” Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence”
Shrayana Bhattacharya
“Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence”
SKOCH Literature Award – Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence
LITFest Panel Discussion – Women and Economy
L to R: Kulmeet Bawa, President, CAII and President & MD, SAP India; Sameer Kochhar, Chairman, SKOCH Group & Shrayana Bhattacharya, Author & Economist
L to R: Kulmeet Bawa, President, CAII and President & MD, SAP India; Sameer Kochhar, Chairman, SKOCH Group & Shrayana Bhattacharya, Author & Economist
Using Shah Rukh Khan as a metaphor, Shrayana sets the stage for an interesting discourse on the personal portrait of the average Indian women post-liberalisation. Desperately Seeking Shah Rukh is the author’s exploration of struggles and the unheard aspirations of women in India when it comes to realising their dreams and idea of love. The author states the trope of an unreliable narrator and an observant reader will immediately know reference is drawn to the recently coined term ‘self gaslighting behaviour’. The one thing that makes it stand out is its ability to acknowledge existing literature on a similar subject and reassure its readers that what they’re reading is unique and unprecedented. It makes a plausible case for consciously deciding against disregarding an ‘ordinary’ woman’s heartache as banal.
“Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence” Shrayana Bhattacharya
Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence’ by Shrayana Bhattacharya maps the economic and personal trajectories—the jobs, desires, prayers, love affairs and rivalries—of a diverse group of women. Divided by class but united in fandom, they remain steadfast in their search for intimacy, independence and fun.
It sets the stage for an interesting discourse on the personal portrait of the average Indian woman post-liberalisation, depicted through the prism of the pandemic. The many women of Desperately Seeking Shahrukh are bound together, by their love for Shahrukh, into one cohesive bunch of “India’s lonely young women”. Through interviews, Shrayana explores the struggles and the unheard aspirations of women in India when it comes to realising their dreams and idea of love and gleans the details on what Indian women think about men, money, movies, beauty, helplessness, agency and love. This is the story of how women have experienced post-liberalisation India.
Shrayana Bhattacharya trained in development economics at Delhi University and Harvard University. Since 2014, in her role as an economist at a multilateral development bank, she has focused on issues related to social policy and jobs. Prior to this, she worked on research projects with the Centre for Policy Research, SEWA Union and Institute of Social Studies Trust. Her writing has appeared in the Indian Express, EPW, Indian Quarterly and The Caravan. She lives in New Delhi.
“Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence”
Shrayana Bhattacharya
Desperately Seeking Shahrukh: India’s Lonely Young Women and Search for Intimacy and Independence’ by Shrayana Bhattacharya maps the economic and personal trajectories—the jobs, desires, prayers, love affairs and rivalries—of a diverse group of women. Divided by class but united in fandom, they remain steadfast in their search for intimacy, independence and fun.
It sets the stage for an interesting discourse on the personal portrait of the average Indian woman post-liberalisation, depicted through the prism of the pandemic. The many women of Desperately Seeking Shahrukh are bound together, by their love for Shahrukh, into one cohesive bunch of “India’s lonely young women”. Through interviews, Shrayana explores the struggles and the unheard aspirations of women in India when it comes to realising their dreams and idea of love and gleans the details on what Indian women think about men, money, movies, beauty, helplessness, agency and love. This is the story of how women have experienced post-liberalisation India.
Shrayana Bhattacharya trained in development economics at Delhi University and Harvard University. Since 2014, in her role as an economist at a multilateral development bank, she has focused on issues related to social policy and jobs. Prior to this, she worked on research projects with the Centre for Policy Research, SEWA Union and Institute of Social Studies Trust. Her writing has appeared in the Indian Express, EPW, Indian Quarterly and The Caravan. She lives in New Delhi.
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