিচয় করিয়ে দেয়া। কিন্তু খুশবন্ত সিং তা করেননি। এখানে গল্পের ফাঁকে তার রসবোধ আছে, জীবন বোধ আছে; আছে তার দর্শন , তার রাজনৈতিক সচেতনতা।

পাঁচ তারাই দিতাম, কিন্তু দেইনি। আমার মনে হয়েছে তিনি শেষ দুটি চ্যাপ্টার বেশি লিখে ফেলেছেন। শ্রীলঙ্কান হাইকমিশনের সেকেন্ড সেক্রেটারি সুশান্তিকা গুনাতিলেকে পর্যন্ত গল্পটা শেষ করলেই ভালো ছিলো। জীবনকে উপভোগ করাই ছিল যে নায়কের দর্শন, কষ্ট থেকে পালানোর জন্য জীবনকে অসম্মান করা তার একদমই সাজে না।

[Sneh Pradhan · Rating 1 out of 5]

Khushwant Singh is one of my favourite authors ........ However , the candidness , disarming honesty and effortless humor of his , of which I am a fan , I found faded here . The erotica , which should have been the highpoint here , leaves you high and dried up ( pun intended ) after the sexual tension which one anticipates purely on the promise of Singh's writing . The erotic scenes are blatantly repetitive and very few and far in between . Singh bores you with insipid details of his household life and mundane , practical descriptions of each of his mistresses and girlfriends , which I doubt even a seasoned gossip will resort to !! If you go hungering for erotica , this is not even decent ( or , indecent ) to start with ! If you go expecting an average novel of Singh's cadre , you won't be rewarded on that front too !! There is nothing this novel whips up except its tantalizing illusion of a name . The cliche stands firmly, don't judge a book by its cover .

[Puja · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm experiencing ambivalency. Well, yes it's erotic. And it tackles the muddiness of the concept of love and lust, and of sex as a basic instinct.

[Raghav Sharma · Rating 2 out of 5]

Fantasies of Khushwant Singh and probably those of the male kind

[Shadin Pranto · Rating 3 out of 5]

খুশবন্ত সিংয়ের লেখা যারা পড়েছেন, তারা জানেন তিনি যৌনতাকে বিশেষ গুরুত্ব বরাবরই দেন। তার চিহ্ন উপন্যাসগুলোতে পাই। এমনকি জনাবের আত্মজীবনী " ট্রুথ লাভ এন্ড এ লিটল ম্যালিস" বইতেও অকপটে সব কথা লিখেছেন। যৌনতা যেন খুশবন্ত সিংয়ের রচনার বিশেষ বৈশিষ্ট্য।

এই উপন্যাসটির বাংলায় অনুবাদ করেছেন আনোয়ার হোসেইন মঞ্জু। অনুবাদ ভালো।

উপন্যাসটির কথক মোহন কুমার। এই মোহন কুমারের জীবনকে নিয়েই ২২৪ পাতার উপন্যাসটি।

উপন্যাসের শুরুতেই দেখা যায় স্ত্রী সনুর সাথে বিবাহবিচ্ছেদকে উদযাপিত করতে চলেছে মোহন। সে যেন আজ মুক্ত বিহঙ্গ। কেন এই বিবাহবিচ্ছেদ তা জানতে জানতে উপন্যাসের ঘটনা মোড় নেয় অন্যদিকে। মুক্ত মোহন জড়িয়ে পড়ে গৃহকর্মীর সাথে। এই সম্পর্ক মনের নয় বরং পুরোটাই দেহজ।

এদিকে পত্রিকায় বিজ্ঞাপন দেয় মোহন কুমার। বিষয়বস্তু বেশ অভিনব। সে সঙ্গী হিসেবে নারী চাইছে। আর তা হবে পারস্পারিক বোঝাপড়ার ভিত্তিতে। ধনবান মোহন কুমারের বিজ্ঞাপনে সাড়া দেয় অনেক নারী। এমন একটি ঘটনা বয়ানের মাধ্যমে ঠিক কি ম্যাসেজ দিলেন খুশবন্ত সিং? টাকার বিনিময়ে সবই মেলে?

