THE LEGEND OF LAXMI PRASAD

1. The Legend of Lakshmi Prasad – The book's title appears at the
beginning of the first narrative. In this tale, a girl turns into a
legend. Lakshmi Prasad is a 17-year-old girl with a lot of energy
who wants to alter the way people think about having a girl child.
She wants every girl child in her village to be independent. When
a girl child is born in her name, she comes up with the brilliant
idea to plant ten mango trees. The tree will grow with her, and
when the time comes, the girl will be able to use all of the money
made from its fruits for her education, marriage, leisure, and other
purposes. The village now celebrates the little girl's birth rather
than viewing it as a bad thing! And Lakshmi, the young girl, is
the reason this is possible.
2. Salaam, Noni Appa – In the second story, two sisters in their
sixties attempt to reconcile their lives between unexpected
friendship and loneliness. 68 years old Noni develops affections
for a man who is little younger than her and also happens to be
her yoga instructor. Their love develops gradually, from first

companionship to friendship to finally realizing their mutual
need; they defy all social norms and come together for
themselves, to be with each other, while she is fleeing the lonely
life of a widow and he is fleeing his dysfunctional marriage.
3. If The Weather Permits – The third narrative introduces us to
Elisa, a young Malayali woman who, after been married several
times, still looking for purpose in life. The girl gets married five
times: three times to the person she chooses, and twice to the
person her parents choose, who likewise ends up failing. Having
married men who were insane and intended to commit
suicide.Elisa was never content with her marriages. As a result,
she ends up paying with her life, but as a single woman, she only
belongs to herself.
4. The Sanitary Man from a Sacred Land – A local simpleton
who takes up the cause of producing affordable sanitary napkins
for ladies from all social classes is the subject of the last
narrative, which is the longest of the four. Coming out and
discussing subjects that have been forbidden in our culture
requires bravery, but it is amazing when a man does it. A man's
journey, which starts with his desire to see his wife happy and
protected from illnesses during her menstrual period (because she
uses a cloth), turns into a dream: giving millions of women
nationwide access to sanitary pads at a reasonable cost and
empowering them to become self-sufficient by allowing them to
operate their own pad manufacturing company.
This novel was also adapted for the 2018 Hindi film "Pad Man,"
which starred Akshay Kumar in the lead role and was directed by
R. Balki.This story is based on a real character

Conclusion:

The four stories are completely unrelated to one another; in fact,
their diversity sets the book unique from other collections of
short stories, where the stories typically center on a single theme,
which can occasionally make reading monotonous. The stories
are written in a straightforward but compelling style that might
draw readers in.
Whether on purpose or accidentally, the novel has a feminist
stance. The quest for female identity is reflected in all four
stories, with each character traveling a unique path and
ultimately arriving at their intended goal. Even though the final
story is told from a male perspective, it eventually discusses a
woman's quest for independence.
The remarkable thing about all the stories is that, even though
they are made up, they all appear realistic, as if anyone could
experience them.
Twinkle Khanna has laced all the stories with wit which keeps
the stories very simple and grounded yet stirs our emotions. I
think all four of the stories are really thought-provoking.