Thiruvananthapuram: Women are goddesses, they say. So it’s better for them to keep themselves away from men. Holy men, if you will.
Writer Sridevi S Kartha had a shocker of her life when Current Books, the publishers of the translation of Transcendence My Spiritual Experience with Pramukh Swamiji, written by former president A P J Abdul Kalam, asked her to keep off the dais of a function on Saturday where it will be released by Brahma Vihari Das Swamiji as the representative of Pramukh Swamiji.
Ms Kartha said in a Facebook post that the Ashram wanted no women on the dais where the representative of Pramukh Swamiji is seated.
Moreover, the Ashram insisted that three rows in the front of the hall be earmarked for the representatives of the Ashram to ensure that no women came near the Swamiji.
The release of the book, originally published by Harper Collins India, was scheduled to be held at Sahitya Akademy Hall, Thrissur. Writer M T Vasudevan Nair and co-author of Kalam’s book Arun Tiwari are also expected to attend the function.
Ms Kartha told Deccan Chronicle that she thought for a moment that the officials of Current Books, Thrissur, were joking when they told her to stay off the dais. “I had even booked the tickets for Thrissur to attend the function. I gave them time till Friday to correct this mistake. I posted my reaction on Facebook after informing the publishers as I thought it was not just a personal issue. It was humiliating to women as a whole.’’
The publishers later told a news channel that it is not their practice to invite all translators to the dais in book release functions.
