Watching the journey of these three women, across three generations, dealing with the problems their predecessors fought against keeps us riveted, and Kumar's storytelling technique somehow managed to weave in several issues - strong women, loneliness, intersectional identities, marriage, education, and society. Pooja's daughter, Deepa, whose sexuality is a secret to only her family, is given an ultimatum by her partner - either Deepa tells them she's gay or she leaves her. Her daughter Pooja is forced into an arranged marriage, all because Lakshmi wants to retain her cultural identity, a move that only creates resentment and anger. Young Lakshmi marries and immigrates to the US, in the hope that her kids will have a better life than she did. The Paths of Marriage deals with that dilemma, and it does so beautifully. And what does that mean for Arjie, who is slowly grappling with the fact that he is only now realising what made him different from the other boys - the fact that his homosexuality is considered weak, “funny,” and wrong? The Paths of Marriage Source: Sourceįor a country where people are scared to admit that they are dating, imagine what it feels like to have to come out to your family.
Set in Sri Lanka, it cannot ignore the war between the army and the Tamil Tigers, a war that somehow pervades every Sri Lankan's life. Which is why Funny Boy is such an important book, as it tells the story of Arjie, a young Tamil boy growing up in Colombo. It goes without saying that the experiences of an American individual are very different from that of a Southeast Asian individual. Young, but trying to be an adult, feisty Anamika's journey to figuring out her sexuality, caste politics, and Indian society is fascinating. Her paramours include an elegant older divorcée, the family servant who has been rescued from an abusive husband, and the classmate whom all the boys want. Anamika, just like all of us at school, gets into plenty of love affairs and scrapes - but hers are slightly different. The story of Anamika Sharma, an intelligent young student, who devours physics at school and The Kamasutra at home, Babyji forces her to deal with questions even those twice her age would falter at. Babyji Source: Sourceīabyji may not be the finest book in this list, but its charming protagonist and her very relatable struggle almost makes up for it. If you're looking for some good Indian literature dealing with queer themes, this is your definitive list. Literature, however, made sure to talk to all those who felt like they were 'wrong,' whether it's in centuries-old Sappho's poetry or Kaitlyn Greenidge's We Love You, Charlie Freeman, letting us know there wasn't anything wrong with our feelings, society simply needed to catch up to us. For hundreds of years, anything that seemed out of the 'norm' had to be hidden away - so if you felt sexually attracted to the same gender, or didn't identify with your own gender, you either hid it or never talked about it. Books are supposed to be an escape for when life gets tough.