The Company of Women
Encyclopedia
.
The Company of Women is a novel
by India
n author
Khushwant Singh
.
, Mohan has "lost his virginity" at Princeton University
to Jessica Brown, a beautiful black lady. Their relationship looked like a honeymoon
without wedding. While still in the USA, Ms. Yasmeen, a Pakistan
i, revealed to Mohan Kumar the heady passion of a woman older than her male counterpart.
After Mohan gets back to India and settles in married life, his passion for women continues undiminished. He feels highly relieved after being divorced by his "nagging and ill-tempered" wife. But Mohan Kumar had never remained a faithful husband. His sex escapades, before the divorce and post divorce were unusual and varied, including his repeated relations with his ever-obliging maid, Dhanno, with her practiced charm on the bed.
Another woman in Kumar’s life was Tamilian Marry Joseph, described by the author as “a dark, plump woman in her thirties.” She worked as a nurse to Kumar’s son. She has been described almost inviting Mohan Kumar tacitly with these words, “Saar, one life to live, not to waste it on a drunkard husband. You agree?” Kumar has agreed.
The book describes Kumar's rendezvous with madam Sarojini Bhardwaj, a Professor
of English
. And, when it came to sex, the lady professor proved that she was stronger than many men. Another lady appearing in the sex life of Kumar was Molly Gomes, who was “not only as an incarnation of sensual impulse, but also as a mistress of sexuality.” Likewise, Susanthika, “the small wonderful bird”, from Sri Lanka
was really active on bed.
, mediums like painting
s, stone carvings, folksongs and folklore
s. This has been described in the book in the form of a series of events in the life of the lead character, Mohan Kumar. A series of sequences unfold in the book in the form of Mohan Kumar’s association and rendezvous with a number of women.
In brief, The Company of Women celebrates the universal and the eternal story of man's relationship with woman: the relationship of love, sex, and passion. The book presents this relationship in a very unusual and original style, which is not only uninhibited and erotic, but also enormously enchanting and engrossing. However, the story also serves as a sort of modern-day morality tale, with Mohan Kumar committing suicide
as he realizes he has AIDS
, in effect, paying for his promiscuity.
The Company of Women is a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
by India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
n author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh
Khushwant Singh is a prominent Indian novelist and journalist. Singh's weekly column, "With Malice towards One and All", carried by several Indian newspapers, is among the most widely-read columns in the country....
.
Plot introduction
Khushwant Singh, one of India's most well-known and widely read authors, commenced writing The Company of Women when he was eighty-three and finished at age eighty-five. The octogenarian writer has declared “as a man gets older, his sex instincts travel from his middle to his head.”Plot summary
As a student in the U.S.United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, Mohan has "lost his virginity" at Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
to Jessica Brown, a beautiful black lady. Their relationship looked like a honeymoon
Honeymoon
-History:One early reference to a honeymoon is in Deuteronomy 24:5 “When a man is newly wed, he need not go out on a military expedition, nor shall any public duty be imposed on him...
without wedding. While still in the USA, Ms. Yasmeen, a Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
i, revealed to Mohan Kumar the heady passion of a woman older than her male counterpart.
After Mohan gets back to India and settles in married life, his passion for women continues undiminished. He feels highly relieved after being divorced by his "nagging and ill-tempered" wife. But Mohan Kumar had never remained a faithful husband. His sex escapades, before the divorce and post divorce were unusual and varied, including his repeated relations with his ever-obliging maid, Dhanno, with her practiced charm on the bed.
Another woman in Kumar’s life was Tamilian Marry Joseph, described by the author as “a dark, plump woman in her thirties.” She worked as a nurse to Kumar’s son. She has been described almost inviting Mohan Kumar tacitly with these words, “Saar, one life to live, not to waste it on a drunkard husband. You agree?” Kumar has agreed.
The book describes Kumar's rendezvous with madam Sarojini Bhardwaj, a Professor
Professor
A professor is a scholarly teacher; the precise meaning of the term varies by country. Literally, professor derives from Latin as a "person who professes" being usually an expert in arts or sciences; a teacher of high rank...
of English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. And, when it came to sex, the lady professor proved that she was stronger than many men. Another lady appearing in the sex life of Kumar was Molly Gomes, who was “not only as an incarnation of sensual impulse, but also as a mistress of sexuality.” Likewise, Susanthika, “the small wonderful bird”, from Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
was really active on bed.
Major themes
The basic theme of the book is the relationship between men and women, who has been depicted in countless works, in innumerable ways and styles, including literary texts and poetryPoetry
Poetry is a form of literary art in which language is used for its aesthetic and evocative qualities in addition to, or in lieu of, its apparent meaning...
, mediums like painting
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
s, stone carvings, folksongs and folklore
Folklore
Folklore consists of legends, music, oral history, proverbs, jokes, popular beliefs, fairy tales and customs that are the traditions of a culture, subculture, or group. It is also the set of practices through which those expressive genres are shared. The study of folklore is sometimes called...
s. This has been described in the book in the form of a series of events in the life of the lead character, Mohan Kumar. A series of sequences unfold in the book in the form of Mohan Kumar’s association and rendezvous with a number of women.
In brief, The Company of Women celebrates the universal and the eternal story of man's relationship with woman: the relationship of love, sex, and passion. The book presents this relationship in a very unusual and original style, which is not only uninhibited and erotic, but also enormously enchanting and engrossing. However, the story also serves as a sort of modern-day morality tale, with Mohan Kumar committing suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
as he realizes he has AIDS
AIDS
Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the human immunodeficiency virus...
, in effect, paying for his promiscuity.