HYDERABAD: “Phoolan Devi held herself very straight and had a powerful gaze,” says French novelist Irene Fraine, as she remembers meeting the late bandit and former MP in jail. The writer, who wrote Devi based on Phoolan’s life, was in the city on Wednesday at an event organised by Alliance Francaise. This 69-year-old author has written around 40 books till now, many of which shows her affinity for oriental culture.
Irene, who has also written a book about Jambhoji, the founder of Bishnoi community in Rajasthan, says: “My father was a ecologically conscious man. Long before organic food became a rage, we were growing our own food using only natural fertilisers. That is why, when I read about the Bishnoi community, I was intrigued, and 10 days later, I was in Jodhpur trying to know more about them. When I read about the 363 Bishnoi members who gave up their lives to save trees from being cut, I wanted the world to know about their sacrifice. In fact, I made my publisher print all their names in my book lest people forget them.”
Another recurrent them in Irene’s books are women who overcame insurmountable hurdles in their lives. Being born in a destitute family and facing abandonment by her mother, the writer can relate to many of the struggles that women undergo all over the world. She says: “I wrote about my mother in one of my books, and it was a cathartic process for me. I understood her struggles and why she could not love me. I started writing to get my mother’s attention, and I failed in it. But I received love from readers.”
Irene says that no one should abandon the dreams of their adolescence. “There is a lake of innocence in all of us, and we need to keep in touch with it.” The writer will be speaking at the Hyderabad Literary Festival.