Narrating the Unspoken and Queer Women’s Experience in K. Vaishali and Amruta Patil

Abstract

This study examines how two contemporary Indian women writers – Amruta Patil in her graphic novel Kari (2008) and K. Vaishali in her memoir Homeless: Growing Up Lesbian and Dyslexic in India (2023) – give voice to lesbian and queer women‟s experiences that have long been culturally silenced. Situating these works within the history of queer literature in India and informed by queer theory, intersectionality, and feminist criticism, the paper explores how each author narrates the “unspoken.” Kari uses visual allegory and non-linear storytelling to depict a queer woman‟s alienation and fluid identity in urban Bombay. Homeless, by contrast, employs a direct autobiographical voice to confront stigma around lesbianism, disability, caste, and mental health. A comparative analysis highlights differences of form (graphic novel vs. memoir), tone (coded symbolism vs. explicit confession), and intersectional focus (urban alienation vs. marginalised identity). Together, these texts mark a shift from subtle, coded narratives of lesbian life (as in Patil‟s earlier work) to unapologetic self-narration by queer women (as in Vaishali‟s recent memoir). They demonstrate how queer women are “reclaiming the silences” in Indian literature, expanding representation and challenging heteronormative discourse. This paper concludes that these narratives, through their distinct genres, contribute significantly to an evolving Indian queer women‟s literary tradition.