Genres: Fiction
I sometimes wonder in what direction the contemporary Indian Literature is moving on. I have seen books written by contemporary Indian authors in Bollywood (movie making) style just for them to sell. Not particularly interesting or curiosity arousing technique. The non-fiction is almost a graveyard in Indian literature. In non-fiction genre, the attention seekers are movie stars’ autobiographies which are not even written by themselves and yet they are called autobiographies. On the other hand, the fiction genre, is mostly about fantasy or romance. The kind of romance which, I think, is mostly a tedious form of romanticism. I wonder, what is happening to Indian Literature?
When I started reading THE SILENT SCREAM by Siddhartha Garg, I was satisfied to see some contemporary authors are taking stand and want to enhance the reading culture in the county as well as arouse curiosity toward those subjects which need greater attention, not from political point of view but from moral outlook.
Siddhartha Garg’s book focuses on theme of child abuse which is contagious, filthy, and a difficulty faced in the modern Indian society. The book begins on a true account of a girl child who was molested by her own father. This instance mentioned with a very calm narrative is horrifying when it comes to realisation through imagination of one’s own. There are several other similar instances of child abuse mentioned in this non-fiction work accounting children belonging to any age.
The book continues with an interview of child counsellor and a psychiatrist who give insights on why this gruesome crimes still exist in this country. The book enhances the reader to focus on these moral matters by exposing him through the awareness against this type of crime. Every account is in detail and I appreciate the author’s effort to research and his ability to arrange the matter for a reader to be aware of.
One flaw in Indian society is that the ‘sex education’ is still considered a sacred and untouchable piece of knowledge. The guilty individuals are media who fail to focus properly on these type account and sometimes fail to necessary steps, the parents who should start acknowledging their children about sex related education from an early age, and the current education system of the country which comprises of schools who are busy in making money and the teachers who fail to take a stand for it. I think the society feels sex education to be practically embarrassing thing to do but I think it’s just a chemically imbalanced thought and now a belief in every other person’s mind just like they believe in every other deva(s).
It is disturbing and yet the truth. The book completes when it the message and an understanding is conveyed from the outlook the author wrote it to the reader’s mind. I feel if the author would have concentrated on creating a mixture of story and the awareness part, instead of keeping both areas separate, it would have been engrossing.
Still I thank the author for writing it, and feel that majority of the current and the coming generation must understand what really a society should be composed of.
3 out of 5!
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