The Literature Lounge, hosted by Mohua Chinappa is a popular podcast series dedicated to the world of books and the brilliant minds behind them. Through exclusive conversations, we uncover how authors craft captivating stories, thought-provoking essays, insightful biographies, provocative prose and poetry that spark possibilities within us. From dreaming big to breaking conventions, each episode explores books that ignite fresh ideas – one page at a time.

After a successful season of sharing inspiring stories, The Literature Lounge is now an independent podcast under The Mohua Show (TMS) banner. We have featured popular authors such as Gargi Rawat, Radhika Oberoi, Kiran Manral, Swami Mukundananda, Sharmishtha Mukherjee, Aseem Chhabra and many more on our show.

Episode Summary

In this alluring episode, Anuja Chandramouli, renowned new-age Indian classicist, brings to life Ilango Adigal’s timeless Tamil classic, Silapathikaram. Her modern take on this classic, The Wife and the Dancing Girl, reimagines the boundaries of passionate love and what it means to be a ‘dutiful’ woman. 

Anuja shares her take on the dance between sacrifice and pleasure that plague every woman’s destiny amidst a background of mytho-fiction and feminism. She explores themes of love and loss, and letting go without giving in to your destructive tendencies. Most of all, her book explores what it means to be a woman in an epic saga bent on branding you as a whore or goddess.

The episode concludes with Anuja sharing tips for dealing with writer’s block and takeaways from her book, leaving listeners with the motivation to get back to reading and writing in 2025. Don’t miss this entertaining conversation!

Chapters

00:00 Introduction 

01:45 Revisiting Silapathikaram: A Feminist Perspective

05:32 Exploring the Love Triangle: Kanagi and Madhavi

09:01 Themes of Love, Betrayal, and Modern Relationships

13:06 Challenges in Retelling Ancient Myths

17:08 Understanding Kovalan: The Flawed Hero

20:18 Humanizing Madhavi: The Dancing Girl's Depth

22:40 Balancing Mythology with Human Emotion

25:29 Consequences of Suppressing Female Desire

28:30 The Role of Storytelling in Challenging Narratives

29:40 Inspirations and Influences in Writing

32:59 Overcoming Writer's Block 

35:05 Takeaways from the Book

36:41 Concluding Remarks

Connect with Us

Mohua Chinappa: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mohua-chinappa/

The Mohua Show: https://www.themohuashow.com/

Connect with the Guest

Anuja Chandramouli: https://www.instagram.com/anujamouli/

Follow Us

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@TheMohuaShow

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/litlounge_pod/ 

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/themohuashow/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/themohuashow/

For any other queries EMAIL

hello@themohuashow.com

Book Link 

The Wife and the Dancing Girl: https://www.amazon.in/Wife-Dancing-Girl-Anuja-Chandramouli/dp/9361560425


Disclaimer

The views expressed by our guests are their own. We do not endorse and are not responsible for any views expressed by our guests on our podcast an

Thanks for Listening!