கருக்கு

by Bama

செவ்வியல் பண்புகளைக் கொண்ட ‘கருக்கு’ செவ்வியல் பதிப்பாக ஒவ்வொரு தசாப்தத்திலும் வெளிவர வேண்டும் என்றே நான் கருதுகிறேன். காரணம் நாம் சரித்திரத்தை வெகு வேகமாக மறப்பவர்கள். குறிப்பிட்டுச் சொன்னால் தலித்துகளின் வாழ்க்கைச் சரித்திரங்களையும், பெண்கள் வாழ்க்கைப் போராட்டங்களையும் மறப்பது நமக்கு எளிதாக இருக்கிறது. அப்படி எளிதாக்கிக்கொள்வது நமக்கு வசதியாக இருக்கிறது. மனத்தைக் குத்துபவைகளை அவை இல்லாதவை போல பாவனை செய்துகொண்டு இருப்பவர்களின் நிம்மதியான தூக்கத்தைக் கெடுக்க, அவர்களை முட்டி முட்டித் தொல்லை தர, அவர்களின் தடித்துப்போன தோல்களைக் கீறிவிட ‘கருக்கு’ தேவைப்படுகிறது. உருவகமாகவும் புத்தகமாகவும்.

Genres: Nonfiction, Memoir, Biography, India, Indian Literature, Society

118 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1992

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

[Nandakishore Mridula · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have recently decided to read more of Indian literature, and subaltern literature in particular. So it was natural for me to by this autobiography by Bama, a Tamil Dalit woman while I was in Chennai for three weeks recently. Bama is the pen name of a Dalit Christian, a former nun who decided to renounce her habit and come out of the convent to fight for the rights of her community when she realised that in India, even the hallowed halls of the Roman Catholic church was contaminated with the poison of caste.

In her introduction, translator Lakshmi Holmstrom says

Karukku means palmyra leaves, that, with their serrated edges on both sides, are like double-edged swords. By a felicitous pun, the Tamil word karukku, containing the word karu, embryo or seed, also means freshness, newness. In her preface, Bama draws attention to the symbol, and refers to the words in Hebrews (New Testament), 'For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two - edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart' (Hebrews 4:12)

With this kind of an intro, I had expected an explosive narrative - but what was on offer was extremely tepid fare. And this has got nothing to do with the sincerity of the writer, let me assure you at the outset. The living condition of the Parayas, as Bama describes it, is pitiful; and the way they are abused by everyone up on the caste ladder (they happen to be on the lowest rung) with even the police colluding is horrific. The fact that she is a Christian does nothing for the author - she is still an untouchable, the lowest among the low.

(To tell the truth, this caste consciousness among Christians is quite common. In Kerala, "pedigreed" Christian families - who claim to have been converted by St. Thomas, almost always from Brahmin families - rarely enter into marriages with "convert" Christians, relatively recent converts from Dalit communities.)

Even within the convent (the way it is covertly described, it has to be the order of Mother Teresa), caste rules the roost and the hierarchy is clearly delineated. Even among the students, the rich and pedigreed are preferred to the poor and needy. Ultimately, Bama decides that enough is enough and gets out.

The problem I had with the story is the writing. The narrative pace is very humdrum, and the sentences are repetitive and boring. (I don't know whether this is a problem with the translation.) The structure is also a mess, with the story switching back and forth in time without proper transition rather akin to too many jump cuts within a movie. This slim book ultimately proved a chore to get through.

I salute Bama for her courage in coming out of her suffocating surroundings and speaking out courageously. I only wish it would have been done in a more readable way.

[Udhayakumar Tamileelam · Rating 5 out of 5]

பாமா அவர்களின் கருக்கு புதினத்தை படிக்கும்போது கீழ்க்கண்ட வரிகள் மனதில் வந்துவிடுகிறது.
From ", Anhillation of Caste"

"Turn in any direction you like,
Caste is the monster that crosses your path.You can't have political reform,
You can't have economic reform,unless you kill this monster."
-Dr.B.R.Ambedkar

[Vishakh Unnikrishnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

A masterpiece in Dalit and feminist literature, the latter without the author even realizing it. A raw account of life as a Dalit Chiristian and the oppression that ensues. A simple read and a unique look into the lives that are largely left unaccounted.

