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I Named My Sister Silence
A little boy follows an elephant into a forest, fascinated and as if in a trance. His foray ends in tragedy, for the elephant is eaten alive by wild dogs even as the boy is sitting atop it. Remembering this years later, aboard a giant ship, he wonders if it is his destiny to witness the destruction of immense things. Like the land of Bastar, like the elephant, like his ship that will soon be decommissioned.
He recalls his half-sister’s immense silence too. Madavi Irma, the silent girl who nurtured him and gave him a good education by selling what she collected from the forest. Until one day, she left home to join the Maoist Dada Log. When he returns home, Bastar is afire. The Adivasis had mounted an armed rebellion to protect their land and lives. In retaliation, whole villages have been razed to the ground and their inhabitants stuffed into dingy camps.
Determined to seek out his sister, he enters the forest once again, this time as a young man, and is soon confronted with the elaborate deceptions of those who rule and of those who profit from the land they do not own or understand. Manoj Rupda’s I Named My Sister Silence is a quietly fierce work that continues to burn bright in the mind long after the last page has been read.
He recalls his half-sister’s immense silence too. Madavi Irma, the silent girl who nurtured him and gave him a good education by selling what she collected from the forest. Until one day, she left home to join the Maoist Dada Log. When he returns home, Bastar is afire. The Adivasis had mounted an armed rebellion to protect their land and lives. In retaliation, whole villages have been razed to the ground and their inhabitants stuffed into dingy camps.
Determined to seek out his sister, he enters the forest once again, this time as a young man, and is soon confronted with the elaborate deceptions of those who rule and of those who profit from the land they do not own or understand. Manoj Rupda’s I Named My Sister Silence is a quietly fierce work that continues to burn bright in the mind long after the last page has been read.
163 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 19, 2023
2 people are currently reading
230 people want to read
About the author
Manoj Rupda
3 books5 followersAbout the TranslatorHansda Sowvendra Shekhar is a doctor by day and the author of a collection of short stories, The Adivasi Will Not Dance, which was shortlisted for The Hindu Prize; and a novel, The Mysterious Ailment of Rupi Baskey, which won the Sahitya Akademi Yuva Puraskar and was nominated for The Hindu Prize and the Crossword Book Award and the International Dublin Literary Award. His other books include My Father’s Garden and Jwala Kumar and the Gift of Adventures in Champakbagh, a novel for children. He also translates into English from Santali, Hindi and Bengali. His translations have been published in Asymptote, The Hindu Literary Review, Scroll, National Herald on Sunday, Usawa Literary Review, Indian Literature, Poetry at Sangam and The Dalhousie Review.
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July 13, 2023A compelling novel that lends voice to multiple forms of silence and violence. In these pages we confront the unspeakable violence of nature and politics as well as the soul-shattering realization that we might be complicit not only in the destruction of other peoples in other lands, but also the destitution and displacement of our own. Well-translated too.
November 17, 2023
Unnamed protagonist of #inamedmysistersilence
, Original Hindi work named as #kaleadhyay (black chapters) showcase such life changing incidences of protagonist's life. From Naxalite marred jungles of Bastar to working on ships laden with export materials which have exploited those forests itself, he travels. He travels from the coccon of his sister's love to realities of world
I am in complete awe of the character sketch crafted by #manojrupda . The stunning parallels he draws between present and future have a mesmerizing effect.
I have read the original work in Hindi but I am pretty sure translated work done by #Hansdashekhar would be absolutely perfect
Absolutely Brilliant 💯/🔟 One of my top reads of all time. I really want to read it's English translation 'I named my sister silence" absolutely soon
, Original Hindi work named as #kaleadhyay (black chapters) showcase such life changing incidences of protagonist's life. From Naxalite marred jungles of Bastar to working on ships laden with export materials which have exploited those forests itself, he travels. He travels from the coccon of his sister's love to realities of world
I am in complete awe of the character sketch crafted by #manojrupda . The stunning parallels he draws between present and future have a mesmerizing effect.