এদিকে কলেজ শিক্ষিকা সরোজিনী হন মোহন কুমারেট চুক্তিভিত্তিক সঙ্গিনী। এই সঙ্গের পুরোটাই যৌনতা কেন্দ্রীক। সরোজিনী চলে গেলে খুশবন্ত সিং মোহন কুমারের অতীতের গল্প শোনান পাঠককে।

নিম্নমধ্যবিত্তের মা মরা ছেলে মোহন কুমার বাবার কাছে বেড়ে উঠেছে। আর ছোটবেলার পরিস্থিতি তাকে মুখোমুখি করেছে যৌনতার। দারুণ মেধার পরিচয় দেয়া মোহন বৃত্তি নিয়ে পড়তে যায় যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের প্রিন্সটন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ে।

বিশ্বের অন্যতম সেরা এই বিদ্যায়তনের শিক্ষা পরিবেশ আর পাঠদানের বর্ণনা আদতেই মুগ্ধ করবে। সেই সাথে যুক্তরাষ্ট্রের জীবনযাত্রার ছবিও আছে। আছে মোহন কুমারের রমণীমোহনে রূপান্তরের চিত্র। আফ্রিকান - আমেরিকান জেসিকা ব্রাউনের মাধ্যমে মোহন কুমারের যৌনতার স্বাদ লাভ। এরপর একেরপর এক নারী এসেছে মোহন কুমারের জীবনে। এসেছে অপ্রত্যাশিত মধ্যবয়সী নারী ইয়াসমিন। যার সাথে মোহনের পরিচয় তুলনামূলক ধর্মতত্ত্বের ক্লাসে। ভারতের মোহন কুমারের সাথে শেষতক আজাদ কাশ্মিরের ইয়াসমিনের সম্পর্কটা অন্যদিকে গড়ায়।

প্রিন্সটন বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের সেরা ছাত্র হয়ে মোহন ভারতে ফিরলেন। সরকারি চাকুরে বাবার পিড়াপীড়িতে মোহন বাধ্য হন ধনবান অথচ বিদ্যাহীন পরিবারের মেয়ে সনুকে। সনুকে কেন বিয়ে করলেন মোহন? স্রেফ হয়ত শরীরের জন্য।

সনুর সাথে সম্পর্কটা জমেনি মোহন কুমারের। শুধুই তা বৈবাহিকরূপটা বাঁচিয়ে রাখার জন্য। সনু চরিত্রটি ফুটিয়ে তোলে এমন পরিবারের চিত্র যেখানে পিতা-পুত্রের মাঝে বিভেদের দেয়াল গড়ে উঠতে থাকে। দাদা-নাতির চিরন্তন মধুর মেলামেশাকে মেনে নিতে পারেনি মোহনের স্ত্রী। তিক্ততা এড়াতে মোহনের বৃদ্ধ পিতা চলে যান হরিদ্বার। আশ্রমে।

পিতা চলে যাওয়ার স্বামী-স্ত্রীর মাঝে রসায়নটা আর গড়ে উঠেনি। চূড়ান্ত তিক্তটা এনে দেয় চূড়ান্ত বিচ্ছেদ।

এরপর মলি গোমেজ, মেরি জোসেফ, সুশান্তিকার সাথে জড়িয়েছে মোহন কুমার। সেইসব সম্পর্কের ক্ষেত্রে সুশান্তিকা ব্যতীত বাদবাকি সকলের সাথেই ছিল টাকার বিনিময়ে আনন্দলাভ।

অতঃপর মোহন কুমারের উপলব্ধি সে এক মরণঘাতী ব্যাধিতে আক্রান্ত। মৃত্যু আসছে!

খুশবন্ত সিং মোহন কুমারের সাথে প্রতিটি নারীর সাথে দেহজ সম্পর্কের খুববেশি খোলামেলা বিবরণ দিয়েছেন।একেবারেই তাতে শাব্দিক বাধানিষেধও ছিল না। কেন খুশবন্ত সিং এমন 'ইরোটিক' উপন্যাস লিখলেন?

খুশবন্ত সিংয়ের মোহন কুমার আসলে আমাদের সমাজের সভ্যভব্য মানুষদের মনোজগতের বাসিন্দা। একজন মানুষের মধ্য অনেকজন বসবাস করে। মানুষদের যৌনচিন্তাকে একেবারে সোজাসাপ্টাভাবে লিখেছেন ঔপন্যাসিক। আমাদের সাধু মনে বসবাসকারী শয়তানকে উপস্থাপন করেছেন আপাদমস্তক ভোগবাদের পূজারি হিসেবে। মোহন কুমার শুধু সময়কে উপভোগ করতে জানে। বিশ্বাস করে জীবন একটাই। কেন একে আমরা আনন্দময় করে তুলবো না। পন্থা যা খুশী হোক। এই মোহন কুমার তো ব্যক্তিমানুষ নয়, সে আদি এবং অকৃত���রিম ভোগী, লোভী এবং যৌনতাকে এক নম্বরে প্রাধাণ্য দেয়া হাজারো, লাখো কিংবা কোটি মানুষের প্রতিচ্ছবি!

