Not easy to write about sex: Ananth Padmanabhan

The crowd and the applause seem to have answered the question of the Sunday morning panel discussion at the Times Litfest Delhi: “Is Sexuality in Indian writing still under the covers?” Writers Ananth ​Padmanabhan, Meenakshi Reddy Madhavan, and moderator Rosalyn D’Mello spoke about writing erotica, and the perception of sexuality in Indian society.
Among the first sessions in the front lawns, many of those entering the festival venue were suddenly taken by surprise as they were greeted by the authors were reading from the more colourful passages of their books.
Madhavan traced a legacy of erotica going back to Ismat Chugtai and Kamala Das, both of whom created a sensation with their writing. The squeamishness, she says, had more to do with audiences than the writers. “People have always been writing erotica. But audiences keep getting shocked with every new wave. There is a section dedicated to Indian writing on the website Literotica (which features erotica) but people are not willing to acknowledge that this writing exists,” says the You Are Here writer who has recently written Split, a book for young adults.
Padmanabhan pointed out that Indian language publishing was ahead of its English counterpart in the space. “With Yaraana addressing homosexuality, language publishing pushed the bar a long time ago,” says Padmanabhan, who counts Henry Miller’s Tropic Of Cancer as the “sexiest” book.
Language of desire, the three agreed, was a little difficult to crack. Padmanabhan wrote in first person with a woman character, and said it had been a challenge. “It’s not easy writing about sex. I’m writing about pleasure and have to be truthful to that. Writing (a female character’s point of view) as a man required honesty. I had to switch of some of my own senses,” says Padmanabhan. Madhavan, on the other hand, identified her style as more dry. “My mother was very disturbed by how matter of fact the sex was in my writing,” said Madhavan, who has a popular erotica blog The Compulsive Confessor to her credit.