Can women have it all? That’s the question that Sudha Menon attempts to answer in her book Devi, Diva or She-Devil. There are voices from women who have juggled high-profile careers and motherhood—from filmmaker Farah Khan to boxer Mary Kom—and there are those who may not necessarily spend their lives in limelight, but have fulfilling lives outside their homes. “There is more to a woman’s journey,’’ says Menon. “We all have to do frantic paddling underwater to keep up the career that we have carefully built up.”
Bringing together different experiences, it is a handbook for women who deal with these choices every day. In some ways, what Menon wants to do is create a community. “We all have common shared experiences,’’ she says. “The knowledge that we are out there in huge numbers and are not alone is positive and it is liberating.”
So, there is wisdom from Khan with her triplets, Kom with her determination to get back to boxing even after her twins and a sabbatical, as well as corporate honchos like Leena Nair, the human resources head at Unilever. There is actor Lillete Dubey, scriptwriter Honey Irani and Rohini Iyer, who started Raindrop Media that handles publicity for the biggest film stars—all offering glimpses into their lives. It is also a lot of her own experience, as a journalist, who dreamt of having it all—a career, a child and a family. But it isn’t only about women who chose to have children. The book is really about all women who chose to balance work and family. And, it is a first-hand account of how to survive in the world.
Ask Menon if it is all possible, and she says, “It is, if you want to live a frantic pace of life.” However, as she gets older—she is now 50—she says you don’t have to try and prove yourself all the time. “You want a slower pace of life,” she says. “It is important to nurture the soul. You need to claim some time for yourself.”
Devi, Diva or She-Devil: The Smart Career Woman’s Survival Guide
By Sudha Menon
Published by
Penguin Random House India
Price Rs 499; pages 192
