Quest Journals Journal of Research in Humanities and Social Science Volume 9 ~ Issue 8 (2021)pp: 65-68 ISSN(Online):2321-9467 www.questjournals.org *Corresponding Author: Zehara Jabeen 65 | Page Research Paper The Ignored Self: Women’s Life-Stories Zehara Jabeen Christ College Cuttack ABSTRACT: Autobiographies delight their readers by taking them behind the scenes of the public personality and tell us about the author’s private affairs and thoughts, their home and hobbies, etc. this charms the reader as it gives the reader information of a different kind. Indian women’s autobiographies are different from that of men’s. Their concerns and dilemmas are different; their expression is bound to mirror their differences. Women are under-privileged than men. Under the patriarchal social order, women are expected to place their traditional roles as daughters, wives and mothers above an individual identity. (Kumar 5) Received 02 August, 2021; Revised: 14 August, 2021; Accepted 16 August, 2021 © The author(s) 2021. Published with open access at www.questjournals.org Rasidi Ticket and Shadows of Words, two autobiographies by Amrita Pritam, are unique for the narrator’s foray into both the lovely and the harsh visionary world. These books are the confessional outpouring of a sensitive soul and also a reflection of the patriarchal social constraints. These books are remarkable for their frankness of feelings and boldness of approach in respect of topics hitherto considered taboo. Shades of the same frankness are discernible in Kamala Das’s My Story and Indira Goswami’s Adha Lekha Dastabej. In Preface to Shadows of Words Amrita Pritam writes: In the name of home, society, religion and politics those shadows were wrapped around the doors and wall. Somewhat deliberating, this book reaches that desired destination- where the shadows of inner consciousness get translated into words. The symphony of this consciousness may not be captured in words- yet conserving about them are these few pages- which can be anointed as an inner journey. The most conspicuous trait evident in her autobiography is a woman’s battle against authoritarian and male hegemonic discourse and her determination ‘to dare to live the life she imagines.’ Her writing is celebrated for its sensuous imagery and evocative rhythm and is widely read and appreciated. She writes: Society attacks anyone who dares to say its coins counterfeit, but when it is a woman who says this, society begins to foam at the mouth. It puts aside all its theories and arguments and picks up the weapon of filth to fling at her (Pritam Preface). Women writers have to resurrect and heal a self in order to acknowledge their desires and their love for independence even at the cost of love. The above words highlight the nature and atmosphere of confessional strain in the Shadows of Words. B. N. Singh aptly observes: One thing is obvious that words are adequate to give vent to her feelings: the shadows of inner consciousness have been translated into words. This autobiography is about the inner journey of the narrator. The inner journey ranges from ‘a demonic shadow which baptized me with thick smog’ when she was ‘virtually standing alone in this strange world (Shadows of Words p. 1) to the spiritual enlightenment ‘fervour of the fragrance within (Shadows of Words p. 140). In between is the travail she has undergone because of her unrequited live for Sahir Ludhianvi, the noted Urdu poet (17). In Rasidi Ticket we get a bold picture of a love-lorn teenager, a sensitive soul - love smitten and emotionally starved, who detests as repressive all the social values which act as detrimental to her interest. She writes: