Name of the Book: The Princess Of A Whorehouse
Author: Mayank Sharma
Star Rating: 3 stars
A story about a young girl, Aparajita, as she leaves her past behind to educate herself and also inspire her mother to come out of sex trade.
What is it about?
When Ramya falls into the clutches of the sex trade workers, all she wanted was to see to it that her daughter, Aparajita, did not fall under the same. She, along with her daughter, fights against them and comes out of the system with the help of a good samaritan. Raj not only marries Ramya but makes sure that Aparajita had a good home to call her own.
A motivating journey
A motivating journey
I loved the way the author has only focused on the journey of Aparajita and not the negatives of the sex trade. To come out of it is really tough and our system does nothing to help them out. But when someone like Aparajita is determined enough, there can be no stopping a woman to achieve what she sets her mind for.
‘Mamma, now Raj uncle is my daddy!’
There is so much innocence in the words of Aparajita. It's like a lotus in a swamp. And yet she tries to keep every evil thought out of her mind. She focuses on the positivity and goes after it. And achieves it too. This is the best part of the novel.
What I wanted more..
What I wanted more..
Aparajita grew up with many things lacking in her life. Her life was unusual, yet she never carried the stain of her past. That I found a bit 'neglected'. I will not say that it left any holes in the story but if her pain too would have been brought out, her grit and determination to achieve more would have reached a higher level tool.
For eg. When her mother would abuse the school bus driver for driving through their streets till the time the driver reveals a secret - it did not seem to leave much of an impact on Aparajita's life. What did she feel when the driver would roll down her street? We know her mother's emotions.. but hers?
Another thing that would have made this near perfect story even better is taking care of proofreading and editing.
For eg. When her mother would abuse the school bus driver for driving through their streets till the time the driver reveals a secret - it did not seem to leave much of an impact on Aparajita's life. What did she feel when the driver would roll down her street? We know her mother's emotions.. but hers?
Another thing that would have made this near perfect story even better is taking care of proofreading and editing.
A meaningful narration...
I would really like to keep aside the editing defects of this novel and focus on the questions it raises?
1) Why do we stereotype our children? We want such perfect friends for our kids that we install in their young mind whom to mix with and who is good or bad. In our black and white lives, we forget the shades of gray. We forget that girls like Aparajita exist.
2) The schools are meant as educational institutions and have not right to refuse education to any children due to their background.
3) Aparajita is a lucky girl and found a Raj. But how many such Raj's are in this world? What do women like Ramya do under such circumstances?
4) It's very clear that the money is mostly made by the pimps and the madams who run the 'houses'? So even after sleeping with multiple partners in a day, the prostitutes don't earn anything. What is our government doing? Is it only the headache of the social workers who get no help from our police bodies too?
I would really like to keep aside the editing defects of this novel and focus on the questions it raises?
1) Why do we stereotype our children? We want such perfect friends for our kids that we install in their young mind whom to mix with and who is good or bad. In our black and white lives, we forget the shades of gray. We forget that girls like Aparajita exist.
2) The schools are meant as educational institutions and have not right to refuse education to any children due to their background.
3) Aparajita is a lucky girl and found a Raj. But how many such Raj's are in this world? What do women like Ramya do under such circumstances?
4) It's very clear that the money is mostly made by the pimps and the madams who run the 'houses'? So even after sleeping with multiple partners in a day, the prostitutes don't earn anything. What is our government doing? Is it only the headache of the social workers who get no help from our police bodies too?
I think Mayank Sharma has done a fabulous job in raising these question. If only he got it better edited, I would have given this book a 5 star.
Grab your copy here
Thanks for your review, Rubina. I appreciate your feedback.
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