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Did You Ever Love Me? Book Review: Can Rithvik singh turn heartbreak into a homecoming?

Did You Ever Love Me? by Rithvik Singh is a tender contemporary poetry collection about love, heartbreak, longing, self worth and learning to let go. Its greatest strength is emotional accessibility: Singh writes directly to readers who feel intensely and care deeply. The collection offers comfort without pretending heartbreak is simple, though its simplicity may occasionally feel familiar to seasoned poetry readers. Did you Ever Love Me? Have you ever loved someone so completely that, after they left, you were left wondering whether they had ever understood what they had been given? Not merely whether they loved you, but whether they ever noticed how much you loved them, how much patience you offered, how many small things you remembered, or how often you chose to stay when leaving might have been easier. There is a particular loneliness in that question because it rarely arrives at a dramatic moment. More often, it finds you while you are doing something completely ordinary. Yo...

Chup - Deepa Narayan - Book Review


Recently finished reading Deepa Narayan's book on women in India and the way society is sculpting their identity. The book is an intriguing read and does live up to its slogan to hold a mirror to every Indian women.



So is this a feminist read meant for those all women book club list readings? Definitely not. Such books are meant to be read by the entire society irrespective of gender or age.



The book raises questions on what it means to be a woman in Indian society.
Do you pride yourself on being a strong woman? Do you aspire to be one or support one? Do you consider yourself a feminist? This book goes beyond the whole women empowerment and feminism debate to ask some real questions.

In this well researched book, based on 600 detailed interviews with women and men across India's metros and even cities abroad,  social scientist Deepa Narayan has covered seven key habits that may influence women's everyday lives, despite their education, success, financial status and family background. These behaviors may seem harmless, but each one has enormous impact, and it means only one thing - that Indian women are trained to habitually delete themselves.

Indeed, as I read the book and the excerpts of the interviews, it feels that the reality is for all of us to see but we refuse to admit it. We stay silent or chup as the the book title states. In fact, as I have read about similar patterns in different parts of the World, both developing and developed, I can say that this book has a universal appeal to it. The psychology is similar everywhere.

However, "Chup" has its limitations. One significant oversight is its lack of discussion on the misuse of laws designed to protect women. The rise of false accusations, particularly in cases of rape, BNS and dowry, is a serious issue that impacts many men. These false claims can devastate careers, reputations, and lives, highlighting a dark side to the progress made in women's rights. While Narayan’s focus is on the systemic silencing of women, a more balanced examination of the complexities surrounding gender dynamics would have enriched the discourse.
Price - INR 699
Genre - Non - Fiction
Pages - 304
Edition - Hard cover
Publisher - Juggernaut 

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