Unclaimed Terrain

by Ajay Navaria

In “Scream”—the lead story in Ajay Navaria’s collection—the unnamed protagonist is told at the outset, ‘Crime is very seductive. And revenge a trickster.’ The narrator rejects having his identity constrained by the cruel monikers assigned by the caste Hindus of his village or the supposed refuge of the Christian church. He occupies an ‘unclaimed terrain’, as do many of Navaria’s characters. Journeying from a Dantewada village to the town of Nagpur and from there to Mumbai, the Byronic protagonist is raped, works as a masseur and then as a gigolo even while pursuing his education. The city teaches him the many meanings of labor, and he is freed—if ultimately destroyed—by its infinite possibilities for self-invention.

As complex as they are political, Navaria’s characters—ranging from a brahmin peon to a dalit male prostitute—are neither black nor white, neither clearly good nor evil. They inhabit a grey zone; they linger in the transitional passageway between past object and future subject, casteism and democracy.

Unclaimed Terrain heralds the arrival of a bold new voice in Indian literature.

Genres: Fiction, Short Stories, India

196 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 2012

Reviews

[Kanad Basu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Raw. Haunting. Gives you shivers. Must read for all Indians. Reminded me of Premchand; one story was even named "Hello Premchand". For all of us, who shout against caste based reservation, this book makes you question your thoughts.

[Ushnav Shroff · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent and difficult to read collection of short stories.

[Manish · Rating 3 out of 5]

I got hold of Navaria’s ‘Unclaimed Terrain’ through navayana’s online sale in commemoration of April as Dalit History month. Navaria who is a Hindi Professor at Delhi’s Jamia Milia University and also a Dalit who grew up in Delhi has penned an interesting collection of stories focusing on the multiple dimensions of what it means to be a Dalit in our country. A Brahim peon serving a Dalit babu, an Undersecretary worried about his caste being discovered in a Khan Market gym, a MA students alternate life as a gigolo in Bombay are some of the unusual characters in this short collection. As expected, the language wasn’t too impressive since English rarely serves as a worthy medium to understand the Indian vernacular.

Planning to embark on some serious cum light hearted Dalit lit reading in the coming months. Thanks navayana!

[Meera Budhiraja · Rating 4 out of 5]

Complicated, scathing and raw, this collection of short stories bring out the ugliness of our society. The all prevading caste and the mind set that went with it, comes out clearly in the different stories of this collection. So while in 'yes sir' the brahmin peon is in a constant dilemma on weather to serve his low caste boss, in 'new custom' the protagonist rather than wash his own cup as demanded by the shop keeper when he discovers the well dressed customer's caste, buys it and smashes it. Or 'tattoo' where his jai bhim tattoo makes the protagonist weary of being discovered, instead discovers a fellow low caste person who makes it big like himself. Or like in hello premchand the author rewrites the premchand story of doodh ka daam within a new framework...
so while the ghosts of the caste are there the protagonists in these stories find new ways to beat them and that makes these stories worth reading.

[Lakshmi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Unclaimed Terrain is a compilation of short stories surrounding different Dalit characters, all with varying levels of material success. Navaria is successful because he addresses caste oppression, but adds depth to each protagonist and their problems so you can delve into the psyche of the oppressed and the oppressors. My favorite stories were Subcontinent, Tattoo, Hello Premchand, and Scream. Unfortunately, the English translation does this book no favors, but the essence is intact. I only wish I had the skill to read this in vernacular.

[Pranjali Sharma · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just read the story "Yes Sir" from the book and it turned out to be alright which mainly showed both the normalcy of caste and class levels in today's society.
Won't talk much about it because it needs to be read instead, personally speaking!

[Un Moine Vexé]

Tedious.

[Sheela Lal · Rating 5 out of 5]

easily the most thought provoking book I have read since how to get filthy rich in rising Asia. caste politics are real and pervasive.

[Michael O'Donnell · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good read. I devoured this book. India caste. Modern India may think this is not an issue but for Dalit it is still a problem.

[Alex Dikelsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic writing and metaphors. I checked this out this after watching a short film adaptation of Yes Sir.