[Satheeshwaran · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unconventional for a Tamil novel. And a must read!

ஒரு தலித் கிறிஸ்தவப் பெண்ணின் வாழ்க்கையே இந்நாவல்.

நம் சாதிய ஆதிக்க சமூகத்தில், தலித் மக்கள் அன்றாடம் சந்திக்கும் ஒடுக்குமுறைகள்; அவர்களின்மேல் அவிழ்த்துவிடப்படும் வன்முறைகள்; அடிப்படை வசதிகளான கல்வியும் உணவும் கூட இல்லாத சூழலில் அவர்கள் முட்டிமோதி மேலெழ என்னென்ன அவமானங்களைச் சந்திக்கவேண்டியிருக்கிறது போன்றவைகளை, அவர்கள் பிறந்து வளரும் சூழல், வாழ்க்கை முறையெனப் பல கோணங்களில் முன்வைக்கும் நாவல்.

தலித் மக்களின் பிரச்சனைகள் - என்ற அளவில் நின்றுவிடாமல், அவர்களின் இசை, உணவு முறைகள், திருவிழாக்கள் என கொண்டாட்டமான இன்னொரு பரிமாணத்தையும் பாமா பதிவுசெய்யத் தவறவில்லை.

மிக எளிமையான, எல்லோராலும் வாசிக்கப்பட வேண்டிய நாவல். எளிமைக்குக் காரணம் வழக்கமான தமிழ் உரைநடையாக இல்லாமல் நாவல் முழுவதும் பேச்சுவழக்கு மொழிநடையில் இருப்பதே.

[Vivek KuRa · Rating 4 out of 5]

"இந்த காலத்தில எல்லாம் சாதிய பாகுபாடுகள் எங்கேங்க இருக்கு, அது எல்லாம் அந்த காலம். இப்போ எல்லாம் மாறிப்போச்சு. " என்று கூறும் உண்மை எதார்த்தங்களை அறியாத, நகரத்து கிணத்து தவளைகள் கட்டாயம் படிக்க வேண்டிய நூல். சாதி எப்படி இன்னும் பல இடங்களில் குறிப்பாக கிராமங்களில் சமூக எல்லையையும் , வரம்புகளையும், நிலையையும் பலருக்கு நிர்ணயித்துக்கொண்டு இருக்கிறது என்பதை அழகாக கூறும் ஒரு குறு புதினம். சாதிய அடக்குமுறையிலிருந்து தப்பிக்க, அடைக்கலம் தந்து கொண்டிருப்பதாக நாம் நினைக்கும் சில மதங்களின் உள்ளேயும் சாதி கண்ணுக்கு தெரியாத புற்று நோய் போல் செல்லரித்துக்கொண்டிருப்பதை வெளிச்சம் போட்டு காட்டுகிறது இந்த நூல். வெகுஜன ஊடகங்களாலும் , இலக்கியங்களாலும் அதிகம் விளம்பரப்படுத்தப்படாத , பேசப்படாத , எழுதப்படாத , ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட மக்களின் வாழும் சூழ்நிலையையும் , அவர்கள் உண்ணும் உணவையும் , அவர்கள் பொருளாதார தின போராட்டத்தையும் , அவர்களின் கொண்டாட்டங்களையும் , வறுமையையும் , துக்கத்தையும் ,அபிலாஷைகளையும் மட்டும் அல்லாமல் சாதி எப்படி அவர்களை தொட்டில் முதல் சுடுகாடு வரை விடாது விரட்டும் ஒரு வேதாளமாக இருக்கிறது என்பதை அவர்கள் பாமர மொழி நடையிலேயே கூறும் ஒரு எதார்த்த இலக்கியம் .

