“It Gladdens Me When I See Women Claiming Their Space...”

Politician and MP Mahua Moitra opens up to Cosmo about how she’s getting used to living life in the public eye, why she “really likes” her younger self, and what happens when women put themselves in ‘gender silos’...

- Humra Afroz Khan

Mahua Moitra is accustomed to being referred to as a frank and outspoken “loudmouth”—a term, she says, was often used to describe her even as a little girl. “What you see is actually a mellowed version of me,” she laughs, “I used to be a lot more blunt and upfront when I was younger.”

It is a crisp, late-winter afternoon, and Mahua, casually kitted out in sweats and a tee, welcomes the Cosmo team into her New Delhi house. The West Bengal elections have just been announced, and the TMC leader has a lot of work to do. But in the midst of the whirlwind political tour that she has been on, the 45-year-old has made a quick pit-stop in the capital, to meet the newest member of her family—her one-month-old Rottweiler baby, Henry (who, it must be added, is the most adorable ball of fluff, and soon surpasses his mum to be the star of the day!).

We settle into the perfect corner—in a glass-roofed hall with creamy-white walls, awashed with a stream of sunlight...and Henry curled up at our feet, gently gnawing on anything he can lay his teething jaw on. We are ready to unravel the many layers of the fiery member of parliament. The conversation steers from Mahua’s life in London to her journey into remote India, from finding unwavering support in sisterhood to being labelled an English-speaking ‘memsahab’ by some, and more. “People tend to find me intimidating. And that’s okay... sometimes, it is good to be intimidating,” Mahua jokes, as we binge on pizzas and colas, and she begins to tell us all about her herself—including her love for lipsticks and high heels, the Agatha Christie book collection that sits atop the fireplace, and the one time she had a huge perm and wore frosted silver nail polish.