A blend of romance and family saga with a lil bit of tragedy to spice things up. The story gives you a view of transitioning “Indian values” and generation gap with a swing of feminism in between. It revolves around the protagonist, Nikki, born and raised in a Punjabi family of London. A headstrong 22 years old who rebelled against her parents and with a heavy heart moved out of their family home in London, after her father’s death.
Things move on but the story sprouts once she starts teaching an English reading and writing class, joined under the pretence of a creative writing workshop at the local Southall Sikh Community Association. Students at this workshop are Punjabi widows and this is where our story takes a twisted turn. In the class all they discuss are erotic stories.
Widows sharing erotic stories with such vivid imagination and all the spicy details, wow! This book definitely puts a full stop to the stereotyping of widows, rather, women from India. It’s shocking and confusing that a country with second largest population does not talk about sex, even when we settle internationally. The origin country of Kamasutra avoids talking about bodily pleasure and if we do, it’s rarely about women’s sexual desires. However the author’s portrayal of women’s sensual experiences and imagination somehow reduces the bigotry and misogyny of Indian society even outside India.
Jaswal painted a vibrant picture of the British Sikh community. Traditional parents, grandparents, with a comparatively modern younger generation struggling to find its place in the midst of so called twisted Indian values. All in all it’s a bold, unforgettable story. Though the book contains erotic stories but, trust me, this story has much more depth than the title portrays.
Flying Out the Walls! 