Demigods are Alive - Long and Short Stories by Monalisa Joshi
Photo credits: Deepti Menon The world knows that there is an unwritten code of conduct that women across are expected to adhere to. It takes a strong woman to break out of these invisible fetters and live life on her own terms. Monalisa Joshi’s debut book titled ‘Demigods Are Alive’, published by Chrysanthemum Chronicles and edited by Nandita De nee Chatterjee, celebrates the sagas of six such women, who look for love in their lives, unwilling to settle for second best. The title is significant. Demigods are alive, but her women protagonists deny “the control of a patriarchal society”, choosing to free themselves “from those perennial manacles”, as the author herself puts it. Does Mohua really know what she wants out of life as she moves towards another man because she feels trapped in her marriage? Is she willing to forgo her role as a wife and a mother to turn into an infidel muse? Which will win – romance or real life? Chitra sacrifices her own life to bring up a family that she