তবে এই উপন্যাসের নারী-পুরুষের সম্পর্কের বর্ণনা এতবেশি রগরগে তা ঔপন্যাসিক সম্পর্কে ইতিবাচক ভাবনা বদলে রসদ জোগায় একে অতি সস্তামানের বাজারী উপন্যাস ভাবতে। সিদ্ধান্ত আপনার। তবে সিদ্ধান্ত নিতে হলেও উপন্যাসটি পড়তে হবে।

[Archana Amaragandhi · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘The Company of Women’ – Not exactly a title that we expect from an eighty five year old author, Khushwant Singh. It piqued my curiosity to read the amorous creativity of an old man or at least that’s the excuse I gave myself for picking up this book from my shelf. The narration was simple and lucid, detailing the sex life of the protagonist without describing it, passing sarcastic snide here and there clearly establishing that it far from porn. Though I had my smiles at his very subtle references, I was neither on the same page with the author, nor was I left far behind.

For an Indian conservative mind, this book is blasphemy. For the westernized liberals, it is another possibility. For the middle (wo)men like me, this story is controversy. Maybe that is what I should admit that I liked it.

[Shantanu · Rating 1 out of 5]

Despite the author's disclaimer that this is nothing but the fantasies of an octogenarian, this book is definitely not worth our time. Each chapter(or woman) goes through the same set of events(which includes an appreciation of the protagonist's enormous manhood), which gets depressingly boring after the tenth page.

Kushwant Singh calls this book a set of his senile fantasies and they are exactly what he says they are. There's nothing here, neither the eroticism of his other encounters nor any world view or scathing commentary. Just a humdrum account of infidelity that reaches Ekta Kapoor levels of idiocy.

Do not read(unless you have a challenge to cope up with and someone lent you his book).

[Mehreen Shaikh · Rating 2 out of 5]

Basically everything I hate in a man. I have so many issues with EVERYTHING in this book that it makes me question why Khushwant Singh is such a celebrated author.

The last thing one needs to read is about a highly educated pervert talking about his ginormous penis. LIKE DUDE GET OVER YOURSELF!

[Shweta Panda · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have mixed feelings regarding this book. When I read it for the first time, I couldn't complete it. I felt bad as I was so young and just couldn't allow myself to read such a book with so much of adult materials. It was awkward and vulgar for me at that time. After I grew up, I read it again with the eyes of an adult. It is thought to be an erotic story but I felt as if it is not all about intimacy and sexual relationships. It is much more than that. It is dark and complex. It shows the psychology of a single man yearning for love which he never gets.
Many instances proves that he was a simple ordinary man apart from all those things like the way he expresses his happiness while urinating in the garden and other things. He just had too much of sexual urge which wasn't healthy after all.
It is also a critique of the institution of marriage in our Indian society. The way marriages are finalized is gruesome and debatable. It has also been shown how we can never live a perfectly private life. People never leave us in peace even when our partner is a willing one.

What I didn't like at all is the fact that, when Mohan gets married, he never tries to love his wife. He doesn't even gives her a chance and hates her from the first day of their marriage. Never being able to get out of his past, his lustful nature gives in and he once again falls into the trap of his carnal desires.

Full review at https://flyleaflifestyle.blogspot.com...
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Book blog https://flyleaflifestyle.blogspot.com/

[Twinkle Sibomana · Rating 3 out of 5]

The company of women
As always Kushwant singh’s prose brilliant, entraining and enlightening.
The Company of Women

[Saaida · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just like always, ended up hating men.

[Iza B. Aziz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karya kali ini dianggap erotika pada ramai pembaca. Tapi kenapa bagi saya tidak? Ia sebuah kisah menyedihkan yang merungkai kesunyian Mohan Kumar. Dia, lelaki yang prejudis terhadap cinta dan menyanjung nafsu berahi. Namun, ego zakarnya kalah jua dengan sentuhan hati.

𝙏𝙤 𝙢𝙚 𝙨𝙚𝙭 𝙬𝙖𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙣𝙚𝙚𝙙 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙣 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚 𝙤𝙧 𝙘𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙖𝙣𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥. 𝙁𝙤𝙧 𝙩𝙤𝙤 𝙡𝙤𝙣𝙜 𝙝𝙖𝙫𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙗𝙚𝙚𝙣 𝙛𝙤𝙤𝙡𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙤 𝙗𝙚𝙡𝙞𝙚𝙫𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙗𝙖𝙨𝙞𝙨 𝙤𝙛 𝙖 𝙝𝙖𝙥𝙥𝙮 𝙢𝙖𝙣-𝙬𝙤𝙢𝙖𝙣 𝙧𝙚𝙡𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙞𝙨 𝙡𝙤𝙫𝙚.

