A Reading Girl by a Window

It is a truth universally acknowledged - that a single woman  in possession of a book near a window, must be in want of a man’s attention! 

Quoting the famous opening lines by Jane Austen or something like that… 

Who can forget the sight of Sharmila Tagore trying to read sitting by the window of a running train while Rajesh Khanna serenades her with ‘Sapno ki Rani’ . The title of the song could very well be a desi Hindi potboiler available at the the Hindi Pustak dukaan at a local railway station. Ironically, she reads Alistair Maclean’s a famous English novel instead. 

Bollywood for years has used the same visual image of an educated heroine sitting by the window while the hero watches her from afar. It could be a ploy to show how an educated well read girl also needs some traditional wooing by the hero. A play at fooling your parents with an excuse of an education and fresh air while sitting at the window waiting for the boy. 

Sometimes it’s also about playing hard to get, ignoring the boy’s fancy singing, dancing and flexing of muscles. Inevitably the man has only one mission - to get the attention of the girl at the window. It could be the window of the house, train or balcony.

Recently with a wave of Hindi movies catering to the tier 3 city audiences, the popular Hindi pulp fiction has become more visible. Sometimes as a central plot in a movie or main character’s life as a writer. 

Bareilly ki Burfi

The love story between the girl and the writer of the namesake novel. Just like the famous but quaint sweet from the town, the taste of the movie stays with you. 

Haseen Dilruba

The female lead is in love with the crime fiction novels by Dinesh Pandit. How this fascination then becomes her love and life story is what this film is centered around. 

Meri Pyaari Bindu

The main lead is a writer and he goes into telling his own love story and the inspiration he draws all his writing ✍️ from. 

It’s good to see the indigenous literature being celebrated. If you want to explore interesting Hindi authors but don’t have an appetite for the pulp fiction thrillers I can suggest you some classic Hindi authors who take you into the fantastical world of Hindi fiction - 

Prem Chand

Devkinandan Khatri 

Dharmavir Bharti 

Bhisham Sahni

Gulzar and the list goes on…

Find it here and have fun reading. After all Hindi hamari matra basha hai 🙏🏼