I have read the original work in Hindi but I am pretty sure translated work done by #Hansdashekhar would be absolutely perfect
Absolutely Brilliant 💯/🔟 One of my top reads of all time. I really want to read it's English translation 'I named my sister silence" absolutely soon
July 30, 2024
"Destruction and its consequences are the legacy we have received from our ancestors and that's exactly what we are going to pass on to our progenies."
This is a book about violence. Not the violence perpetrated in wars and battles, but the violence perpetrated by the avarice of rich corporates supported by government policies.
The book begins with a ship being broken down not because it has reached the end of its productive life, but because it is no longer profitable to keep it going. It is followed soon after by the senseless death of a majestic elephant. You soon realise that both the ship and the elephant are metaphors for the land and its people which is being stripped away.
The fight is for the rights to mine forest land, and the original inhabitants of the forest are mere pawns in the struggle. "The villagers had been segregated into two parts, both parts being controlled by powerful, opposing forces." Whether they sided with the police who were implementing the orders to strip the land of it's wealth, or whether they joined the Maoists/ Naxalites who were fighting for the rights of the original inhabitants, the result was the same. "Villagers on both sides died in equal numbers, either in a crossfire or a landmine explosion."
I heard Manoj Rupda speak at the Hyd Lit Fest, and his views on the futility of development which came at the cost of the destruction of the environment resonated with me. It is precisely that which forms the backbone of the book, but the story is told at so many levels that it is not hard to understand why it was shortlisted for the JCB Prize.
The translation by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar (who also gave the translated book its' title) is excellent. Most of the time, you think the book was written in English, but you catch glimpses of the original in passages like "I named my sister Khamoshi- Silence. And I named that round, white stone Junoon- Passion. It is passion that shows us the path and enables us to clear it."
This book counts towards my #ReadingThroughIndia project.
This is a book about violence. Not the violence perpetrated in wars and battles, but the violence perpetrated by the avarice of rich corporates supported by government policies.
The book begins with a ship being broken down not because it has reached the end of its productive life, but because it is no longer profitable to keep it going. It is followed soon after by the senseless death of a majestic elephant. You soon realise that both the ship and the elephant are metaphors for the land and its people which is being stripped away.
The fight is for the rights to mine forest land, and the original inhabitants of the forest are mere pawns in the struggle. "The villagers had been segregated into two parts, both parts being controlled by powerful, opposing forces." Whether they sided with the police who were implementing the orders to strip the land of it's wealth, or whether they joined the Maoists/ Naxalites who were fighting for the rights of the original inhabitants, the result was the same. "Villagers on both sides died in equal numbers, either in a crossfire or a landmine explosion."
I heard Manoj Rupda speak at the Hyd Lit Fest, and his views on the futility of development which came at the cost of the destruction of the environment resonated with me. It is precisely that which forms the backbone of the book, but the story is told at so many levels that it is not hard to understand why it was shortlisted for the JCB Prize.
The translation by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar (who also gave the translated book its' title) is excellent. Most of the time, you think the book was written in English, but you catch glimpses of the original in passages like "I named my sister Khamoshi- Silence. And I named that round, white stone Junoon- Passion. It is passion that shows us the path and enables us to clear it."
This book counts towards my #ReadingThroughIndia project.
May 10, 2025
With elephants, birds, and ships, with allegories and metaphors, Manoj Rupda has made a statement through Kaaley Adhyay (Dark Chapters), translated from Hindi as I Named My Sister Silence. This novella gives us the other side of the story that we often conveniently ignore when it comes to Naxalites. It puts us in their shoes and gives their perspective. Why do they rebel? What is their motivation? Why do they turn to violence? Is violence only the kind that is spread by guns and bombs? Do humans, in the name of development, power, and greed, indulge in a violence that is even worse than wars and battles?