Tuan Khushwant Singh tidak menggunakan seks sebagai keseronokan tetapi suatu cara untuk memahami trauma mereka. Ia novel mengacau moraliti saya! Halus dan menjentik tiap naluri kemanusiaan saya. Adakah saya layak menghakimi terus Mohan dan teman-teman rahsianya?
_____________________
𝙉𝙤𝙗𝙤𝙙𝙮 𝙗𝙤𝙩𝙝𝙚𝙧𝙨 𝙖𝙗𝙤𝙪𝙩 𝙢𝙖𝙧𝙧𝙞𝙖𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙬𝙝𝙞𝙘𝙝 𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙; 𝙚𝙫𝙚𝙧𝙮𝙤𝙣𝙚 𝙞𝙨 𝙙𝙚𝙚𝙥𝙡𝙮 𝙞𝙣𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙙 𝙞𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙣𝙜𝙨 𝙜𝙤 𝙬𝙧𝙤𝙣𝙜.

Hal perkahwinan menjadi suatu kritikan untuk para sosialit. Budaya perkahwinan yang diatur memaknai dengan kasta, kekayaan, warna kulit dan kemegahan hipokrasi. Ia bukan tentang perkongsian perasaan, apatah lagi cinta.

Kemusnahan perkahwinan Mohan dan Sonu memeritkan saya. Saya panas hati dengan sikap narsistik Sonu dan keluarga. Ia dicurah sebaiknya untuk memberi pandangan kesan apabila kita berseteru dengan orang yang tiada intelektual emosi.
_____________________
Saya amat menghargai gaya penulisan pengarang. Seolah saya juga diam dalam kesesakan kota Delhi dan menikmati keindahan matahari terbit di Haridwar. Dari dialog dan sandiwara mampu buat saya jelik, ketawa dan hampir menangis.

Tuan Khushwant tidak mahu saya menyukai Mohan Kumar. Cukup sekadar untuk saya memahami dan menemani sehingga akhir hayatnya. Novel yang saya tak akan lupa baca. Bukan kerana babak asmara tetapi mesej erti teman yang sejati.

[Shehzad Ali · Rating 5 out of 5]

What yearning for companionship does to a man! An ordinary story, almost a fantasy, yet powerful enough to showcase the void, lack of companionship causes. Mohan! DECIDES to not settle down unless finds “it”. More than a big “thong”, one needs bigger courage to go for it.

[Praveen Kumar · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is the sexual fantasies of an octogenarian.
The book starts with the divorce of Mohan Kumar, a father of two,a millionaire in his early forties,with his wife. Since he was very active in his sex life, he could control his urge for the bodily needs. He advertised in the dailies for a suitable companion to live with him with no strings attached.

He started living with many women in his house, for short span of time, with each woman. He somewhat started to like each person who he had started to live with. But after some time they could not continue their life because of one or more reasons and the woman had to leave him. He lived with more than five or six women. All were from different backgrounds and no one is related to any other. At the end of each saga, he was very much involved with woman as he asked them to write him after their departure. But no one had written to him and he would start the next affair afterwards.

He lost his mother at his very early age and loved his,conservative Hindu, father very much.He had studied in Princeton, USA. There in Princeton, he had innumerable sexual affairs with all kinds of women. One of them was Yasmeen, a Muslim from Pakistan(Azad Kashmir). They would argue on religions and our general attitudes towards each other country's people. The author was very crisp in his telling of religious concepts and their implications.

He returned to India hoping for a very good career ahead. His father married him off to a wealthy man's daughter in the Delhi Elite circle. He started his career in some export business and his business started flourishing within some months. He became one of the youngest millionaires in Delhi. But his family life started crumbling. His wife always loathing him and his father. This made his father to leave their house and went to Haridwar (near Ganges) where he lived his rest of the life. Mohan would see his father once in every month on a full moon day. They would go to the 'Har Ki Pari' ghat to see the small floating puja lights in the ganges in the fading twilight. This would always give him some peace and solace.

People started to gossip about him as a womanizer.He doesn't care for people bitching about him behind his back. He was enjoying his life as he likes.

The same sexual affairs which gave him pleasure, gave him the incurable HIV virus. He was dejected once he knew about that. After fighting the disease for 2 years, he took the easiest route, suicide (may be the most philosophical route,as said by Camus) to his death.

The author was very clear in his writing as Mohan was very clear in his sexual needs.He didn't commit any rape or molest any woman. May be the society which he had lived would spoke him of as womanizer but he didn't care for those things. He lived his life as he likes. But at the end he had gone with no one at his death bed. Price of being a social outcast in the society.

