Haunting Bombay: More than a Ghost Story
by, Benish A. Shah, Editor-in-Chief
Providing a voice to those that are silenced creates the platform for this richly provocative sotry woven through symbolism, masterful storytelling, and the infamous monsoons of India. In her book, Haunting Bombay, Shilpa Agarwal has taken her pen, or rather her computer, and written a beautiful understanding of India of the yesteryears – haunted not just by a real ghost but by unspoken words, misunderstandings and deep rooted tradition.
NEEM Magazine’s Editor-in-Chief chatted with the author of this haunting book, Shilpa Agarwal, who won the 2003 First Words Literary Prize for South Asian writers for Haunting Bombay. In addition to her ability to weave together this unique ghost story, our conversation revealed that Shilpa’s unique choice of genre was deeply rooted in the desire to give voice to those who were never able to speak, to those that were silenced, and to those that have always wanted to be heard. It wasn’t just about writing a ghost story, it was about showing how secrets and lives slowly unravel. “I wondered what they would say if they were given the chance to speak,” said Shilpa, “When I thought about it, who is more silenced than a ghost?”
Her decision to steer away from general topics such as arranged marriages in India or an oppressed Indian woman led her to developing strong female characters in Haunting Bombay that are forceful in their own right. Pinky, the main character, shows strength beyond her years. The grandmother is a true South Asian matriarch, she rules the family and ensures its safety beyond any boundaries. The neighbor’s daughter chooses to defy her family in the small ways she can find. Pinky’s aunt finds her strength and power in how she raises her boys. The two female house maids had fought their way to the Mittal household and thrive in their positions. These women live in 1960s India and through Shilpa’s words their strength seeps off the page into the mind of the readers, slipping into their psyche as the ghost makes its debut.
A professor at UCLA, Shilpa found herself writing this story at the early hours of the morning – making the ghost story feel sometimes all too real. “The odd noise, writing by candlelight. Sometimes I felt it,” she laughed. In her effort to develop the story, Shilpa focused on the monsoon season of India. Her story takes the pace of those rainy seasons – slow with anticipation of rain, scorched by the heat while the ghost is just introduced. As the story unfolds and the drama unfurls, so do the storms. Drop by drop the rain portrays the emotions that are being unleashed – deliberately penned by Shilpa. “I wanted the monsoons to be more than the backdrop or the weather,” she noted. And they were.
We found that the most interesting part about Haunting Bombay is that it is more than just a novel, it’s an exercise in educating the world about the strength in South Asian women of all types and generations. Shilpa isn’t just a storyteller, she’s a brilliant author. So the last question on our mind was this: was the mystical an accessible idea for a Western audience? And as always, Shilpa did not disappoint. “The mystical is everywhere, in the United States, in Europe. In every culture. It is not bound to India.” And with that, we look forward to her future works.
