Роман Арати Менона «Да»: взгляд подростка на законы о гомосексуальности в Индии

I held on tightly to the page when 13-year-old Ved is asked, “Do you think gay people should go to jail?” As though a child’s answer could change lives. In Arathi Menon’s novel Da, this question follows the reader with a sense of urgency. In 2013, as the courts debated the rights of queer Indians, the reader turns to the child in hope. Menon writes of those turbulent times, from the eyes of a young boy, with great vulnerability and hope. At the outset, the novel is described as a politically charged story on laws around homosexuality in India and its resultant stigma. I went into it expecting great tragedy and suffering. However, two chapters in and I was surprised by the notoriously inquisitive voice of an adolescent boy being brought up by his dead mother’s brother. Ved is bright and thinks a lot and thereby talks a lot. I was reminded of nine-year-old Mira from Bhavika Govil’s 2025 novel Hot Water; a stunningly written voice of a young girl watching her dysfunctional family. Mira would make good friends with Ved. Both of them observe male members around them desire other men. They have a ton of thoughts about parenting and would not mind taking on the role of a caregiver when required. They grow to love swimming; their bodies suspended in the water. Above all, they learn from hurt. Coming of age Menon made a remarkable choice to let Ved’s voice carry the novel forward. From page one to the last, it is Ved we hear in first person. Scratchy in places and inconsistent, the voice still manages to keep the reader glued and follow him along on his adventures. Writing masculinity in fiction among male children comes with its own set of concerns. A wealth of literature exists on the bildungsroman of boys, girls, and those beyond these binaries across ages. However, contemporary gender ideals and ways of reading them become critical to make it both about the commentary the author wishes to offer and for the story to move forward. There are places in the novel where Menon has succeeded in this beautifully. For instance, discussions around Ved’s sexuality have been carved out well. He is unsure of his desires and yet he has erections at the thought of a girlfriend he has made. At the same time, it seemed the author was too deliberate in making a point of adolescent confusion and socialisation. Ved’s discovery of a primal scene and back-to-back masturbation at the fantasy of it without any internal thought makes the reader wander into directions that the novel itself does not cohere to. Observing adults The heart of the novel lies in da, the character whom we never get to listen to directly. It was a pleasure, indeed, to only know da through Ved’s eyes. His adolescent perception gives da a life that would have been lost in a tale of tightly bound structures if we were to listen to him directly. Children’s perception of adults is always more exciting to read. In Bikram Sharma’s 2022 novel, The Colony of Shadows, we are let into the story of a family in Bengaluru through the voice of a nine-year-old child, Varun. The readers learn of the aunt with whom he survives the real world and the world beyond the wall after the death of his parents. Ved’s perceptive and slightly mature gaze brings the world of his da, who is in love with a well-turned-out man after many heartbreaks and is settling into a domesticity with him; much to Ved’s aversion at an intruder in the beginning. He sees friends who are da’s “family” gather for dinners. He watches the news with the adults. He observes his da in love with another man. These tender moments unspool subtly, bringing the reader closer to Ved. Last year, Mahesh Rao’s Half Light brought with itself the many furies and hopes of citizens across India with respect to the Section 377 proceedings. One might pick up Da expecting a similar premise but what they are rewarded with is a young protagonist who has his own interpretation of what being gay and a parent mean. By showcasing the violence of regressive laws through Ved’s perspective, Menon seems to be making the predominant Indian reader wake up to issues that abound in queer and transgender lives. At a time when queer stories are classified as just that, Menon’s Da is a unique addition to a list that blurs the queer and non-queer binary. It speaks of a time recorded in Indian history. The novel is successful in situating its political concerns in a strangely beautiful symphony. Rahul Singh is a novelist and an academic. His debut novel Unfolding was published earlier this year. Da, Arathi Menon, Pan Macmillan India. We welcome your comments at [email protected].