The session Nanna Kathe at Times Litfest saw Kannada writer Pratibha Nandakumar, whose autobiography Anudinanada Antharagange triggered intense debate a couple of years ago, in conversation with two other women who had written autobiographies. Writer activist Dr Vijayamma and theatre veteran Bhargavi Narayan both made the point that a woman’s autobiography would be less self-centred than a man’s.
“When she narrates her story, a woman represents the whole community of women and their inner world. As she is more compassionate than her male counterpart, the woman’s autobiography would never be lost in self- indulgence,” said Vijayamma, who is writing the second part of her autobiography Kudi Esaru (Boiling Stew).
The focus of the conversation, however, was on attitudes towards women when they talked about their love affairs. “When a man talks about it, it’s seen as candour. But, the moment we women open up, it’s seen as scandalous,” said Vijayamma. “And we have to deal with it.”
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