Mohanaswamy

by Vasudhendra, Rashmi Terdal (Translator), ವಸುಧೇಂದ್ರ

'Much like the great James Baldwin, the acclaimed Kannada writer Vasudhendra has transformed his personal experience of bigotry, shame and tragedy into harrowing but magnificent truth-telling. His work will leave you impatient with other writers.' -Siddharth Dube, author of No One Else.

Mohanaswamy has just lost his long-time partner, Karthik, to a woman. Even as he scrutinizes himself, the choices he’s made, the friends and lovers he’s gained and lost, Mohanaswamy dreams of living a simple, dignified life. A life that would allow him to leave, even forget, the humiliation and fears of adolescence, the slurs his mind still carries around – gandu sule, hennu huli – and the despair that made him crave to conform.

A coming out of the closet for Vasudhendra himself, these stories of homosexual love and lives jolted Kannada readers out of their notions of the literary and the palatable. The gritty narratives of Mohanaswamy explore sexuality, urbanisation and class with a nuance and an unflinching honesty that will both unnerve and move readers in English and serve as a fine introduction to one of the strongest voices in Kannada literature.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/ci...

Translator Rashmi Terdal is a journalist with the Times of India, Bengaluru.

Genres: Queer, Fiction, LGBT, Short Stories, Indian Literature, India, Audiobook

280 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

About the author

Vasudhendra (ವಸುಧೇಂದ್ರ) was born at Sandur in Ballari district, Karnataka. After working as a software professional for more than twenty years, Vasudhendra now runs his own publication house, Chanda Pustaka, which publishes and encourages new writing in Kannada and has instituted the Chanda Pustaka Award which recognizes young short story writers. He is also associated with local support groups for LGBT individuals. The author of thirteen books in Kannada, that have sold over 80,000 copies, Vasudhendra has won many literary awards, including the Kannada Sahitya Academy Book Prize, the Da Raa Bendre Story Award and the Dr U.R. Ananthamurthy Award.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vasudhe...

https://kn.wikipedia.org/wiki/%E0%B2%...

Reviews

[Reading_ Tamishly · Rating 4 out of 5]

💝Pride Month Recommendation 🏳️‍🌈
Another amazing translated piece of literature!

I cannot believe why such books are still not talked about much. But well, let me talk about it here and now.

First of all, it's a story about a character whose sexuality is unacceptable in the society he lives in starting from his nearest and dearest ones.

It's not a story of just one character representing LGBTQIAP but also other characters who are bisexual and who enjoys cross-dressing.

It explores this topic so well in a reserved society where the parents blame themselves for bearing their child late which might have turned them into someone of unacceptable gender/someone with unacceptable sexuality.

I was a bit put off when I started reading the book because I felt like the main character, Mohanaswamy, had no personality and would have no character development. Well, how wrong I was.

Yes, there are more than a few parts which I found uncomfortable reading because of the violence towards these people, toxic and cheating partners, and people being homophobic towards them.

This story accurately represents how the lives of such people as Mohanaswamy are struggling throughout their lives, either hiding or living a life of loneliness the worst being having them to take extreme steps.

Such an important read.

[Praachi · Rating 3 out of 5]

The charcaters have my sympathy, but not empathy. I think the translation is what let this book down.

[Gorab · Rating 5 out of 5]

Marvelous. Much needed gem.

Story of growing up being a homosexual. Being ridiculed, sneered by society, and even family, it elaborates on different topics and attempts to demystify some myths around gays.

What I loved most was the language used, across zig zagged timeline. Simple, accessible, evoking empathy. Narrating various incidences and encounters, Mohanaswamy recounts their experience growing up identifying themselves. Psychology of love, lust, stigma and insecurity is beautifully portrayed!
Multiple points of view, including various sexual orientations, enriches the content.

Each chapter can be read as an individual story, but they are all connected episodes from Mohanaswamy's life.

Loved it right from the first page of first story. Kilimanjaro was an apt ending. Everything in between was at times poignant, but beautiful.

There is an author interview with the translator included with this edition in the end. Vasudhendra himself came out of the closet after 40+ years. This book has opened up corridors for many people having similar journey, who were craving for a connection.

Overall:
Highly recommended.

[Padmaja · Rating 4 out of 5]

A very bold book, this book shook the Kannada literary scene when it released in 2013. This was a coming out of the closet for Vasudhendra too, which is why I felt that this book, in some parts, was semi-autobiographical in nature.

Mohanaswamy, is the story of his life, his relationships, the things he had to go through when he discovered his sexuality, and the harsh realities of being a gay man in India.

The book is like a jigsaw puzzle. It's divided into short stories. They seem like short stories in themselves, but when you put them all together, you get a beguiling picture. The narrative oscillates back and forth to Mohanaswamy's past and present, and that's not confusing which is a relief. The stories were diverse in themselves, with one story being about a transgender.

