The Stomach that Chewed Hunger and other stories

by Bama (Editor), Ahana Lakshmi (Translator)

Jealous of the 'success' of his hardworking farmhands, the rich farmer cuts off access to their land; a free gift won by a working-class family is appropriated by their rich employer who feels his status entitles him to such benefits; a teacher finds herself rendered speechless by the subtle, insidious ways in which caste operates around her; a pregnant woman dreams of clean toilets for her child. Hard hitting, often unrelenting, the twelve powerful stories in this slim volume have been selected by Bama, a Dalit writer who broke new ground by speaking out publicly against caste discrimination, particularly in the Church. Written in everyday Tamil and in regional dialects and skillfully translated by Ahana Lakshmi, the stories are firmly rooted in the twin experience of caste and gender and upend much of the received wisdom about what counts as 'good' literature.

Genres: India

152 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2022

About the author

Bama (பாமா), is a Tamil Dalit feminist, committed teacher and novelist. Bama (nom de plume of Faustina Mary Fatima Rani) was born in a Roman Catholic family belonging to the Paraiyar community from Pudhupatti in the then Madras State. Her father, Susairaj was employed in the Indian Army and her mother was named Sebasthiamma. She is the sister of famous Dalit writer Raj Gauthaman. Bama's ancestors were from the Dalit community and worked as agricultural labourers.

Her early literary influences include Tamil writers like Jayakantan, Akhilan, Mani, and Parthasarthy. In college, she read and enjoyed Kahlil Gibran and Rabindranath Tagore. On graduation, she became a schoolteacher for very poor girls, following which she served as a nun for seven years. She chose to take the holy orders to escape caste-based discrimination, and also to further her mission of helping in the advancement of poor Dalit girls.

She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel Karukku (1992), which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christian women in Tamil Nadu. She subsequently wrote two more novels, Sangati (1994) and Vanmam (2002) along with two collections of short stories: Kusumbukkaran (1996) and Oru Tattvum Erumaiyum (2003). In addition to this she has written twenty short stories.

Reviews

[Zephyr · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliant Anthology, filled with stories that can teach you a lot about intersections.

5 Star Reads
- Bath by Bama
- Laughter Yiyeee! by Revathi Muhil
- Rebel! by Bama
- Glass Eyes by Puthiya Maadhavi

4 Star Reads
- Ask my daughter to come by Aranga Mallika
- The Wait by Puthiya Maadhavi
- Hero by P. Sivakami
- Kamala by Uma Devi

3 Stars and Below
- The stomach that chewed hunger by Nachiyal Suganthi
- Cut-tail by Amutha Arathi
- The Grain Bunch by Thenmozhi
- The Child That Cries by P. Sivakami

[Natasha · Rating 4 out of 5]

There is no better way to celebrate Dalit History Month than by reading this anthology of short stories by female Dalit writers. Each of the eight authors have their own style of writing- some are joyful while others are angry, some are resigned to their situation while others dream of change. Most of the stories are set in the village, but a few have an urban setting, with two even being set in Mumbai. What is common to each of the stories are the strongly etched protagonists, and the miserable lives they are forced to lead.
Caste based discrimination and atrocities play a major role in almost all the stories, and reading them, one is taken aback by how deeply it is internalised to the point where the oppressed do not even react to many of the injustices heaped on them. Poverty too raises it's head, as also the way women are forced to ignore sexual harassment and abuse.
People are quick to say that caste no longer matters, but a story like Bath talks of how even educated people, in respectable professions, and earning a decent amount of money are still discriminated because of their caste. Similarly, in The Child That Cries, a lower caste family tries to improve its position through sheer hard work, but is repeatedly pushed down my a system that thinks they are "rising above themselves".
The stories were all written in different dialects of Tamil, and the translator does a marvellous job of capturing the flavour of each of the narrative styles- you can make out that the stories were written by different people.
This is a marvellous collection of stories, and I will recommend the book to anyone.

[Nanditha · Rating 4 out of 5]

A beautiful collection of stories revolving around caste and gender, translated from Tamil. Loved the simplicity of the narratives and the way they packed in a lot of power in just a few pages.

[Areeb Ahmad (Bankrupt_Bookworm) · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Mayil athai had a dream. She dreamt of marrying a townsman groom who looked just like the engineer from Madurai who used to come to the spinning mill once a month, who wore trousers and a shirt and travelled for office work by car, while she wore colourful georgette saris and imitation jewellery like Rani akka and lived a comfortable life. She would now and then describe this dream to Gran. This coupon held the promise of that dream becoming real."

I always reach out to anthologies; they introduce me to a whole array of new writers whose works I can explore in the future. It is no different here! I have read a little of Bama in school—Karukku is still on my TBR—so I trusted her taste and as it's Zubaan, what could go wrong? The eight writers, not including Bama, and twelve stories, highlight the double effacement at the rocky intersections of caste and gender while also looking at issues of class and labour. As Bama says, the locations of authors and stories as well as their themes are varied; they are written in distinct Tamil dialects.

My favourite stories: "Bath" by Bama about how caste stigma and untouchability go unremarked upon even now too; "Laughter Yiyeee" by Revathi Muhil about a landlord who feel himself entitled to the goods of a poor family; "Kamala" by Uma Devi shows how the poor are cheated by the rich and yet their spirits remain high: and lastly, "The Child that Cries" by P Sivakami where a farmer cuts off road access for his poorer neighbours. Much appreciation for Ahana Lakshmi who has translated this collection from the Tamil and her ability to make not all of them "sound" the same.


(I received a finished copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.)

[Shikha S. Lamba · Rating 4 out of 5]

Please pick up this book!
The Stomach that Chewed Hunger is a collection of short stories written in everyday Tamil and other dialects, translated by Ahana Lakshmi.
I will quote a line from one of the stories that best describes the book, “ India lives in its villages.” Through the years, living in different countries, I’ve been asked far too many times to describe what India is like. My answer is usually the same - “I can’t, because I too have seen and known so little of her.” The part of India I belong to is a very tiny percentage of the country.

This is a wonderful, eye opening and powerful collection of stories revolving around casteism, gender and poverty - edited by Bama, a Tamil, Dalit feminist, teacher and novelist.
Casteism is still very prominent in India, so is colourism and racism. I cannot begin to explain how much I am angered by parts of our culture that still dehumanises people. Untouchability still exists. People depending on their caste are still barred from temples and other places, still face restrictions on the jobs they can do and where they can live.
Another line from a story from the time of Covid that really got to me, “For those already experiencing untouchability, maintaining distance because of the fear of infection was not seen as a big deal.”

This is important and relevant literature. There is so, so much we need to change within our own spaces. Start by reading, understanding and learning so change for the good can happen.