DREAM Run

Manik Mani,of Manney’s Booksellers,Camp says that books of the romance genre are very popular. “The books sell pretty well,and we do get a lot of enquiries about when the next batch of books is going to come in.” However,he concedes that the phenomenon has grown over the past few years. “There has always been a market for these books,but never in the quantity of the last five to ten years.” He also feels that Western authors of romance sell far better than their Indian counterparts. “Yes,Indians authors have majorly entered the romance field,but Indians haven’t yet matched the capacity of the Western authors to churn out book after book. Mills and Boons,the publisher,publishes around twenty titles a month,while a book by an Indian author might come out once in two months.”

The genre today is an important part of the lives of many people. These books,called “M&Bs” in short (after the publisher Mills and Boons,famous for their sizable romance books),are swapped by women,especially college girls,at incredible rates. The reason for their popularity is simple – chick-lit allows the reader (who are,invariably,women) to escape the real world,so to speak. Typical of the romance genre,it deals with exotic locations,rich environment,fancy balls,expensive dresses – in short,all what the reader could only dream about. It acts as a dream of escape for the countless oppressed women across the country. It is,to put in very crass terms,the female equivalent of the James Bond book series.

A few women disagree with the notion that women read only romance. Smitha Nair,an analyst with a leading MNC,says,“I have always been an avid reader,but have never taken to chick-lit. I do not subscribe to the idea of women these books peddle. I like to read literature that portrays women as being more than brainless chasers of men,clothes and sex!”

However,most people feel that Nair’s view might hold true only for a small minority,an exception to a more general rule. Kaushik Chaudhari,who works at Landmark,feels that stereotypes are stereotypes for a reason. “I have worked at this store for over a year,and have never seen any boy pick up any book from the romance section. The clientele for that genre is exclusively female,and often in her early twenties.” He concedes that like any rule,there are exceptions – not every girl picks up a book from that particular section,but then he says,“The average girl would make a beeline towards the books on romance. To satisfy our costumers,we have to keep a steady supply of books in that section; romance is among one of the best selling genres.”

“I love watching romantic movies,so if that is acceptable,why can’t I read books in the same genre?,” says Ritu Chauhan,a second year college student. “For some reason,people object to girls reading romance. Incredibly,a few of my feminist friends say that I’m conforming to stereotype by doing so. In fact,they are wrong – I tried out books of other genres,but I just didn’t like them. I choose to read what I like.”

However,some women feel the need to justify their liking romance. Ruttuja Deshpannde,who works in the tourism industry,says she reads M&Bs because of her belief in romance. “I believe in love stories and in romance,and I love happy endings. Therefore,I love to read about them,” she says,and adds that these books are not read exclusively by young women. “My mother reads these books too,” she says.