Title : She's a Jolly Good FellowAuthor : Sajita Nair
ISBN : 978-81-906173-8-3
Publisher : Hachette India
Sometimes the urge to make a mark leads one to accept the challenges even in the completely unknown territories. That is the case with the two 23-years olds - Second Lieutenants Deepa Shekhar and Anjali Sharma who are into a domain which had been entirely male-exclusive since the conception of Indian army. Now they have an uphill task in front of them - to establish themselves as an important asset to the force and not mere drains on the resources. The two buddies are entirely different, Deepa behaves and conducts herself exactly as other male officers do and does not want others to make any special adjustments or hold any reservations because of her gender whereas Anjali (Anju) enjoys everything feminine and people appreciating her assets. The main protagonist - Deepa comes across as a strong willed person with exemplary determination and self belief, the qualities which would be greatly appreciated by the female readers.
The prejudiced attitude of some male officers, the unpreparedness of some for the feminine presence and the insecurities of some better halfs of the officers, help create some very interesting and hilarious incidents.
As the story progresses we see the personalities of Deepa and Anjali taking different paths. They prioritize things and events in their lives differently and many times find themselves facing a big issue of - when and for whom to hang their uniforms. Inspite of the situation being entirely different, the author touches the common predicament in many women's lives.
I must mention that the book is very crisply and neatly edited and its hard to find any part which does not take the story forward. The author - Sajita Nair, was a Short Service Commission officer in Indian Army and has done complete justice to the task in hand of giving expression to her experience through this book. A very light-reading, fun filled and engaging book, which brings a sneek-peek into the 'once all-male department' from a lady officers eyes. I feel she could have added the training period also as a small chapter in the beginning as I am sure there must have been many interesting anecdotes during that period too. Overall a wonderful book to read once, not a classic though.
The prejudiced attitude of some male officers, the unpreparedness of some for the feminine presence and the insecurities of some better halfs of the officers, help create some very interesting and hilarious incidents.
As the story progresses we see the personalities of Deepa and Anjali taking different paths. They prioritize things and events in their lives differently and many times find themselves facing a big issue of - when and for whom to hang their uniforms. Inspite of the situation being entirely different, the author touches the common predicament in many women's lives.
I must mention that the book is very crisply and neatly edited and its hard to find any part which does not take the story forward. The author - Sajita Nair, was a Short Service Commission officer in Indian Army and has done complete justice to the task in hand of giving expression to her experience through this book. A very light-reading, fun filled and engaging book, which brings a sneek-peek into the 'once all-male department' from a lady officers eyes. I feel she could have added the training period also as a small chapter in the beginning as I am sure there must have been many interesting anecdotes during that period too. Overall a wonderful book to read once, not a classic though.
Read the interview with the author Sajita Nair here.
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Posts
Good review. Good enough for me to want to read it, thank you.
ReplyDeleteGlad you found the review useful. Go for it :)
ReplyDeletenice review and also very interesting title and book cover. will go for the book.
ReplyDeletei have already read the book. your review is apt and it is indeed a very good read. even women working in the civil stream can easily relate to it and for new comers it is an eye opener. Sajita Nair has great potential and we will surely see many more of her books.highly recommended
ReplyDeleteSeems like an interesting book. I know next to nothing about army life, but have a close friend who has grown up in it. She tells us a lot of things about it. Should try this one.
ReplyDeleteI believe there is to be a launch of this book at Landmark, Forum mall on Friday, July 2nd. Saw an item in the events section in the Times.
ReplyDeleteYes Sandhya, this book is being launched on 2nd July.
ReplyDeleteQuite an interesting read.
Nice review and I also picked my copy.It is engaging and really liked the way the author has depicted the army life for us civilians.
ReplyDeleteAlso, the way she has handled the gender equality issue in a hilarious way is really commendable.The letter written to a Kargil Martyr is really touching.