R ARIVANANTHAM
CHENNAI, MAY 30
Film producer Rajiv Menon launched a literary fiction titled ‘PADMA’ penned by Singapore-based NRI Mala Mahesh in Chennai on Saturday (May 28, 2022). The book is all about the trauma of a woman facing on child bearing in 1990s in a remote village in Kerala and a present- day woman living in Mumbai urban culture.
The author took nearly 11 years to finish her fiction. She spent three hours a day in midst of her household and official works and used the lockdown period to finish her task.
Releasing the book, Rajiv Menon appealed the author to produce a film based on this fiction.
Synopsis of the fiction
Kerala, 1900. Wealth, beauty, and intellect-sixteen-year-old Padma has it all. Her husband worships her, her mother-in-law adores her, and everyone else looks up to her. Yet she continues to be deprived of the one thing her soul aches for children. Desperate for an heir, her husband succumbs to familial pressures and agrees to a second marriage that turns her life upside down.
Mumbai, present-day Naina loves her life the way it is- an exciting career in advertising, married to the love of her life, and they’ve just decided to start a family. Sounds perfect? Except, it isn’t. Naina soon discovers she cannot give her husband what he wants. Determined, they put their hopes on In-vitro fertilization (IVF). But this is only the beginning of the storm that will soon rip Naina’s life apart.
Two wilful women, separated by the chasm of time, negotiate their feminine identities, struggle against patriarchal forces, face accusations of crime, and resurgence of old wounds–all in pursuit of fulfilling their innermost desires. Powerful and unflinching, Padma offers an intimate portrait of womanhood in India that will captivate you from the very first page.
About the Author
Mala was born and brought up in Mumbai. In 1999, she moved to Singapore where she lives with her husband, two children, and Labrador, Magic She published a book in the early 2000s, titled History of Painting for Young Readers, and contributed the column ‘Art Beat’ for Young World – the children’s supplement of the Hindu newspaper. She also contributed to company newsletters and promotional materials.
Padma is her second novel, and her first literary fiction. Mala works with her husband in their shipping and logistics company, Transworld Group Singapore. Her other interests include event planning – both commercially as well as for charity. She enjoys walking, cycling, dancing, and golf – and is very particular about living a healthy and fit life.
