The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

January 31, 2023

The Bandit Queens by Parini Shroff

Geeta lives in a village in the north Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, where she supports herself by making wedding jewelry. Five years earlier, her no-good husband Ramesh walked out on her. It wasn't much of a loss, since Ramesh beat Geeta, stole her money, and drank heavily. After he ran off, a rumor began to circulate that Geeta had murdered Ramesh, and the story persisted. Although it troubled her at first, it kept the men (and also many women) away from her out of fear. Struggling to construct a life for herself as a single woman of undefined status living on her own (i.e., not under a man's control), Geeta's role model is Phoolan Devi, India's Bandit Queen who took revenge on all the men who abused her (physically, sexually, verbally). But now the women in the village have begun to come around, wanting Geeta's help in disposing of their own no-good husbands.

In this contemporary novel, Shroff explores issues that trouble modern India: caste, gender roles, religion, discrimination, domestic abuse. Another rec;urring theme is motherhood and the pressure placed on women to have children (preferably male children), as well as men abusing children (especially girl children). There is a lot of humor and the women are clever about getting around the men in their lives. One of my favorite aspects of the book is when Geeta rescues and adopts a street dog that she names Bandit. One of the best lines in the book is when the wanna-be don tells Geeta's husband Ramesh "killing people makes me a don; shooting a dog just makes me a psychopath. Great cover, too.  Recommended.

Phoolan Devi, the Bandit Queen who exacted revenge on the men who abused her and later was elected to Parliament (she was assassinated at the age of 39)