This is a story told by an Adivasi (tribal) boy who is loved by no one in his family except his elder step-sister. This sister makes sure that she educates him and enables a good life—that lands him an engineering degree and a job at a Merchant Navy company. The journey, however, is not smooth, and eventually, while he is about to embark on a promising career, he discovers that his sister has joined the "Dada log"—that is, the Naxals. With the turn of events and his desire to bring his sister back to a "normal" life, he discovers that it's the Merchant Navy company against which the Naxalites are rebelling—for they are exploiting the resources of their land.
The novella is in two parts—and the second part is more like a documentary—where we are acquainted with exploitation stories in other corners of the world through the characters. What is being referred to as "the holocaust driven by the economy."
The beauty lies in the allegories and metaphors—the elephant who is devoured by hungry wild dogs, the ship taken for scrapping in the scrapyard, the birds chirping in horror as the ship is wrecked—are the ones beautifully depicting the pain and empathy that the author wants the reader to feel.
This is a story told by an Adivasi (tribal) boy who is loved by no one in his family except his elder step-sister. This sister makes sure that she educates him and enables a good life—that lands him an engineering degree and a job at a Merchant Navy company. The journey, however, is not smooth, and eventually, while he is about to embark on a promising career, he discovers that his sister has joined the "Dada log"—that is, the Naxals. With the turn of events and his desire to bring his sister back to a "normal" life, he discovers that it's the Merchant Navy company against which the Naxalites are rebelling—for they are exploiting the resources of their land.
The novella is in two parts—and the second part is more like a documentary—where we are acquainted with exploitation stories in other corners of the world through the characters. What is being referred to as "the holocaust driven by the economy."
The beauty lies in the allegories and metaphors—the elephant who is devoured by hungry wild dogs, the ship taken for scrapping in the scrapyard, the birds chirping in horror as the ship is wrecked—are the ones beautifully depicting the pain and empathy that the author wants the reader to feel.
July 30, 2023
The unnamed protagonist in I Named My Sister Silence is destined to witness the destruction of things that are really huge and majestic. As a 10 yr old boy, entranced by an elephant, he follows it deep into the jungle only to witness it mauled to death by a pack of wild dogs. Something changes in him irreversibly that day. Years later, an engineer in his 20s, he witnesses a ship crushed to death, dismantled by cranes at a ship breaking yard, the same ship on which he worked for a merchant navy firm, whose huge innards excited him.
A lot happens in the years in between - his elder sister Irma, his friend and guide deserts him, their home and disappears into the forest, into an oblivion that he's forced to name her silence. His entire village in Bastar is razed down, his community uprooted and shifted to camps.
A taut first person narrative, in spare prose, this slim book has violence as its chief motif. And for that, surprisingly, there is a sense of quietude, an unruffled tone that's unsettling.
Beginning in Alang in Gujarat, mostly set in Basamura village in Bastar, moving to different nations across the world, Manoj Rupda highlights three different kinds of violence - racial, communal and economic - the last one, he points out, is most lethal for it results in genocides that no one ever acknowledges.
He focusses on lands hanging in abeyance between development and desolation, people squeezed between police forces and Naxalites, the price some one else pays for many casually 'wanting' more, the cannibalic greed for more money and supremacy. He does the above not like a fiery journalist who sets the TV screen ablaze with truth bombs but with an affecting, thought provoking melancholia. That logic has to be left aside in some places is a quibble.
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar's translation (original in Hindi is titled Kaale Adhyaay) not only ensures a smooth reading experience but imparts a feeling that he has earnestly worked to make this work his own, earning him a rightful place at the top on the cover.
If the word 'development' leaves you mulling, even in dread on where we are headed to, you will listen to this book in rapt attention.
A lot happens in the years in between - his elder sister Irma, his friend and guide deserts him, their home and disappears into the forest, into an oblivion that he's forced to name her silence. His entire village in Bastar is razed down, his community uprooted and shifted to camps.