Vasudhendra made sure that the readers feel the pain and anguish of the protagonist. It also highlighted how parenting plays a pivotal role in shaping the personality of a child. It can either make it or break it. It beautifully put the spotlight on the ignorance and superstitions of people towards homosexuality. How for some, the fear of being shunned off from soceity takes over their thinking instead of thinking about the happiness of their child.

Despite Ancient India's sexuality being very fluid, that got lost somewhere and people began considering homosexuality as a taboo, thinking of it as a disease, a kind of perversion. I am glad that it's now finally decriminalized in India and the LGBTQ community can live proudly.

However, I have my complaints with the book too. First of all, I couldn't connect much with Mohanaswamy. I couldn't understand how he was so naive. The constant use of cock irritated me a lot. Somewhere along the book, I felt that desire took over him a lot. During those pages, I felt lust overtook the book instead of writing more about Mohanaswamy.

I was aware about homophobia, but this book really really shook me. It brought out so many emotions in me.
I will still say, keep an open mind while reading this book. I still am unsure how I feel about this book.
3.5⭐
I will still say my favourite book about LGBTQ will be Cobalt Blue.
I also felt that the translation was dry in some places and it had little editing mistakes here and there. Also some stereotypes took over. I was constantly thinking, would the stories be better in Kannada? A must read. Even if Section 377 is abolished, people's mindsets need to change and I am happy that times are changing.

[Swati · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unrequited love is perhaps one of the most painful feelings there is. In Mohanaswamy, the eponymously named protagonist, experiences that feeling many times over. Mohanaswamy is a gay man from rural Karnataka in India. Gay, rural, India – there, that’s three times right there.
In this pioneering work of gay Kannada literature, Vasudhendra opens up a world of hate, disgust, and every other feeling that’s not unadulterated love to show a charcoal grey picture of what one side of humanity faces on a daily basis. The book is less a novel and more a series of vignettes predominantly focusing on Mohanaswamy but also on people associated with him.

Mohanaswamy’s childhood is spent in people ‘correcting’ him on every aspect of his being. His posture, his voice, his mannerisms. Everything needed to be set straight. Consequently, he lives in a constant state of confusion for a long time. He tries to curb the deep desire that rises in him when he sees a brawny arm or muscled shoulders. He tells himself he needs to stop doing certain things to be ‘normal’. And it’s not just him. It’s the family too. In “Anagha-the Sinless,” Kalleshi is punished simply for not being interested in women. His life would be better if he had been a philanderer like his father. Shankar Gowda’s family disowns him for ‘bringing disgrace’ to their name. Loneliness is a constant for all of them and I felt a myriad of emotions while reading the book – anger, sadness, disbelief.

Mohanaswamy comes across as unbelievably naïve sometimes. He is also led by lust more than love, and this aspect mars the overall impact of the book at times. The translation, although tells the stories faithfully, lacked finesse and finish. I could see that many of the sentences were literal translations from Kannada, and it could have been told better in English. That said, the importance and need for more books like this cannot be undermined. We don’t have to be ‘liberal’, we just need to be kinder and more accepting. And only more books like this can bring about that change.

[Piya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Unless some things got lost in translation, the only unique feature of the book seems to be that the protagonist is gay. I was hoping it will be more nuanced and that the 'emotional realm' to be more in focus. Instead, the lust overtook the love and it ended up reading like a racy biopic of a hormone driven young adult. I would have really liked the relationships to be etched more deeply instead of the protagonist vacillating between heartbreak and acquiring casual lovers. Overall a quick read but nothing memorable.

[Akanksh · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was excited to read a queer Kannada book but this book was as disappointing as possible. The characters and plotlines of the stories were just pathetic and straight up disgusting. It's ironic how this queer book had better non queer stories but even they couldn't salvage the book. There are so many things I hate about this book but I don't even care enough to list them. This book would probably make a person more homophobic than accepting. Would not recommend

[Surabhi Chatrapathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Despite our history, mythology and culture being sexually fluid and accepting, Indian society even today to a large extent clings to its gender norms with iron clutches.
Though many families have now becoming more aware and accepting of the LGBTQ community, we are far from being a equitable society.
Set in Karnataka in the 80's, Mohanaswamy by Vasudhendra, the book deeply explores the life and journey of its lead character, Mohanaswamy. (Translated from Kannada by Rashmi Terdal). Growing up in rural Karnataka, how he discovers his sexuality, the guilt that he suffers for being gay, for 'sinning' against God.
Then his life in Bangalore, where he still has to hide is love for men and lead a false life; his failed relationships and the depts of loneliness he traverses. I have never read something like this before, or thought about how difficult it must be to be gay in a culture that so strongly shuns even the idea of it.
The books lays bare the emotional turmoil that he goes through throughout his life just because people around him failed to understand him and he feared to be himself because of that.