[Dhulkarnain · Rating 4 out of 5]

நம் தாயோ, பாட்டியோ கதை சொல்வது போன்ற நாவலின் எழுத்து நடை மிகச் சிறப்பாக இருந்தது. இந்த நாவல் பேசும் மையக்கரு சாதிய அடக்கு முறையைப் பற்றியது தான். சாதிய சமூகத்தீன் பல்வேறு விதமான போலித்தனங்களையும், மேட்டிமைத்தனத்தையும், முரண்பாடுகளையும் பாமா அவர்கள் தன் சுய அனுபவத்தின் வழியே தோலுரித்துக் காட்டுகிறார்.

[Smriti · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bama did not hold back in this book. I loved everything she had to say and while at times it was tough to read what all she had to go through, I appreciated it at the end.

Short, not sweet and definitely worth a read.

you can check out more thoughts i had about it in this video: https://youtu.be/Zmsb0b2uZ_g (Sant Reads on Youtube)

[Sidharthan · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a great book to start the year with!

Karukku is written by Bama, a Dalit woman and it is an autobiography of sorts. From the first page, Bama's voice captures and captivates you. The whole book is written in a conversational tone and you feel like Bama is your next door neighbour relating her experiences to you. And what experiences these are! She goes through the full spectrum and gives us this holistic view of what it means to be a Dalit woman in our casteist, patriarchal society.

The book begins with her description of her native place and with those words you feel transported to the place itself. The tone and the treatment is such that you never feel distant from the story. You understand Bama, you feel like you know Bama. But it is a huge eye-opener to know what has gone into making Bama who she is today. It gives not just the one idea of Bama or Dalits but it manages to capture the nuances of a life properly lived.

This is a seminal book in that it feels like it captures what it is to be from a particular community at this particular time in history. Although deeply personal, this still feels very representative of a community's struggle. There is great power in an oppressed voice speaking out for themselves and that power is fully harnessed here. You cannot but be moved by this beautifully written account. This is the kind of book that can change you as a person and before anyone wants to make a statement that caste doesn't exist in India, they should be made to read this book. I could understand so much about my own privilege in not knowing stories like these before. More books like these need to be written and more voices like these need to be heard.

In just her first book, Bama has shown her mastery in writing and I really look forward to reading more by her.

[Anshuman Swain · Rating 4 out of 5]

The autobiographical book explores the experience of a Dalit Christian woman through the lens of religion and her work as a teacher in a convent. The simplicity of the writing was beautiful and was matched with the strength of emotions attached to small daily things happening to the author - and somehow they touch a nerve.

[Dwarakeshwaran Malathi Magesh · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5/5

Okay! It's a bit late for me to start reading my first book in 2021. I was watching some animes and reading mangas but mainly I was procrastinating heavily.

So, I thought of reading Karukku since it's a small book. (only 124 pages long with a told of 10 Chapters)

Never have I ever thought that I would read a light-hearted (yet hard-hitting) book like Karukku.

I initially thought it of as a novel and started reading it. But it was sort of an autobiography of this Dalit woman, Bama (the Author)

It starts off with explaining (or cherishing) the beauty of her village then suddenly it takes a turn towards untouchability. That chapter didn't sound like a helpless woman pathetically ranting about her woes. Instead, it feels like she was bursting her frustration out against the tyranny of Landowners.

I particularly liked one scene in this chapter where the author's brother signs his name with his Educational qualification for taking a book from a library. It feels cool when the brother shows that he had obtained a degree in front of the people who despised his kind.

Later on in the book, the author writes about the caste conflicts between Pallars and Paraiyars. The irony is that these two castes were not even greater or lesser than each other in societal status. And the fight was also a meaningless one where it got triggered by the self-proclaimed high-class people in the first place. This chapter was probably the darkest chapter of this book IMO.

The next chapters talk about the hope and enjoyment of the author despite her hardships. I liked how the author explains about the Day of the festival where she waited for a whole day to watch a movie. The young Bama strongly believes that people who work hard should never be taken for granted for their self-respect. She decides to study harder. As a result, she ranks first in her tenth grade.

Chapter 7 of this book was my favorite chapter. Bama writes about how she feels towards god and godmen. In her work, she faces a lot of people and their take on god. Bama believes that each of us feels differently towards god. In the later chapters, it was explained brilliantly that people who cherish god - the godmen and his disciples excuse me for my sexism - just want others to change in a way the godmen like them to be in the name of god! This realization was the start of the life of Adult Bama.