A taut first person narrative, in spare prose, this slim book has violence as its chief motif. And for that, surprisingly, there is a sense of quietude, an unruffled tone that's unsettling.
Beginning in Alang in Gujarat, mostly set in Basamura village in Bastar, moving to different nations across the world, Manoj Rupda highlights three different kinds of violence - racial, communal and economic - the last one, he points out, is most lethal for it results in genocides that no one ever acknowledges.
He focusses on lands hanging in abeyance between development and desolation, people squeezed between police forces and Naxalites, the price some one else pays for many casually 'wanting' more, the cannibalic greed for more money and supremacy. He does the above not like a fiery journalist who sets the TV screen ablaze with truth bombs but with an affecting, thought provoking melancholia. That logic has to be left aside in some places is a quibble.
Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar's translation (original in Hindi is titled Kaale Adhyaay) not only ensures a smooth reading experience but imparts a feeling that he has earnestly worked to make this work his own, earning him a rightful place at the top on the cover.
If the word 'development' leaves you mulling, even in dread on where we are headed to, you will listen to this book in rapt attention.
July 2, 2024
*I Named My Sister Silence* immediately caught my eye with its intriguing title, and after reading the blurb, I was hooked. The story begins with the dramatic destruction of a giant ship and delves deeper into various forms of destruction, including the demise of a magnificent animal, an ancient civilization, relationships, and, notably, humanity itself.
The narrative centers around a man on a quest to find his sister, whom he named Silence. This journey is not just a physical one but also an exploration of the profound and often painful truths about who holds the power to destroy. Manoj Rupda skillfully brings to light sensitive aspects of reality, particularly the concept of Naxalism, which adds a compelling humanitarian perspective to the story.
What struck me most was how the author masterfully balances subtlety and boldness, making it impossible to put the book down—or out of my mind. The stark comparisons between humans and animals, and at times to creatures even more despicable, are powerfully reinforced by shocking and unbelievable incidents that provoke deep reflection.
The story beautifully uncovers layers within violence, illustrating that it can be racial, communal, and economic. Rupda successfully touches on global and Indian contexts to justify these multifaceted forms of violence. Moreover, the portrayal of sailors' lives is done with a vivid and poignant touch, adding depth and richness to the narrative.
This book is a thought-provoking read that challenges our perceptions and compels us to think critically about power, destruction, and humanity. It is, without a doubt, the best read I've encountered in 2024 so far.
The narrative centers around a man on a quest to find his sister, whom he named Silence. This journey is not just a physical one but also an exploration of the profound and often painful truths about who holds the power to destroy. Manoj Rupda skillfully brings to light sensitive aspects of reality, particularly the concept of Naxalism, which adds a compelling humanitarian perspective to the story.
What struck me most was how the author masterfully balances subtlety and boldness, making it impossible to put the book down—or out of my mind. The stark comparisons between humans and animals, and at times to creatures even more despicable, are powerfully reinforced by shocking and unbelievable incidents that provoke deep reflection.
The story beautifully uncovers layers within violence, illustrating that it can be racial, communal, and economic. Rupda successfully touches on global and Indian contexts to justify these multifaceted forms of violence. Moreover, the portrayal of sailors' lives is done with a vivid and poignant touch, adding depth and richness to the narrative.
This book is a thought-provoking read that challenges our perceptions and compels us to think critically about power, destruction, and humanity. It is, without a doubt, the best read I've encountered in 2024 so far.
January 23, 2024
A book about the many faces of violence. The invisible violence of neoliberal capitalism, wrought in the name of development, the violence of laying waste to civilizations & their lands, the violence of wild dogs eating away at a majestic elephant.
In the face of insurmountable endless destruction, perhaps silence is the last refuge. The only power out of which new life may emerge. This is the pulsating heart of this story for me. The sister whose silence has the strength to survive genocides & destruction, the silence that opens up the possibility of imagining freedom, struggling for it with a quiet resolve regardless of the oppressions pervading all senses.
