The Rock That Was Not and Other Stories: Short Stories

The complex woman–man relationship demands mutual care and compassion, but is often sickened by the patriarchal mindset compelling women to live as mere sexualized and commodified bodies. In the twelve stories in this book, Githanjali explores day-to-day issues in a woman’s life, which are generally not talked about or for which society has only a male perspective. The stories depict how women are labelled, isolated and stigmatized; how they are often made to suffer the trauma of being treated as breasts, a vagina, a womb, and a ‘boxing bag’. Like a deft surgeon, Githanjali identifies and separates the malignancies corroding the sociocultural fabric. For their path-breaking themes, these are the stories of resistance, protest and transformation.

Eleven of the twelve stories in this collection are taken from Githanjali’s latest book of short stories in Telugu, titled Husband Stitch: Strila Laingika Vishada Gadhalu (Husband Stitch: Tragic Stories of Women’s Sexuality).