Reflecting upon the transient nature of female mind
A bureaucrat by profession and novelist by choice, Dr Rashmi Kamal, launched her debut work on fiction 'The Philanderer' at Oxford Book Store, Park Street, Kolkata on March 3, 2019. The launch was held in the gracious presence of Jogen Chowdhary, eminent painter; and Subodh Sarkar, an accomplished writer as well as the Chairman, Poetry Academy, Government of West Bengal.
The story of 'The Philandered' gives two aspects of how people live in India and how they ought to live a dilemma that has no respite. A story of a restless mind.
Expressed in a clear yet silent voice, the protagonist of the story is a small town girl who meets the elite section of the city on her journey, around whom the story is woven.
The story begins with a prohibitive note, a taboo about the social norms in which the females ought to live in a society. The wings that Reva aspires to use as a symbol of freedom is trimmed by herself in bits and pieces due to her emotional turbulence. Losing for her (any battle) is like a setback created by her own hands. In this process, she runs after a mirage and she is never complacent.
Neil, who happens to be her first love, has an everlasting impression on her. His image is perceivable in every man she meets in her life. She looks for him among every bit and pieces of everything that she comes across.
Having no solace anywhere, she agrees for a marriage in which she has no interest. But the pain never withers. She looks for the connect everywhere. She knows her actions would be eventually scrutinised by society but she can't restrain herself. She goes with the flow and leaves falling with the zephyr.
She befriends Shiv only to discover that he wasn't true to her. Dejected and shamed by him, she finds comfort in the arms of Raj who loves her truly. Fate has something in store for her when he leaves her too. Her love for Raj grows in abundance once he is no more, something that she never realized when he was available for him.
Never did she imagine that Neil was looking for her, from behind, everywhere and every time.
The novel reflects upon the transient nature of a female mind. The writer has put down all flavours to romanticise every situation that arises.
Being her debut novel, the author quotes, "I have tried to pour in as many human feelings as possible, for the readers to instill a bout of empathy with the characters with whom I ate, drank and slept for last few years."
It is not renunciation. It is not reconciliation either. It is not even a decision. She doesn't surrender her independence or her native wit. But there is a change, an acceptance that the readers cannot miss.
Rashmi Kamal, by profession a doctor turned bureaucrat, she has qualified civil services for her greater dreams for the nation.
She is originally from a small town Bhagalpur. The experiences from Patna Medical College have left long-lasting footprints on her journey and Kolkata is the melting point of her cognition.
In her debut novel 'The Philanderer' she explores the uncharted mind of a woman who undergoes upheaval in life and refuses how it is supposed to be, thus, she quotes " Bold insertions were not necessary but very much required, simply to establish a connection with thousands of readers who live and love life like my characters."