The last three chapters portray the life of Adult Bama. She wanted to help the poor people like her and joins a Monestry (மடம்). Due to the internal politics of the Monestry, she couldn't able to achieve her goal.

I liked the young and enthusiastic Bama more than the gloomful Adult Bama. But when I think about it, that's where the beauty of this book comes from. What I am about to say may get subjected to political correctness and other shits related to that. The dark tone of the last chapters explained the ugly reality of the outside world. I think the struggle faced by the people who are called a minority community is less than the struggle one faces against the outside world - outside of his/her comfort zone.

This contrast was beautifully described in this book. The hope that young Bama had, when she faced all kinds of caste disputes and inequality, got diluted when she becomes an adult. During her time working in the monastery, she didn't even reveal her identity. If she had revealed that she was from a minority, then that would have been disastrous. Yet she loses all her hope because of the people around her. Her resolve gets shattered when she knows that she couldn't do anything in a world like this.

.
.
.

And just when I thought this book would end on a tragic note, the last chapter happened. It's one of the best climaxes I have ever read in a book. In an instant, I became a fan of Bama.

Losing Hope doesn't involve losing yourself
Our resolve may die. Unless and Until we die, it doesn't matter shit!

[Venkat · Rating 5 out of 5]

Karukku reads as a serrating monologue, Bama packs a vicious punch in this svelte autobiographical novel. The unnamed narrator a Dalit-Christian-Woman paints her painful (and unsettling) experience in various vignettes, written with charm, clarity and oodles of compassion. The book is written in a very specific dialect (Southern Tamil) which definitely looses (at least some of) the lyricality and the rhythms in translation and may appear redundant to some. But if you read this in Tamil you are in for a revelation, the literary Tamil is quite removed from the spoken language and the various dialects, what the author achieves by this is something monumental, the prose soars beyond the shackles of the written word and moves the reader, the reader is no longer the reader but a guest in the narrator's home, we are sitting at the threshold and we hear (not read) her story, her life and her people, we laugh and cry as she relates their quirky names, their food*1, their jobs*1, their customs, their joys, their pains, and hope. The dialect brings in the musical cadences of the language, each inflection and enunciation adding a specific meaning to the writing. The book has to be written in this language, sorry the story has to be told in this way. Beyond all the oppression and humiliation there is HOPE. Karukku answers the famous question "Can the subaltern speak?" with a resounding YES.

Here's an excellent introduction written by the Lakshmi Holmstrom which appeared in Outlook. She draws attention to how the novel never mentions of the theories/politics of Ambedkar or Periyar or any other political activism and how the sole purpose it provide the reader with an experience and more specifically to raise 'a consciousness of the oppressed Dalit". Zero propaganda. No drum beating. Just a relentless description of the oppressed.

*1 - Certain types of jobs (menial) have been forced by the caste system on them and certain foods are attributed to them (also thanks to our glorious caste system). They are frequently humiliated and shamed by these. Case in point the "Cow vigilante groups".

P.S: Sadly most of the oppression related in the novel is still relevant. The Amnesty International’s State of the World’s Human Rights Report 2016-17, in a sub-section on India titled ‘Caste-based discrimination and violence’, noted that “Dalits and Adivasis continued to face widespread abuses”.

[Ananya · Rating 4 out of 5]

Karukku is an intense autobiography that gives a searing account of the life of a Tamil Dalit Christian woman against a society which still discriminates on the basis of caste and practises untouchability. She opens up about the discrimination she and her community faced, the difficulties and sufferings they had to go through in order to survive and the obstacles they had to face on their way to progress.

Bama focuses on two aspects, religion and caste to throw light on the oppression Dalits face. As she describes her journey from childhood to adulthood, she narrates how caste and religion shaped her life and identity, and how it also worked as an oppressive force in the lives of Dalits. She describes in detail her childhood in her village, her coming to terms with the reality that she is a Dalit, thus an untouchable and that she lived in a world that was hostile towards people like her. Later, Bama describes her adult life, how she became a nun, and later left the order when she witnessed the hypocrisy of the Church in its attitude towards the poor and the Dalits.