The story shook the Kannada literary world for the absolute rawness with which it presents the story of Mohana.
A book one must read to understand the layers of harrasment, shame and guilt one goes through for being gay in India.

[Krishna Ramamoorthy · Rating 1 out of 5]

this book I have been wanting to read ever since it was published and ever since I saw articles in the paper about him. I would admit I had a certain amount of curiosity as well. But, I felt let down – it was like reading pulp fiction – there was scope of conveying the emotions, the turmoil, the discrimination, the mental agony – these were all there – but everything was overtaken by the titillating value of exposure, physical desire – anything was seen only through this eye..I am waiting for a book on other aspects – definitely this held so much scope for those layers also to come out..

[Krutika · Rating 5 out of 5]

Mohanaswamy - #bookrecommendation
•
I have been reading a lot of translated works this year and the ones that are originally written in Kannada hold a special place in my heart. Kannada is my mother tongue but my inability to read it as well as I read English had me in a dilemma for I would have to miss out on so many amazing books. But translated versions make our lives so much easier. Originally written in Kannada in 2013, this book caused a quite a bit of controversy in the literary industry. It's a coming of age journey of a gay man in a village where people do not have enough knowledge about sexuality.
•
Mohanaswamy comes from a small village in Karnataka and from a very young age he knows that he's different from the other boys. He prefers playing with his sister's dolls and loves spending time inside the house rather than playing with the boys outside. His family notices his traits and often abuse him verbally for being so effeminate. When he thinks back to his childhood, he is often reminded of sour experiences coming from his very own family. His father shuns him after realising that he's gay. Coming from a rural place, there are many absurd ideas thrown across as to why a man turns out to be gay. Mohanaswamy struggles with his sexuality almost his entire life. His life starts to seem much better once he moves to Bangalore for work where he meets Karthik. They fall in love.
•
The two men live together until one day Karthik decides to marry a woman and breaks Mohanaswamy's heart. Mohanaswamy is back to square one where he's afraid of baring his heart to any man. During his search to have causal sex with men from dating apps, he goes through many strange experiences. A man once steals his iPad after having sex, another states that he doesn't have sex with Brahmins for a silly reason and more often than not, Mohanaswamy gets attracted to married men. This book shows an intimate glimpse into the lives of homosexual relationships. The protagonist finds himself being shooed away by people time and again who fail to understand that there's nothing wrong in being gay. Wherever he goes, a bunch of hypocrites follow him.
•
The author has beautifully explained what it feels like to be afraid of the society where people do not accept such gender fluidity. India, even now does not think freely when it comes down to considering the concept of sexuality. This book also turned out to be a significant coming out of the closet moment for the author. Vasudhendra has ever since helped many gay men and women in counselling them to face their families and society. A brilliant read. 4.5 stars just because the ending was a bit flat.

[Jayakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories revolving around a gay man--–Mohanaswamy is primarily a tale of the woes of being gay in India. Perhaps the greatest significance of this book is that it was written originally in Kannada, and apparently, was well received by the community at large. While Indian queer literature in English grew substantially in recent years, the vernacular landscape was more or less barren. Mohanaswamy is an exception.

We see Mohanaswamy going through all the rites of passage that many gay men are all too familiar with---growing up gay in the countryside, being called names, trying to be macho, getting ridiculed on playgrounds, exhibiting the Best Little Boy In The World syndrome, earning an engineering degree and moving to a big city, pining for love and lust, trying to find them on dating apps, being coerced to marry a woman, being blackmailed, getting scorned by lovers, growing old alone...
The gay reader can relate to all of these. What is remarkable is that Vasudhendra writes with such candour that the real-lifeness of these stories could jolt the uninformed non-gay reader. Kudos to the author and the translator. (A few phrases here and there did make me cringe though.)

[Aswathy Ithalukal · Rating 2 out of 5]

വാസുധേന്ദ്ര
മോഹനസ്വാമി

പുരുഷൻ പുരുഷനെ പ്രണയിച്ച കഥകൾ എന്ന ടൈറ്റിൽ ടാഗോടെ വന്ന പുസ്തകമാണിത്.. ഒരാളുടെ ജീവിത അനുഭവങ്ങൾ കൂടിയാണെന്ന് അവസാന ഭാഗത്തെ അഭിമുഖം വായിച്ചപ്പോഴാണ് മനസിലായത്.

Homosexual അനുഭവങ്ങൾ ചിലതൊക്കെ കേട്ടിട്ടും സോഷ്യൽ മീഡിയ വഴിയെല്ലാം ചിലരുടെ അനുഭവങ്ങൾ ഒക്കെയും വായിച്ചിട്ടും ഉണ്ടെങ്കിലും ഇതൊരു പുതിയ അനുഭവമായിരുന്നു ഈ പുസ്തകം..

