Sai Paranjpye: I have had my #MeToo moments too

Sai Paranjpye: I have had my #MeToo moments too 

Pinning the feisty octogenarian down for a conversation on topics ranging

from the book in works to the #MeToo movement takes some doing. But

once she’s in the chatmode, Sai Paranjpye right off recalls that when she

was a teenager, a ‘roadside Romeo’ who had flashed her while she was

cycling down Pune street, was hauled by her straight to the police station.

Next morning, she was advised not to register a formal complaint. It

wouldn’t be proper for a young woman to even mention the offender’s

private parts. That didn’t deter her though. If the man had dared to do the

unspeakable, surely, she didn’t have to mind her language.

On the #MeToo movement, Paranjpye says, “It’s terrific that many women

are coming forward to expose the offenders. But it shouldn’t just become

the trend of the season, the momentum has to be sustained. Suspects or whatever the correct legal term is, have been reined

in. Women can’t be bulldozed any longer. It’s been asserted loud and clear, ‘You can’t get away with it’.”

Next, her pause speaks. Am I merely interested in extracting quotable quotes on the #MeToo topic? Am I using her book as a

journalistic ruse? Fair enough. Hence, I return to the translation regimen, only to be answered with a knowing chuckle, “Alright,

I’ll take your word for it. The book’s my labour of love right now and it’s taking me forever. I’m still living in the past century.

Since I’m not computersavvy, I write on clean white paper with a black ink pen. That led to a crick in the neck, spondylitis. After

intensive physio therapy, I’m back to the grind.”

By the year-end, she should be done with the English translation. “If you have a catchy title, let me know,” she laughs

companionably