Bama’s narration is neither linear nor chronological as in usual autobiographies, but her writing is refreshing, lucid and effective. It efficiently conveys the inner trauma of her being, her state of mind, feelings, and emotions.

[Conrad Barwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

The first autobiography by a Dalit woman author published in 1992. It is also notable for outlining the experience of Dalit Christians and the same caste discrimination that Dalits face as Hindus, they face as Christians and the casteism that permeates Church institutions.

[Moulidharan · Rating 4 out of 5]

சுயசரிதை புத்தகங்களை நான் பெரிதாக விரும்புவது இல்லை . ஏனெனில் , எந்த ஒரு மனிதனும் தன்னை பற்றிய முழு உண்மையை இந்த உலகத்திற்கு கூற விரும்புவதில்லை , அப்படியே அவன் விரும்பி நினைத்து எழுத அமர்ந்தால் அவன் மனசாட்சியும் , இந்த உலகமும் அவனை எழுத விடாது . ஆனால் ,நான் வாசித்து அதிர்ந்து போன ஒரு சுயசரிதை பாலச்சந்திரன் சுள்ளிக்காடு அவர்களுடைய சிதம்பர நினைவுகள் . தன்னை தானே இந்த உலகிற்கு தோலுரித்து காட்டிய அந்த நேர்மை என்னை ஆழ்ந்து யோசிக்க வைத்தது . அதன் பின்னர் சுயசரிதை என்று தெரிந்தே நான் வாசிக்க தேர்ந்தெடுத்த ஒன்று தான் இந்த கருக்கு. ஒடுக்கப்பட்ட ஒரு சமூகத்தில் பிறந்து வளர்ந்து தன்னை தானே ஒரு எழுத்தாளராக செதுக்கிக்கொண்ட ஒரு பெண்ணின் சுயசரிதை . இந்த புத்தகத்தை வாசிக்கும் முன் கருக்கு என்றால் எதனை குறிக்கிறது என்று அறிந்துகொண்டு வாசிக்க தொடங்குங்கள் .

நவீன தமிழ் இலக்கியத்தில் ஒரு நவீன படைப்பு என்றுதான் இதனை நான் கூறுவேன் . இது ஒரு கதையாகவோ , உரையாடலாகவோ , கதைசொல்லி வழியாகவோ கூறப்பட்ட கதையல்ல . நம் தோழியோ , சகோதரியோ நம் அருகில் அமர்ந்து அவள் வாழ்வில் நிகழ்ந்தவற்றை நம்மிடம் வெகு யதார்த்தமாக எந்த வித வெளிப்பூச்சும் அல்லாத ஒரு நெருக்கமான பகிர்வாகத்தான் நான் இந்த நூலை உணர்கிறேன் . இதனை வாசித்து முடித்தவுடன் பாமா-வை சந்திக்க வேண்டும் என்று தோன்றியது . என் கைபேசியில் வலைத்தளத்தில் அவர்களுடைய முகத்தை பார்த்தேன் , நான் நினைத்த மாதிரி அவள் என் சகோதரி போல்தான் தோற்றமளித்தார்கள் .பாமாவிடம் கேட்க எனக்கு சில கேள்விகள் இருக்கின்றன .
1. இவ்வளவு வலிகளை கடந்த பின்னரும் உங்களை முன்நகர்த்தும் உத்வேகம் எது ?
2. கூட்டத்துடன் வாழ்ந்து பழகிய நீங்கள் தனிமையை தேர்ந்தேடுத்தது ஏன் ?
3. படிக்கும்பொழுது இருந்த உங்கள் பலம் ஏன் பட்டம் பெற்றபின் குறையத்தொடங்கியது ?
4. யாருக்காக இந்த புத்தகம் எழுதப்பட்டதோ அவர்களே உங்களை வெறுக்கையில் உங்கள் நம்பிக்கை எதுவாக இருந்தது ?

