Maid in Lit Heaven

A maid has become India’s latest literary sensation after her memoir became a bestseller.

The professor noticed she spent a lot of time dusting his large collection of tomes, especially those written in Bengali. “One day he caught me handling one of the books and asked me to read out the title,” Ms Haldar told BBC Hindi Online’s Alok Prakash Putul. “I was a bit hesitant. The book was Taslima Nasreen’s Amar Meyebela [My Girlhood].” Professor Kumar gave her the book and asked her to read it when she had time. “Later he gave me a notebook and pen and asked me to write my life story.”