പക്ഷേ ഈ കഥകളിൽ ഒക്കെ പറയുന്നത് എല്ലാ ആണുങ്ങളോടും ഈ വിധത്തിൽ തോന്നുന്ന അവസ്ഥ ആദ്യമായിട്ടാണ് വായിക്കുന്നത്.. പ്രണയം നമുക്ക് ചിലരോട് മാത്രം തോന്നുന്ന വസ്തുത ആണെന്നെരിക്കെ എല്ലാരോടും പ്രണയം തോന്നുന്നത്.. സെക്സ് ചെയ്യുന്നതൊക്കെയും എനിക്ക് പുതിയ അറിവായിരുന്നു. ഇത്തരത്തിൽ ഒരാൾ എന്റെ അറിവിൽ ഇല്ലാത്തത് കൊണ്ടും ആകാം...

ഈ കഥകളിൽ ഒക്കെ സ്വവർഗരതിയെ പറ്റിയും അവരോട് സമൂഹത്തിനുള്ള സമീപനവും.. ഒരാൾക്ക് ഞാൻ ഒരു സ്വവർഗരതിക്കാരാണ് എന്നു പറയാൻ സാധിക്കാതെ വരുന്ന സാമൂഹിക അവസ്ഥയുടെ നേര്കാഴ്ചയും ഒക്കെയാണ്..

ഇത്തരത്തിലുള്ള ആളോട് സമൂഹത്തിന്റെ പ്രതികരണം തീരെ മോശമാണ്... ഇനിയും ഇത്തരം വിഷയങ്ങളിൽ പുസ്തകങ്ങൾ ഒരുപാട് ആവശ്യമായ ഒരു കാലഘട്ടം കൂടിയാണ്..

[Jesus Ramirez · Rating 2 out of 5]

It’s an interesting book, that’s for sure.
To be completely honest, I expected something completely different, it is not a novel, more of a conjunction of short stories. I didn’t like how the author portrait the homosexual community at moments, he described some acts as if they we not capable of controlling their sexual desires, as if their homosexuality was something that created uncontrollable lust. It made you think that maybe the author was homophobic, by the way he described some actions, that maybe he wanted to give the gay community a bad image.
The book has some good moments though, but the weird and bad feeling outweighed the good parts. Maybe it was the translation, who knows.

[Hemanth Kumar M · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's a bunch of 11 small stories.

[Smitha Murthy · Rating 5 out of 5]

For almost the whole of last week, my family was on an extended Vasudhendra reading spree. My Mom was reading his short stories and my sister was reading ‘Tejo Tungabhadra.’ When I told Vasudhendra about it, I realized belatedly and shamefacedly that I hadn’t read any of his books. Unlike my Mom and sister, I would probably struggle to read in Kannada, despite it being the language I grew up with. So, I turned to the only one of Vasudhendra’s works in English - ‘Mohanaswamy.’

And I spent the whole of my Sunday immersed in it. The narrative is unlike any other I have read - vignettes of Mohanaswamy’s life, shifting through childhood and adulthood in no particular order. I was moved by the searing glimpses into queer life, artfully and lovingly crafted into words. This book is a rarity in Kannada literature - an honest exploration of what it is to be queer, especially in rural Karnataka. Mohanswamy himself appears to be almost everyone’s reflection - there were times I felt for him, times when I felt frustrated by him, times when I couldn’t understand him. I guess that’s how I appear too - to myself and others. Brimming with life, chaos, confusion, love, and desire, there’s a real gem you have crafted here, Vasudhendra.

(I wish someone at Harper Collins would proofread this book - the number of errors were glaring, and that’s a shame as it’s no reflection of the writer’s craft).

[Chittajit Mitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story is about the life of Mohanaswamy, his journey from a young boy to a man in his fifties struggling to accept who he is & coping with the harsh realities of life being a gay man. The book has been divided into several chapters which are like short stories themselves but when the reader looks at the big picture, it all fits together. The book starts with our protagonist trying to deal with a difficult situation where he comes to know that his long time partner Karthik is going to marry a girl & is suddenly giving him a cold shoulder, as their relationship comes to an abrupt end he tries to move ahead in his life. The story then dwells into his past, where he encounters many humiliating slurs thrown at him which still haunts him. The story then moves forward as he grows older & the men he meets. To devour the stories of gay love, do get this book right now!

Full review can be read on Just Another Bookaholic

[Diego Salvatore · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pero que buen libro.

Después de terminar este libro me quedé bastante pensativo, y es que esta historia te pone en un lugar en el que analizas tu forma de ver las cosas, y lo que es tener una orientación sexual diferente en otras partes.