தலித் சமூகத்தை பற்றி பல புத்தகங்கள் வெளிவந்த நிலையில் இந்த புத்தகம் தனித்து நிற்க காரணம் . இந்த புத்தகத்தில்தான் ஒரு சிறு பிள்ளையின் பார்வையில் தலித் சமூகம் படும் இன்னல்களும் , அவமானங்களும் அவர்களின் மொழியிலே பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது . அது உங்கள் மனதை பன கருக்கு போல புத்தகம் முழுக்க அறுத்துக்கொண்டே இருக்கும் . தொட்டால் தீட்டு , பட்டால் தீட்டு , பார்த்தால் பாவம் ,அதுகள் இதுகள் என்ற அடைமொழி , அழுக்கு- கருப்பு என்ற முத்திரை , நாகரீகம் அறியாத கூட்டம் என்ற வசவு , மேல்சாதியினருக்கு சேவகம் செய்யவே படைக்கப்பட்டவர்கள் என்ற நியதி இப்படி அடுக்கிக்கொண்டே போகலாம் . ��ப்படியெல்லாம் நினைக்கவும் , பேசவும் இவர்களுக்கு சொல்லித்தந்தது யார் ? இதன் ஆதியை தேடிக்கண்டறிந்து களைவது கடினம் , இதற்கு முற்றுப்புள்ளி வைத்திட காலம் காலமாக பலர் போராடியும் இன்றும் கோவிலுக்குள் இவர்கள் நுழையக்கூடாது என்ற நாராசமாக ஒரு கூக்குரல் ஆங்காங்கே கேட்டுக்கொண்டுதான் இருக்கின்றது . இந்த புத்தகத்தில் பாமா வின் சிறு பிள்ளை குரலில் அந்த ஓலங்களை கேட்டாவது சிலர் திரு��்த முயற்சிக்கட்டும் .

" ஒடம்பு வலிக்க பாடுபட்டாலும் எப்பயும் இவுக சிரிச்சிகிட்டே உற்சாகமாத்தான் வேலை செய்றாக. இப்டி இருக்கோம்னு இவுக நெனச்சுக்கூட பாக்கல, நெனச்சு பாக்க மொதல்ல இவுகளுக்கு நேரம் எங்க இருக்கு? "
"போலித்தனமா சிரிச்சிகிட்டு வாழுறத விட, நெசத்துக்கு அழுதுக்கிட்டே வாழுறது பரவாயில்லனு மனச தேத்திகிட்டு இருக்கேன் ".
எவ்வளவு ஆழமான அர்த்தங்கள் பொருந்திய வரிகள் இவை. தன் இனத்தை தானே வருத்தும் குரூரம் மனிதனுக்கு மட்டுமே சொந்தமானது.

- இர. மௌலிதரன்.
7-6-23

[Sudharsan · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars.

A tad slow and repetitive. It may be the case that things got lost in translation and the original tamil version might have been more engaging. A good read nonetheless.

[Karandeep · Rating 5 out of 5]

What we dwelling in the city don't witness or experience is what she writes about and it all exists - we are just oblivious to it. That's all.

[Priya · Rating 2 out of 5]

Somehow this book didn't work for me. And as with most translated books, I don't know if it was the prose itself or the translation. Probably both, to varying extents.

The book chronicles the author's journey from her childhood to the present, under the constant discrimination of being Dalit, and a woman and one who left a convent. This is what interested me. But most of the book feels like one big rant on social injustices with barely any mention of any extraordinary acts, either by her or the people around her. Maybe I have the wrong expectations, I don't know. When the book is touted as a Dalit feminist writing, that's probably what I looked for but didn't find too many instances of.

Most of the episodes from her childhood are things I have seen growing up, at my paternal grandparents'. I've heard of them from my father, so it probably wasn't as shocking to me as it might be to folks not exposed to the specifics of the caste system in Tamil Nadu. That said, the injustices perpetrated in the Catholic Church (specifically the Order in which the author was training to be a nun) was a revelation to me.

But, in general, what put me off was this feeling of hypocrisy on the author's part about caste discrimination - she tells us how her Paraya community was discriminated against but the tone she uses with the communities that are even lower on the caste hierarchy (gypsies, for example) was quite discriminatory and stereotypical too. And I wonder if caste has seeped in much deeper than we realise. The writing itself was very lacklustre (lost in translation?) and the narrative quite haphazard and wandering all over the place, with no chronology and maddeningly repetitive!

