Intemperance by Sonora Jha has a bold, playful premise of a feminist professor who chooses to hold a ritual test of feats to find her third husband; it sets off a whirlwind of confusion, scandal, confusion, and history. She found inspiration in her own life circumstances as a twice divorced woman thriving and dating and living a delightful life, and she created a character who embodied her realities but transcended the facts of her life. Her friends wanted her to have a swayamvar of her own in Seattle, but she was not bold or brash enough for that, so she decided to write a fictional character who would do it. She then followed this character through her blunders and inspirations, including her metaphysical visions of a queer, inter caste love story in her ancestry in Bihar in 1895 that had something to tell her about how to run unashamedly toward love. More from her about the creation of the novel below.
The protagonist is a 55 year old woman searching for love and fulfilling her desires. What did you want to explore about female sexuality and autonomy?
I have had so many conversations with women in recent years about this resurgence of desire in middle age that feels different from that which came before. We’re discovering that we’re in our sexual prime. We’re not pinned down in the male gaze and not performing femininity anymore (if we once were). We’re more self-actualized in our sexuality and we’re more whimsical. There’s a yearning for an equal who will meet and feed and fan this new desire. So, my protagonist is hungry but will not settle for anything less than delectable.
What drew you to blending Indian folklore and feminist storytelling in this way?
I wanted to subvert the 'marriage plot' that is at the center of many stories about women seeking mates, and so I refashioned the idea of a swayamvar from Hindu mythology (traditionally a patriarchal setup that only gave the illusion of choice and agency to the princess) to a modern-day context in which a woman wonders what would be a feat for a man to perform today that would truly captivate and enchant her. I also found inspiration in the work of feminist philosopher bell hooks. I combined the two streams of thought to represent the notion that when a woman has found her self-worth independent of the conventions of romance and husbands and motherhood, she is a formidable thing and her search for love becomes a delicious feminist act.
What is your relationship with writing?
It started with the rigors of news reporting, moved into the conventions of academic writing, and is now unfettered in creative work that offers the pleasures of making art. I feel beautiful when I write. I feel fulfilled and closest to my highest spiritual self when I write something that feels like it’s breathing. I am a better human being on the days when I write. And yet, I don’t do it every day. One of these days I will figure out why I deny myself.
“I feel beautiful when I write. I feel fulfilled and closest to my highest spiritual self when I write something that feels like it’s breathing. I am a better human being on the days when I write. ”
What questions were you hoping to raise about modern masculinity?
The protagonist in the novel says at one point, 'When you have spent decades studying masculinity, you can’t help but fall in love with men a little.' I would love for us all to imagine a newer, more tender masculinity. I would also like us to wonder what women’s lives would be if they weren’t afraid of looking untethered, even 'unloved.' I’d also like men to read this book as a love letter to them, asking them to shed some of their traditional notions of masculinity, be a little more adventurous, seek their own freedom from the burdens of being stoic or selfish, and come attend a swayamvar or two. We’re waiting.
What are some inspirations—books, films, songs, art—you turned to, as you worked on this book?
I had such a lovely immersion in art while writing this book - from the art of Raja Ravi Varma on mythological goddesses and princesses to the art of Honore´Daumier in Paris. The writing of bell hooks and Yashica Dutt and Shailaja Paik and Rachel Cusk and Annie Ernaux and Geetanjali Shree and Hernan Diaz. A treasure trove of Hindi film songs, the love songs of Sahir Ludhianvi mixed in with Taylor Swift and M.I.A. and Coke Studio Pakistan and renditions of Chhaap Tilak Sab Chheeni. Films that are considered high art, like Bimal Roy’s Bandini and Satyajit Ray’s Charusheela and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light and Saim Sadiq’s Joyland and then lots of rom-coms and trashy television shows like Love is Blind.
Any challenges you faced along the way?
I felt somewhat self-conscious writing so close to the bone. I didn’t want to write a character who sounded too much like me because that felt like it would dampen any creative spark even though yes, it allowed for embedding some of my own interiority into the protagonist. So, that was an internal challenge. A more external-facing one was that I didn’t want people thinking that this woman is me because it takes away from the experience for the reader of meeting a freshly-imagined character. The plot and the people in the story are almost entirely made up. But as I started to lean into the humor and the satire, as I started to make wild leaps of imagination, these challenges faded away.
What’s next? What’s the future looking like?
I’m allowing myself a long period of just reading before I totally commit to another project, but some glimmers of story have started to take shape. I have so many books I want to write. Every book feels like a revelation of a new way to be in the world, offering new permissions. So I’m here for it all.
Words Neeraja Srinivasan
Date 17-11-2025