Mohanaswamy nos cuenta la vida de nuestro protagonista y como desde pequeño supo que era diferente y como trató de comprender lo que estaba pasando viviendo en un pueblo pequeño de la India en donde en su lengua ni siquiera tienen una palabra para "gay" que no sea ofensiva. A lo largo de su vida Mohanaswamy se encuentra con varias dificultades y situaciones que lo ponen muchas veces a analizar su vida y la sociedad en la que vive.

un libro fuerte, un libro rápido de leer pero con gran presencia, sin duda de mis favoritos de este año.

[Manpreet Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Extraordinary collection of short-stories originally written in Kannada. Vasudhendra writes about desire, loneliness, and duty - challenging the reader's perception of sexuality as shameful alongside Mohanaswamy's attempts to navigate his public persona as distinct from his private desires. These stories are raw, poignant, and unapologetically queer. I highly recommend.

[Abhishek · Rating 4 out of 5]

I actually read the untranslated Kannada book which I am sure would be a significantly different experience from reading the English version. The book consists of a set of short stories which can roughly be divided into two parts(the division can be seen as a little arbitrary). The first set has the titular Mohanaswamy as its protagonist - a mild-mannered, sensitive, hard-working, privileged homosexual living in the Bangalore of the 2000s. (Vasudhendra is Kannada's only openly gay author) This set deals with themes of loneliness, pain, betrayal as Mohanaswamy is punished for his desires in more ways than one, and taken advantage of. These cannot be bracketed as "gay stories" as most stories are universal. It had been a while since I had read fiction and Vasudhendra's gifted storytelling made me realise the joys of reading fiction. Two stories stand out in this set. "Kilimanjaro" sees Mohanaswamy battling mind and body as he scales Kilimanjaro with a guide. The author is a real-life trekker and has scaled Kilimanjaro as well. The narration is beautiful - both the description of the natural setting and of Mohanaswamy's mind as he struggles physically and mentally. As he ascends the peak, looks at the boundless space in front of him and breaks down into tears, there is a sense of having witnessed something powerful and meaningful. Vasudhendra takes us very close to this experience.
The other story is the only one which focuses on the pains of somebody else - Mohanaswamy's effeminate childhood friend. The story trudges along comfortably but takes multiple dark turns very quickly towards the end culminating with a transwoman, suicide, murder and prostitution. When another character almost justifies the murder of a transwoman and asks Mohanaswamy not to mourn her, you realise that it is the voice of the society at large - nay, it could be your voice as well. This story disturbed and shook me forcing me to reflect and take a break.

The second set of stories feature different protagonists with many of them set in Bangalore. Bangalore and its associated themes of traffic, modernity commingling and conflicting with tradition, the IT world appear across all the stories. A couple of stories again have a dark abrupt ending. One story which stands out is his take on an episode from the Mahabharata featuring Draupadi as the protagonist as she looks at various characters as flawed human beings and not divine princes. Themes of patriarchy, (Arjuna's) hypocrisy, Kunti's cunning are well explored here.

The plot for many of the stories wasn't nuanced enough and felt a tad unrealistic. Vasudhendra makes up with his storytelling, particularly if you're reading it in Kannada with familiar references to culture and geography.

[Smriti · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

In lieu of it being Pride Month, I decided to finally read a book that I had on my TBR for a while. It was a plus for me personally, that the book was written originally in Telugu and translated in English for my consumption.

The book is about Mohanaswamy and is a collection of short stories of his various experiences - starting from the fact that his long term partner, Kartik, decides to leave him and marry a girl instead. Was this because he was always more attracted to women or that he wanted to fulfil the societal norms? We don’t know because we never do hear from him. It moves on and tells us stories from the span of Mohanaswamy’s life - from when he was a child and trying to understand his sexual desires, his pent up desires breaking out in the most wild ways and trying to understand why he is the way he is.

The book was definitely different from the other queer reads I’ve read so far in India (apart from My Father’s Garden) because it gave you the perspective of a queer person from a village i.e. rural India. You not only see the way he feels, growing into his body and understanding his sexual desires but also the way the people around him react to his mannerisms and actions.

Though I did like the thoughts put across in the book and the representation it gave, I didn’t think this was a particularly life changing book. However, it is quite short and you can read it in the span of a day, so I would still recommend that you read it.

[Vaidya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Interesting collection of stories. While the first half deals with episodes from the life of Mohanaswamy, a gay individual negotiating life & adulthood in Bangalore, the rest get more diverse.
There was one about a transgender, but the rest were on diverse topics like recession, social media/mobile phones, and one even from the Mahabharatha.

Although the stories were interesting, would have loved to have him deal with just theme overall, like LGBTQI issues and stories on their lives. It is not often, in fact I would say it is very rare to come across such good writing on LQBTQI issues in an Indian language. When you finish, the stories that you are left with are those of Mohanaswamy and Shankare Gowda. The rest of them are interesting, but don't seem to fit in this collection. Having said that, they aren't run of the mill stuff ticking off boxes for social media or recession. He still manages to pack a punch there.