Bama's brave renunciation of the convent and setting up her life on her own terms is truly laudable, more so considering her Dalit and woman identity. And that's all there is to this book. It is otherwise a partly nostalgic journey through her growing years, full of resentment on what life offered her (or didn't) because of her caste and her struggles to overcome it, albeit a tad unsuccessfully.

[Rinita Mazumdar · Rating 5 out of 5]

Apart from travelling to different places and meeting new people of different cultures, ethnicities, and races, reading books on varying subjects can make us learn about other's lives. In India, there is no scarcity of diversity. However, how many of them are widely talked about is a matter of question. Among the different lives and lifestyles, the shared Dalit experience across the country has been under-represented in mainstream India for time immemorial.

Bama's 'Karukku' is an absolute monumental book for shedding light on such experiences. It is an autobiography of a Tamil Dalit Christian woman, and 'Bama' is the author's pen name. From the outset of the novel, as a reader, I could not help noticing how different and tremendously more difficult life the author had to lead from mine for the simple reason of being a Dalit. This book made me realise my lifelong privilege as an upper-caste Indian. How cruel is the idea of missing out on opportunities for belonging to a specific cast? How unfair is the environment in which a Dalit kid grows up to be a part of the generational and systematic oppression her ancestors have been facing all along?

From a literary point of view, the writing style could be more systematic, in my opinion. However, I do believe that much gets lost in translation. Apart from that, I was moved to my core by this book. Therefore, I will rate this book five stars for the sheer power of its content.

[Nikhil Karthik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This novel is an autobiographical account of a dalit woman's life, her experiences growing up in a small village and the difficulties she faced after joining the church.

In the initial portions of the novel, the author, Bama, explains the difficulties that she faced during her childhood due to the caste she was born into but at the same time does not fail to elaborate on the very little things that brought her so much happiness and excitement. She also gives us so much insight into the type of lives people lived in these villages with a special focus on the caste dimensions that prevailed in this region.

In the later portions of the novel the author describes in detail her experiences with Church and God and how the caste system manifested itself within these institutions.

Bama writes with so much anger on the injustice meted out to her community and never once engages in self-pity. She is even more critical about the institution of Church, which, with all of its sermons on uplifting the oppressed section of the society, ends up maintaining the status quo and does nothing on what it set out to do.

Written in the local dialect, inexperienced readers can find it a bit hard to follow. But, this book is definitely a must read for people who want to understand the intersection of caste, religion and gender in a person's life.

[Preeti · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first autobiographical book I've read where reviewing feels very wrong. And maybe that's because there are so many moments of vulnerability in this book, in those individual chapters, just being able to read it feels like a big deal. I read Bama's interview and how this book was the first telling of the Dalit story. I do highly recommend reading it, just to get a glimpse of how things really are - no gloss, no glitter. I wish I read it in tamil (But I couldn't get hold of the tamil version)

[Natasha · Rating 5 out of 5]

