An Inside Job

The protagonist in the books is Sunaina,a happy-go-lucky girl from Delhi who marries Raghu,a civil services officer. As relatives,friends and practically every other person in the world tells her how lucky she is to be married to a bureaucrat,Sunaina finds that life isn’t exactly filled with roses all the way. In the 204-page-long Memsahib’s Chronicles,Sunaina and Raghu have been married for more than 20 years,but the former is still learning. For instance,a gift of a sack of rice can also be considered a bribe.

“My debut novel came from my journey of more than 25 years as an IAS officer’s better-half. My second book draws upon the experiences of other women married into the services,as well as my husband’s experiences,” says Malik,adding that the book unfolds through a series of episodes. “It’s all real,honest and objective,and I have written about the two memsahibs — the homemakers and the ones who work. There is no camouflage and I may end up annoying people,” she says.

“It didn’t take too long,just two years to pen the sequel. It was at the release function of Indian Memsahib that I decided to take the story forward,” says Malik,at the Chandigarh launch. “The seemingly glamorous life has its share of stress,temptations,job hazards and competition. The memsahibs are the backbone of the sahib log. They have to maintain a balance,which can be tiring. For some,there’s also the issue of identity crisis,” adds Malik,a lecturer of English at the Government College,Sector 11.