Hope to read more of this author. The language is easy to access, even though at times the dialect is from Bellary, and you don't end up struggling with dictionaries. But this can also be attributed to his being a contemporary writer as against the likes of Karantha or KPT.

[Ash · Rating 4 out of 5]

A collection of short stories more than half of which features a gay named Mohana Swami. Other stories like Durbheeksha, Purnahuti which deals with topics like a working women's pregnancy during great recession of 2009, dangers of Social media - written in 2013 makes it very novel concept at the time.
With 12 short stories the book weaves stories around wide range of topics infused into the characters' lives told mostly through Bellary Kannada.

[Abhiram's Book Olavu · Rating 4 out of 5]

Queerness ಎನ್ನುವುದು ನಮ್ಮ ದೇಶದಲ್ಲಿ ಅನಾದಿಕಾಲದಿಂದಲೂ ಸಾಮಾನ್ಯವಾಗಿಯೇ ಇದ್ದಂತಹ ಸಂಗತಿ. ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಜನ ಇದನ್ನು western concept ಅಂತ ನಂಬಿದ್ದಾರೆ, ಅದು ಶುದ್ಧ ಸುಳ್ಳು! ಪುರಾಣಗಳಲ್ಲೂ ಉಲ್ಲೇಖಗಳು ಸಿಗುತ್ತವೆ ಮತ್ತು ಇತಿಹಾಸದಲ್ಲಿಯೂ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಉದಾಹರಣೆಗಳು ದೊರೆಯುತ್ತವೆ (ವಿಚಾರಗಳಿಗೇನು?! ಪುಸ್ತಕಗಳನ್ನ ತಿರುವಿದರೆ ಅಥವಾ google ಮಾಡಿರೆ ಹೇರಳವಾಗಿ ಸಿಗುತ್ತವೆ ಅಷ್ಟೇ)
ಜಗತ್ತಿನ ಇತರೆ ಸಮಾಜಕ್ಕೆ ತುಲನೆ ಮಾಡಿದರೆ, ಭಾರತೀಯ ಸಮಾಜ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಮುಂದುವರಿದಿತ್ತು ಎನ್ನಬಹುದು. ಇದಕ್ಕೆ ಕಾರಣ ನಮ್ಮಲ್ಲಿನ ವೈಚಾರಿಕ ಪ್ರಜ್ಞೆ ಮತ್ತು acceptance ಪ್ರವೃತ್ತಿ! ಈ ಪರಕೀಯರು ಬಂದು ಎಲ್ಲಾ ತಲೆಕೆಳಗಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ ಹೋದರು, ಪರಿಣಾಮವಾಗಿ ನಾವೆಲ್ಲ ತೆಂಗಿನಕಾಯಿಗಳಾಗಿರುವೆವು ಅಷ್ಟೇ! (ಹೊರಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬೂದು ಆದರೆ ಒಳಗೆಲ್ಲಾ ಬಿಳುಪೇ!)

ಹಾಗೆಯೇ LGBTQ+ community ಅಥವಾ queerness ಬಗೆಗೆ ನಮ್ಮ ಕನ್ನಡ ಸಮಾಜಕ್ಕೆ ಅರಿವು ಮೂಡಿಸುವಲ್ಲಿ ಒಂದು ಮುಖ್ಯವಾದ ಪಾತ್ರವನ್ನು ವಸುಧೇಂದ್ರರವರು ವಹಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ ಎಂದರೆ ತಪ್ಪಾಗಲಾರದು‌. ಒಂದು ಹಳ್ಳಿಯಲ್ಲಿ ಜನಿಸಿ, ಬಾಲ್ಯದಿಂದಲೇ feminine ಸ್ವಭಾವಹೊಂದಿ, ಟೀಕೆಗೆ ಹಾಸ್ಯಕ್ಕೆ ಗುರಿಯಾಗಿ, ಮನೆಯವರಿಂದ ಹಾಗು ಸಮಾಜದಿಂದ ತ್ಯಜಿಸಲ್ಪಟ್ಟು, ಪ್ರೀತಿಯೂ ಸಿಗದೆ, ಒಂಟಿಯಾಗಿ, ಮಾನಸಿಕವಾಗಿ ಕುಗ್ಗುವ ನಿರ್ಭಾಗ್ಯ ಮೋಹನಸ್ವಾಮಿ; ಮೋಹನಸ್ವಾಮಿಯ ಕಥೆಯ ಮುಖೇನ ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಭಾರತದ ಸಲಿಂಗ ಪ್ರೇಮಿಗಳ ವ್ಯಥೆಯನ್ನು ಕೂಡ ಲೇಖಕರು ಈ ಸಂಕಲನದಲ್ಲಿ ಅತ್ಯಂತ ಭಾವನಾತ್ಮಕವಾಗಿ ಧ್ವನಿಯಾಗಿಸಿದ್ದಾರೆ. ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಕಥೆಗಳು ಬಂದು ಹೋಗಿವೆ, ಆದರೆ ಮನಸ್ಸಿಗೆ ನಾಟುವಂತಃವು ಕೆಲವುಗಳಲ್ಲಿ ಇದೂ ಒಂದು ಎನ್ನಬಹುದು.

