Nirmala Govindarajan

Nirmala Govindarajan is an Indian novelist and journalist. Her novel Taboo (2019) was shortlisted for the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize and was longlisted for the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize in 2020.

Nirmala Govindarajan
OccupationNovelist and journalist
LanguageEnglish
NationalityIndian
Website
Official website

Biography

Based in Bengaluru, Nirmala Govindarajan started writing during her college education, and later started her career as a journalist.[1] She presently works as a social sector documentarian. In 2014, Nirmala co-curated the debut Times Literary Carnival, Bangalore, and in 2016, debuted the Literary Lounge series at the British Council, Bangalore.

Works

Govindarajan's works mostly deal with issues of trafficking, exploitation and Child labour, and use allegories, metaphors and stream of consciousness technique.[1] Her works have been written in lyrical prose.[2] She published her first novel Community Catalyst in 2016. It is inspired by the real life experience of Bharat Lal Meena, former additional chief secretary, Department of Higher Education of Karnataka.[3][4][5]

Her novel Hunger's Daughters (2018) is based on her experience of documenting in India's rural heartland. The novel is a poetic portrayal of vulnerable lives. The novel tells a story of freedom, identity and independence. Its protagonists are little girls from the unmapped forest hamlets of Orissa, Jharkhand and Karnataka. It talks of Susanthi Bodra, a small girl who lives in a remote village in Odisha. She is pressed to earn at a very young age because her father is presumed dead and her mother has gone missing. Another girl, Nelli, aged 8, runs off from her mistress's home, gets kidnapped and sold in a brothel in Nagpur. For two decades, her mother Gowravva, has been awaiting her return to their home in Kithapur hamlet.[6][7]

Her novel Taboo (2019), is inspired by underage girls who are kidnapped and trafficked. It speaks of female power and identity. The story revolves around the Lady with the Slender Hands who traverses people, illegal trades and regions to map her back to who she was, so she can finally claim the freedom of who she wants to be. Taboo takes place in South-East Asia, from Spain to Sri Lanka and Tamil Nadu. It explores the psychological and physiological aspects of girls in the sex trade. It depicts themes of human trafficking and child prostitution. The novel poses several questions about a democratic society and its politics, and their objective to stop these practices.[8][9][10][11][9][12]

Govindarajan has co-authored two books: Mind Blogs 1.0 and Trailblazers of Bangalore.[4] She has written for The Times of India, The Hindu, Deccan Herald, India Today, and The Sunday Guardian.

Honour

Her novel Taboo (2019) was shortlisted for the Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize and was longlisted for the Atta Galatta Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize in 2020.[13][14]

References
  1. Dhanaraj, Ruth (24 January 2020). "Author Nirmala Govindarajan talks about her latest book, style of writing and what inspires her". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  2. Mitra, Ipshita (15 March 2020). "Marquez's Eréndira Inspired This Author to Write About the Identity of a Sex Worker". The Wire. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  3. Dakshina, Yogita (3 December 2016). "Book Review: What it takes to be a part of a people's movement". The Sunday Guardian Live. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  4. "Looking at life through the eyes of a bureaucrat". Deccan Chronicle. 2016-10-24. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  5. Roy, Supriya (11 July 2017). "The Community Catalyst Speaks". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  6. Datta, Sravasti (24 January 2019). "Activist fiction". The Hindu. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  7. "Hunger's Daughters by Nirmala Govindarajan – Review". Free Press Journal. 13 April 2019. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  8. "Nirmala Govindarajan's 'Taboo' documents stories of girls pushed into sex trade". Deccan Herald. 12 March 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  9. "Love in the time of identity politics". The Sunday Guardian Live. 7 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  10. "Die Sprache der Leere". F.A.Z. (in German). 8 June 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  11. Munir, Rehana (17 November 2019). "Books of the week: From Love, Loss, and Longing in Kashmir to the India story of the Panama Papers, our picks". Firstpost. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  12. Saujata, Tushar (1 August 2020). "Taboo By Nirmala Govindarajan - A Journey into The Soul Of Its Characters". Explocity Bangalore. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  13. "Rabindranath Tagore Literary Prize shortlist announced". The Indian Express. 27 November 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
  14. "Atta Galatta–Bangalore Literature Festival Book Prize longlist announced". The Indian Express. 15 October 2020. Retrieved 1 February 2021.
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