Book review by Dr. Jyoti Gaur on Herstory

Herstory" is an extremely powerful compilation of beautiful poems authored by Neha Bansal, that will embark you on a journey of self-discovery. I can't imagine how challenging it must have been for her to dive in the pool of ancient old lives of women like Draupadi, Hidimbi, Yashoda, Urmila and many more, you will meet in your reading, keeping herself still intact in the present mindset. Not only that her views on their lives are eye opening and are wholly absorbing but the courage to speak for them, as she herself becomes their soul, left me believing that the justice has been given to the unexpressed thoughts of these women. The book has not only become the voice of the women of past but it is screaming about the pain of women today, whether they are being expelled out from wombs forcibly, treated like a trash or put into grave with no dignity. The naked expressions in the poems have left me shocked, as these are the issues we should not discuss, at least this has been taught to us, and we proudly never talked about the reactions of families towards menstruation, rapes, violence and prostitution. It is utterly banned. Now, that the voice has been raised by this book, I am really impressed by the efforts that have been put to sketch nightmarish experiences of women in The Witch Hunt, A Flower Crushed, The Acid Attack, The Barren Woman, The Dalit Girl, and The Prostitute, the lightning attention drawn towards modern issues in Body Shaming, The parameter of Beauty, Postpartum Blues, Gendering, and Menstruation, her understanding of invisibility in Urmila, Yashoda, and Ahalya. All climax naturally in retreat followed by understanding the soul of women who are the part of this book. I am sure that these women will not get packed in the book, but they will become one of us, as you will be able to relate yourself to one of these women. I congratulate Neha Bansal and wish her all success for seamlessly combining contemporary realism with historical facts, blurring the edges in a way that stories and real life convene. This justifies my belief that anything can happen, particularly when it starts from the pages of a very good book like "herstory". It will change the mindset of society. It's a captivating debut. Parts of these stories, episodes and experiences may have been told before, but never with such freshness, intensity and power. Just read it and experience yourself. Dr. Jyoti Gaur  Former Dean  Swami Vivekanand Subharti University Meerut Uttar Pradesh