ಸಲಿಂಗ ಪ್ರೇಮಿಗಳ ವಿಷಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಮಾಜ ತೋರುವ ಅಸಹ್ಯ, ಅವಮಾನ, ತಿರಸ್ಕಾರ, ನಿರ್ದಾಕ್ಷಿಣ್ಯ ಅಥವಾ double standard ಗಳನ್ನ ನೋಡಿದರೆ ನಿಜಕ್ಕೂ ಬೇಸರವಾಗುತ್ತದೆ. ಮನೆಯವರ ಹಾಗೂ ಸಮಾಜದ ದೂಷಣೆಗೆ ಹೆದರಿ ಮದುವೆಯಾದ gay ವ್ಯಕ್ತಗಳು ಎಷ್ಟೋ ಮಂದಿ ನಮ್ಮ ನಡುವೆಯೇ ಇದ್ದಾರೆ; ಮಾನಸಿಕವಾಗಿ ಕುಗ್ಗುತ್ತಾ, ಸಂತೃಪ್ತಿಯನ್ನು ನಟಿಸುತ್ತಾ! ಸ್ವಜಾತಿಯ ಅಥವಾ ಅಂತರ್ಜಾತಿಯ ಅಥವಾ inter-religious ಮದುವೆಗಳನ್ನೇ ಒಪ್ಪದ ನಮ್ಮ ಸಮಾಜ gay lesbian ಸಂಬಂಧಕ್ಕೆ ಅಥವಾ ಮದುವೆಗೆ ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ನೀಡುವುದೇ? ಒಪ್ಪಿಗೆ ನೀಡದೇ ಇದ್ದರೂ ಕನಿಷ್ಠ ಪಕ್ಷ ಅಂಗಿಕಾರ ಅಥವಾ acknowledge ಮಾಡುವುದೇ? ಶಿಕ್ಷಣ, ಅರಿವು, ಸುಧಾರಣೆ ಇನ್ನೂ ಬೇಕಿದೇ ನಮಗೆ, ಅಲ್ಲವೇ?!

ನನಗೆ ಈ ಸಂದರ್ಭದಲ್ಲಿ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿ ಅವರು ಹೇಳಿದ ಒಂದು ಮಾತು ನೆನಪಿಗೆ ಬರುವುದು; "ನಾವು ಬಯಸಿದಂತೆ ಬದುಕುವ ಸ್ವಾತಂತ್ರ್ಯ ಯಾವತ್ತೂ ಭಯಾನಕ ಹೋರಾಟದ ಫಲವೇ ಹೊರತು ಸುಲಭಕ್ಕೆ ಸಿಗುವುದಿಲ್ಲ."

ಇದು Pride month ಆದ್ರಿಂದ LGBTQ+ communityಗೆ ಶುಭಕೋರುತ್ತಾ, 'ಸರ್ವರಿಗೂ ಸಮ ಬಾಳು; ಸರ್ವರಿಗೂ ಸಮ ಪಾಲು' ಸಿಗಬೇಕು ಎಂದು ಆಶಿಸುತ್ತೇನೆ!

[Ankita · Rating 4 out of 5]

'Mohanaswamy was my rebirth' : Vasudhendra

This book is a collection of stories, with most of them being strung together by the common protagonist 'Mohanaswamy'. We witness his journey from his childhood and come across various major incidents of his life. His inner turmoil and the constant battle of the mind and the heart are wonderfully penned down. From accepting his sexuality to getting his heart brutally broken are some instances which force readers to be emotionally invested in the journey.

Certain parts though read like erotica to me, maybe it was necessary for the character's build up but it did make it appear lacking in emotional depth. Using slang terms for private parts and not being acquainted with the term 'consent' was off putting equally at places. For me stories titled 'Anagha' and 'Bed Bug' were one of the best ones and presented a more diverse picture of the community and their woes.

The insightful interview published in the end gave some wonderful tid bits about how the book shook the literary community in 2013 with its content and the fact that it provided a platform for the writer to come out of the closet publicly.

With Section 377 decriminalised we all walked a step forward as a society, but its still a long way ahead of us. The LGBTQ community still has to fight those judgements, prejudices thrown at them everyday , and struggle for their right to live a normal life. Mohanaswamy is a tiny effort to shake us up and acknowledge the reality.