“I never even knew my caste till I had to apply to colleges after grade 12”, many say to prove that the caste system is dead, and hence reservations should be abolished. What they choose not to realise that being “unaware of caste” is a privilege enjoyed only by those of the upper castes. A Dalit is reminded of her caste every single day.
In her searing memoir, Karukku, Dalit Christian writer Bama describes how as a young girl she was amused to see an elder from her community carrying a packet of vadai by it’s string. What if the string broke and the vadai fell down, she said while narrating the scene to her older brother. It was then that she found out that while carrying food for an upper caste person, a Dalit would have to ensure that he didn’t touch the packet even by mistake. She was mortified to hear that, but gradually came to realise that Dalits like herself were treated very differently by those of other castes.
She narrates how on public buses, she was often asked where she lived, and when the street name revealed her caste, she was ordered to vacate her seat after the person sitting next to her. When she refused, the other person would often stand up herself, but would not remain seated next to her. She talks of how her mother often advised her to lie about her caste since it was unlikely she would be found out, but Bama refused. She was rebelling on behalf of the community- for her it was an act of protest against injustice.
The most poignant passages, however, are those where Bama talks of how they started working even before sunrise, and kept working till dead of night, yet, remained poor. Dalits would be made to do the jobs that nobody else was willing to, and were kept poor by the upper caste employers who underpaid them (often a fistful of millets for a day’s work), and by upper caste tradespersons who always short changed them while bartering goods or services. Dalits, as she writes, work exceedingly hard, but barely survive-
”When I saw our people working so hard night and day, I often used to wonder from where they got their strength. And I used to think that at the rate they worked, men and women both, every single day, they should really be able to advance themselves. But of course, they never received a payment that was appropriate to their labour.”
“This is a community that was born to work. And however hard they toil, it is the same kuuzh every day. The same broken grain gruel. The same watery dried-fish curry, it seems they never even reflect upon their own terrible state of affairs. But do they have any time to think? You have to wonder how the upper castes would survive without these people. For its only when they fall asleep at night that their arms and legs are still; they seem to be at work at all other times. And they have to keep working until the moment of death. It is only in this way that they can even half-fill their bellies.”
If daily discrimination and not being sufficiently compensated for hard labour is not bad enough, Dalits often have to deal with the casual assumptions of people who do not wish them harm. Bama narrates the story of how she was forced to lock herself into a bathroom and cry during a college function, because she didn’t have anything to wear. “Why didn’t you write home and ask them to send you a silk saree?”, a friends enquires casually. How could Bama explain to her that her family is so poor they have never owned even a single silk saree. Her friend didn’t mean to hurt her, but the remark hurt.
After becoming a teacher, Bama decided she could make a positive difference in the lives of young Dalit school children if she joined a convent, so she took up vows. However, she encountered casteism even in the convent. She realised that “The Jesus they worshipped was a wealthy Jesus. I saw no connection between God and the suffering poor.” The nuns, she writes, were more interested in what they would cook and eat than in how they could provide the best education and the best pastoral care to those who needed it most.
Why can’t Dalits just study and move out of the cycle of poverty? Bama addresses that too. In school, Dalit students were made to run around performing menial tasks, and would be the first to be blamed when something went wrong. While there were a few token Dalit children in many schools, the students were not given as much attention as the others. When it came to jobs too, caste often became a reason to not recruit Dalits. On paper, the caste system has been abolished, but it flourishes in myriad ways, and keeps them down.

Karukku is a book we need to read to understand what it means to be a poor, Dalit woman. It peels off the layers of religious hypocrisy and caste discrimination and you are forced to confront the everyday lived reality of people. However, there is also joy. The games they played, the songs they sung, the religious gatherings they attended. It is when you read of how they continue to squeeze joy out of an existence that will crippled most people that the full enormity of the oppressive caste system really hits you.
Outspoken, direct and hard hitting, this book is a must read.

[Ritu · Rating 4 out of 5]

An Autobiography by Bama. The life she led and the values she believes in. Dalit Literature.
She is a person of such ferocious integrity. It was an experience reading this.

[சலூன் கடைக்காரன் · Rating 4 out of 5]

சாதிப் பாகுபாடுகள் மிக எதார்த்தமாக பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளது.மதம் மாறி எங்கெங்கோ சென்றாலும் சாதி விடாமல் துரத்துகிறது.அந்த எளிய மக்களின் கொண்டாட்டங்களும் அழகாக பதிவு செய்யப்பட்டுள்ளன.

[Kalai Selvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

An original view of castism and the tamil(Hindu) Christianity
And make me to live in an greeny village with all kind of celebration for a week😍

[Wiki · Rating 5 out of 5]

நான் படித்து வியந்த புத்தகங்களில் ஒன்று.

[Manal Ibham]

Loved it!

Dalit endrey sollada, Thalai nimirndey nillada

[Kavin Selva · Rating 5 out of 5]

சுய சரிதை புதினம்

[Aarushi Sharma · Rating 4 out of 5]

loved it, such a raw account of a young dalit woman growing up, extremely confused and enraged about the everyday and slow violence of the caste system

[Shambles · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5*
Gut wrenching.
Unconventional writing though which didn't seem to be my cup of tea...

[rosabeck · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars *