It is not that you always have to be grave to deal with serious issues; they can be dealt with a bit of humour as well. And Kishwar Desai’s new book does exactly the same. The author, who launched her second book Origins of Love at Vivanta by Taj- Ambassador in Delhi recently, said she wanted to touch on serious subjects like female foeticide, surrogacy, sperm donation and infanticide in a lighter tone, much like her previous book Witness the Night that got her Costa First Novel Award in 2010.
Kishwar, wife of economist Lord Meghnad Desai, chose to invite serious panelists like politician Brinda Karat and poet and writer Prasoon Joshi to flare up a discussion on the issue of surrogacy and sperm donation. The three spoke on how India is becoming infamous for easily available surrogacy and sperm banks. Towards the end of the discussion, Prasoon chose to recite a poem that he wrote for the evening.
Shifting the mood from serious and light, Kishwar read out a humorous excerpt from the book and spoke on how India is the top country that is producing designer babies. “There are multiple issues. It is not only about producing a baby; it is about commodifying a woman’s body. And if someone requires sperms, the caste, colour, physical attributes of the donor are first determined. There are many such issues that I have highlighted in my book subtly,” said the writer.