[Suzanne John · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a collection of short stories about the life of the titular Mohanaswamy. Some stories were emotional and some tragic. They give an insight into how a young boy, unaware of homosexuality, navigates his sexual identity. The stories cover childhood, adolescence and adulthood and through each phase we see how Mohana's character develops. There doesn't seem to be a chronological order to the story and I found myself being a little confused about Mohana's choices and actions at times depending on which phase of his life we are reading about. The stories also tend to have a strong focus on the sexual/lustful nature of the protagonist which at times overpowers the beauty of the story. This could also be due to the quality of the translation itself, which in some sections is not great! However, it's important that such stories be written in regional languages to give everyone a better perspective and the English translation widens the audience for sure! It's a quick read and left me wondering about the confusion and difficulties members of the LGBTQ community suffer in India.

[Jyotsna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 3.5 stars

Tell me, who is our own and who is not? If we lay down strict rules for ourselves, we will end up feeling lonely. Sometimes those we meet during our journey can be our own. Now, stop crying. l will take you to a spectacular view.

The content matter of the book is of great impact, which highlights the problems of being a gay man in a conservative setup. However, there are so many snippets where the book flips from story-to-story without any continuity and with a confusing set of timelines.

I absolutely loved the subject, the taboo topic of homosexuality described via various scenes in the book through denial of acceptance and self harm. But, it could have been written in a much better manner and presented in a better form.

The book did impact me at places, but the overall impact was reduced by the writing and the presentation of Mohanaswamy's story.

In Conclusion

I recommend it but please tread with caution.

[dunkdaft · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps, this is the first time I am reading an Indian LGBT themed book, and I think this is the best one can start with. Vasudhendra's semi biographical (I can safely bet on that) collection of stories is nothing but absolutely real. Something, we either even felt with ourselves or have seen around us, growing up in small towns, villages and closely knit communities. The sexual descriptions are toned down and still they felt effective as it should. Instead of making it a novel, a continuous tale of Mohanaswamy, author makes it in irregular fashioned stories collection, which sometimes moves in present, sometimes goes back to Mohana's earlier days, and at a few places, the central character changes. This is the beauty of the book that it creates altogether a little world in which Mohanaswamy has lived till now. I am not too efficient in writing about the feelings described by the author, but yes, the characters are alive and you feel the same feelings. The finale is the best one from the lot, as it ought to be. A highly recommended, this little collection of tales, translated effectively from Kannada by Rashmi Terdal. 

[Matías :) · Rating 3 out of 5]

⚠️TW⚠️: Homofobia, Transfobia, homicidios.

La razón por la que me gustó es porque vemos como es que se vive el ser homosexual (y transexual, solo es un capítulo pero fue de los más impactantes) en la India, se me hace un punto de vista sumamente interesante y que además muy duro. Me hace darme cuenta de que la comunidad LGBT+ todavía tiene mucho camino por recorrer . Sin embargo nunca llegue a conectar con el protagonista, tampoco fui muy fan de la forma en la que está escrito.

[lakshaya · Rating 1 out of 5]

I really wanted to like this book but it was a huge let down. The main character breached consent multiple times throughout the story and it was harrowing to see him make himself the victim of those situations. If I were to be generous, I’d pin it to translation issues but honestly the book just lacked nuance.

[Abbie | ab_reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

Does anyone remember that Great British Bake Off where (spoiler alert) Frances won but all throughout the series Paul Hollywood kept telling her that her bakes looked amazing but were lacking substance? Well Mohanaswamy had the opposite problem - the substance was all there but the style was not. I’d still recommend it overall because the content was insightful and brave, but just be forewarned that there are issues with the translation. Obviously I’m in no position to judge because I speak no Kannada, but over half of the awkward parts were purely grammatical English errors, so a good editor should have spotted those and it would have made for a much cleaner text, as it seemed rushed.
.
But ANYWAY, I will turn off my translator/proofreader brain and get back to the fact that for Vasudhendra, this book was his coming out and was the first book featuring homosexual love and relationships in a positive light to be written in Kannada. The translation, lacklustre it may be, gives the English speaking world a rare insight into what life is like for gays in small villages in India.
.
The book actually ended up coming out on the same day that a piece of legislation in the Indian penal code criminalising homosexuality was upheld, in a very twisted coincidence, and I found Vasudhendra’s interview with his translator at the back of the book a very moving read, as he talked about his fear of being punished for the book but also relief at not having to lead a ‘pseudo-life’ anymore.
.
I found the order of some of the stories a bit random - they jumped back and forth in the timeline of Mohanaswamy’s life - but they explore everything from lust and love to the prejudices that are deeply ingrained in the lives of those in small villages, often with horrific consequences for those just trying to live their lives as who they are.