[Book'd Hitu · Rating 3 out of 5]

My first Khushwant Singh book. 3.5 Stars !!!

I heard a lot about this author and lastly decided to give one of his books a try.
As it is said, majority of his works revolves around sex & controversy. So yes, this book do involves loads of it.

This is a story of a rich and handsome Indian guy named Mohan Kumar who owns a male organ big enough to surprize all his female partners. Which make them saying “you have the biggest, I have ever seen", "I had the greatest sex of my life" and so on......

Mohan Kumar is a son of a middle class father. His adventures start at the foreign university with a black girl, few more during study period. Then he gets back to India and gets married to an Indian virgin and ill-tempered girl, become father of two children and finally gets separated as they failed to carry on with their marriage.

Sex seems a goal of his life, he went for a newspaper advertisement for accompanying women partners who can stay with him for a specific period and he can have all fun without any complaints. The story goes ahead with his encounters with different women from Goa, Sri Lanka, prostitutes, his house maid and many others.

Khuswant's writing style can hold your interest in the book right from the beginning till end. There is no place to boredom in this book. I was little surprised when Mohan Kumar get rid of his children so easily along with his wife and there was no single occasion where he mentions them until the last chapter. I feel he was living for hook ups with women and he simply didn't get time to remember his children between series of sexual encounters.

I feel that Khushwant has fetched a few controversial sentences in this book which the situations don’t demand but they were deliberately stated, which can stirr the strings of emotions of community readers.

However, in overall the book was a easy breaezy and thoroughly enjoyable read.
Recommended to all who want to read a light erotica with a little story telling around.

[Shruti · Rating 1 out of 5]

I have just one sentence for this book. "Shittily pathetic piece of a dysfunctional lingum (dick in other words)". What utter nonsense and such a waste of time. Khushwant Singh is renowned and respected. If for this, then I am glad to have not read his other works.

Forget about the writing style which resembles that of any sixth grade student, trying to write a really classic piece of essay on a very complicated subject. I really cannot understand the hypocrite mind of Indian writers who want to write on a bold and taboo subject but out of fear of rejection give it such a conventional ending. You cannot write an erotica while giving it an stupid end of getting inflicted with HIV.

Did I just say erotica?? Oh yes! I read somewhere that it is an erotica, perhaps on the back of the cover. Believe me, I have read better erotic stories on websites written by unknown authors. The company of women failed dismally on that front too. Stale memories, stale imaginations and stale words. I skipped a lot of love making sessions just to progress through the story. Not so much of an erotica huh!

Indian writers should stop writing about sex if they want to get approved by the society. If they will, at least a free-spirited man who wanted to live life on his own terms will not die of AIDS. At least it will not send a subtle message that living life on your own terms will have a dismal ending. Rather hypocritical for a culture that worships sex as divine union.

Oh and by the way, I wish the writer stop flaunting the size of his ****, because nobody cares in real life. Really nobody cares.

[Tavleen Kaur (Travelling Through Words) · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars

The only piece of work by Khushwant Singh that I had read before was his short story The Portrait of a Lady. I absolutely loved that story and I especially loved his powerful writing. After reading the synopsis, I wasn't expecting much from this book and didn't get much either.
I honestly don't know what to make of this book. It is the life story of a man with an insatiable sex drive and who seeks the company of different women. I'm trying to understand if there is a purpose behind this book. What is it trying to tell us? I liked how it portrayed the reality of Indian society but what I can't decipher is Mohan Kumar and his story. I certainly hope I like his other works more.

[Riju Ganguly · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I HAVE read several books that can be classified as rather risque (from all angles), this so-called erotica, failed to thrill me (forget about titillation). It acts as a good book as long as you try to read it as a literary effort to describe (honestly) what goes inside the mind of a middle-aged, lonely, and abandoned man. No, I am not sympathising with the protagonist of this novel. But this book really didn't "work".

[Poonam Garvan · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book is an absolute horror considering how well Khushwant Singh writes. The characters are weakly constructed and I seriously don't understand why it was called a "triumph". The Novel is full of cliches and there is not one sex encounter that would go without the woman praising the thing of this guy. The later half was tolerable enough to get me through it.

[Vijay Chengappa · Rating 3 out of 5]

It's funny when we think that in 1990s India, this is what passed off for being Risque fiction and KS was heralded as one of the debonair heroes who didn't give a damn.
We thankfully have moved on a long way from that world, hopefully to never return.
This book at best is a short train/flight read, and has nothing memorable to recount.