Title: Status single : the truth about being a single woman in India /
Authors: Kundu, Sreemoyee Piu
Year: 2018
Subjects: Marriage India; Women India; Marriage; Women; India
Abstract: "Marriage. It's the obvious path for every girl in India. It's supposed to define us, shape us and give meaning to our life. But does it, really? Figures show that nearly 74.1 million women in India are either divorced, separated, widowed or have never been married. And the number is on the rise. In what promises to be a path-breaking work on female identity, Sreemoyee Piu Kundu, a proud-to-be-single woman herself, spills the beans on what it is like being over 30 and unattached in India, through her own compelling story and the chequered lives and journeys of nearly 3,000 urban single Indian women from all walks of life.Women, whether single by choice or circumstance, are under scathing societal pressure, invasive scrutiny and pervasive criticism. Be it the difficulty in renting an apartment, being character-assassinated by your gynaecologist, or being slut- shamed as having slept your way to the top, even when you're successful professionally, a single woman's life choices are the easiest to dissect.  From one of the most powerful voices in contemporary Indian writing, comes a passionate narrative of grit and gumption, anger and loneliness and the daily struggle of being single in a country where the highest validation of your gender remains marriage and motherhood. Fiercely honest and painfully vulnerable, Status Single is a book that every woman and man--single or otherwise--must read.
Contents: Turning 30: transition from bechari to bitch -- Is what you see, what you get? -- Baby-making factories or baanjh? -- Motherhood in my own hands -- Bultu, biye, and bachelorettes -- Sex in the city -- Parents, privacy and protectiveness -- The new singles -- Friend vs. unfriend -- From 'I quit' to 'I do' -- Epilogue: single, not sorry.