Premkatha

by Annie Zaidi

""CURIOUS VILLAGERS STOPPED TO STARE AT THIS SHAMELESS MAN AND WOMAN WHOSE FINGERS WERE WOUND IN EACH OTHERS` HAIR, AND WHOSE LIPS WERE STRETCHED WITH IMPOSSIBLE SMILES, AND FACES WERE GLOWING LIKE WARM RED WAX IN THE LATE AFTERNOON. BUT AFTER A MINUTE OR TWO, THEY TOO WALKED AWAY, BECAUSE LOOKING AT THE TWO ANY LONGER BECAME UNBEARABLE.` A WOMAN WHO WON`T LET THE SHADOW OF DEATH DISRUPT HER LOVE LIFE, ANOTHER WHO FALLS IRREVOCABLY IN LOVE WITH A DEAD POLICE OFFICER, A DEVOTED WIFE WHO STEPS OUT TWICE A WEEK FOR NARCOTICS ANONYMOUS MEETINGS, FRIENDS WHO SHOULD HAVE BEEN LOVERS, THE WOMAN WHO OFFERS ALL HER PENT-UP LOVE TO A RAILWAY ANNOUNCER`S VOICE ... ANNIE ZAIDI`S STORIES ARE AT ONCE WARM AND DISTANT, VIOLENT AND GENTLE - AND, ABOVE ALL, UNTROUBLED BY CYNICISM. THIS IS A LOOK AT LOVE, STRAIGHT IN THE EYE, TO UNDERSTAND THE ALLURING NATURE OF THE BEAST. "" ""लवकरच हे सगळं संपेल. हे सगळं इतक्या लवकर होईल, असा विचार तिने कधीच केला नव्हता. हा नाही-तरी दुसरा नेहमी तिच्या मनात यायचा. रात्री तो उशिरा घरी आला. त्याच्या चेहऱ्यावरचं हसू- खोटं-खोटं हसणं. वास्तवात ते नाहीच आहे. असं झालं तर काय होईल? किंवा त्याच्या मीटिंग्ज खूप उशिरापर्यंत लांबू लागल्या आहेत किंवा तिला टाळण्यासाठी तो बाल्कनीत जाऊन फोनवर बोलू लागला आहे. किंवा तिने शहराबाहेरच्या टेकडीवर एक काचेच्या भिंती असलेलं घर बांधलं आणि तिथल्या बेडरूमला लावायच्या पडद्यांचा पोत कसा असेल याबद्दल ती अखंड बोलत असताना तो तिच्यावर खेकसला आणि त्याने त्या घराचा चक्काचूर केला, तर? तर, ती काय करेल? लांबच्या लांब दुपारी ती एकटी पडलेली असायची तेव्हा, जेव्हा ती बेडशीट्स बदलायची कव्हर्स घड्या घालून ठेवायची तेव्हा, किंवा टीव्हीवरची धूळ झटकायची, लायब्ररीतून डीव्हीडी येऊन यायची तेव्हा... तिने या सगळ्या शक्यतांचा विचार केला होता. पण अशा रेंगाळत राहणाऱ्या, सत्यानाश करू शकणाऱ्या पर्यायाचा तिने कधीच विचार केला नव्हता. ""

290 pages, Paperback

Published January 5, 2018

About the author

Annie Zaidi writes poetry, essays, fiction, and scripts for the stage and the screen.

She is the author of The Comeback (2025), City of Incident: A novel in twelve parts (2021), and Prelude to a Riot, which won the Tata prize for fiction (2020). She is a recipient of the Nine Dots prize (2019) for Bread, Cement, Cactus: A memoir of belonging and dislocation.

Her other books include Bantering with Bandits and Other True Tales (collection of essays, short-listed for the Crossword Book Award (non- fiction) in 2010, Gulab (novella), Love Stories # 1 to 14 (short stories), and The Good Indian Girl (co-authored with Smriti Ravindra), and Crush (poetry).

She is also the editor of 'Unbound: 2,000 Years of Indian women's Writing' and of 'Equal Halves'.

Her work has appeared in various anthologies, including Mumbai Noir; Women Changing India; India Shining, India Changing, and in literary journals like the Griffith Review, The Massachusetts Review, Big Bridge, Out of Print, and The Aleph Review.

Her work as a playwright has been performed and read in several cities. She received The Hindu Playwright Award (2018) for Untitled 1. Her radio script ‘Jam’ was named regional (South Asia) winner for the BBC’s International Playwriting Competition (2011).

She has also written and directed several short films and the documentary film, In her words: The journey of Indian women.