Slut walks, pink chaddis — on the face of it, the urban Indian woman has changed. She talks sexy, walks sexy and isn’t averse to confessing that she drinks or flaunting her bootie in a LBD. Which is why the books for the modern Indian woman are walking the talk as well. Games Girls Play is the latest addition to the sexy chick lit trend.
Aastha Atray Banan sets her novel in Mumbai — the capital of sex and style — and puts two very different girls face to face. The hot and happening Natasha who works as a photographer and the staid, shy Siya who runs a library in an ancient Bandra bungalow and writes Sex in the City style pieces for the papers. Siya has one problem though — she’s a virgin, believes in love and needs to get real with her pieces on the modern Indian girl otherwise they won’t get published. Natasha trots into her bungalow and looks around for a suggestive book, and Siya is inspired into wanting to make Natasha the subject of her writings. She can present first-hand experiences of sex in Mumbai by going around with Natasha, playing the role of a voyeur and sampling speed dating sessions.
All this is par for the course for Aastha Atray Banan, journalist and blogger, who wrote India’s second Mills and Boon novel. One’s guessing that Siya has Banan’s blogging experiences, along with the tough editor who knows what sells and dictates the column, throwing Siya into despair. Siya’s no slut, so she needs to get under the skin of one in the easiest possible way and Natasha is the answer to a prayer of sorts. So the two go out around the town with Siya given a sexy makeover so that she doesn’t cramp Natasha’s style. Siya notes Natasha’s hitting techniques, downs tequila shots and throws up in plant pots to be rescued by the handsome Arjun.
The two aren’t a ‘made for each other’ couple, though Banan tells us Natasha swings both ways and has Siya dreaming about kissing her. Siya can’t bear sluttiness and Natasha’s friends wonder what is she doing with a sterile virgin. Of course, the burning question is, will Siya lose her virginity? In between, one comes to know the fact that most Mumbai girls on the trot look for the kind of men who closely resemble their favourite Page Three people or are their favourite Page Three people.
In a world where commitment is expressed by not using a condom but taking the pill, Banan takes care to put in a few statutory warnings — people who lead Page Three lives focus on their figures and even make themselves throw up before sleeping with the latest hottie, a la Princess Diana. A party girl needs to show that there’s seriousness under her skin and a virgin can’t be a prude when she hits the sack. The best thing to do is aim for balance and realise that, no matter how much fun sexual partners are, good friends are worth having. And of course, since it is chick lit, every girl gets her guy.
Anjana Basu is the author of Rhythms of Darkness