This book has split open the aching veins of the world I inhabit, constantly gorged on by a global economy that is hurtling towards death in its quest for unlimited growth.
Am I also witnessing giant elephants being devoured by wild dogs when the forests around me are ripped out for real estate? Do I have the strength to see a ship ripped apart? Where do I find a silence to belong to? Will I find Passion in it too?
In the face of insurmountable endless destruction, perhaps silence is the last refuge. The only power out of which new life may emerge. This is the pulsating heart of this story for me. The sister whose silence has the strength to survive genocides & destruction, the silence that opens up the possibility of imagining freedom, struggling for it with a quiet resolve regardless of the oppressions pervading all senses.
This book has split open the aching veins of the world I inhabit, constantly gorged on by a global economy that is hurtling towards death in its quest for unlimited growth.
Am I also witnessing giant elephants being devoured by wild dogs when the forests around me are ripped out for real estate? Do I have the strength to see a ship ripped apart? Where do I find a silence to belong to? Will I find Passion in it too?
February 15, 2024
The story is quite intriguing, touching upon the problems faced by the Adivasi community in Bastar and a man's journey to finding his place on this earth. Not a single word is wasted, every paragraph highlights the inner turmoil of the protagonist and his journey from the desolation of his community to the destruction of a mighty ship. Every event in his life has brought nothing but despair, hurtling him to a life of destitution and suffering.
The tale had a good pace but lacked a natural description of the environment. The translator did a phenomenal job of keeping the essence of suffering throughout the narrative.
The tale had a good pace but lacked a natural description of the environment. The translator did a phenomenal job of keeping the essence of suffering throughout the narrative.
July 29, 2024
There is nothing subtle about a novel like this. It criticizes the system and lays bare the destruction it has caused. I found it hard to sympathize with the protagonist especially because so much of the novel is things happening to him as opposed to him making things happen. He becomes a passive character in his own story. If that's an implication of the larger theme the novel takes (basically, to hell with market forces) then I think I completely understand that. But that connection is rooted only in logic and not in its storytelling. Nonetheless, the story is quick paced and it's theme is relevant now more than ever.
September 28, 2023
I named my sister Silence by Manoj Rupda is the story that celebrates stepsiblings' love in the middle of violence that destroyed the whole community. The author has talked about the emotional trauma that people undergo when they witness violence.
This is an amazing book that helped me to understand the emotions of people when they witness violence. I will highly recommend this book to all fiction lovers.
This is an amazing book that helped me to understand the emotions of people when they witness violence. I will highly recommend this book to all fiction lovers.
August 20, 2025
The book uses metaphor to take readers through Bastar, the US, Ethiopia, and Rawalpindi—places that reflect the pain rooted in race, religion, and economic struggle. It’s an easy read, with a clear beginning and end. The stories and metaphors may not reveal anything entirely new, but they resonate with familiar truths.
October 25, 2023
A special book dealing with a people, subject matter and themes that are still uncommon to find in Indian fiction. The narrator's voice reads very sincerely and cuts to the heart. I also adored the siblings' relationship. The translation reads simply but is also so poignant.
September 24, 2023
Enjoyed reading the story about the forest, the elephant, and various aspects of the forest. Well-written and translated book.
December 6, 2023
A unique achievement
January 3, 2024
Book worth reading!
https://jainandgurjar.home.blog/2023/...
https://jainandgurjar.home.blog/2023/...
June 5, 2024
Thank you Pari ❤️
December 16, 2024
3.5 stars
March 24, 2025
Still grappling with emotions and so many thoughts. Just awe struck. Detailed review to follow soon.
April 4, 2025
Moving depiction of a profound story...
February 3, 2024
Powerful, thought provoking, and moving. The story is always foregrounded in a wider political context while remaining focused on telling the story of its characters.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews