When I Hid My Caste: Stories

by Baburao Bagul, Jerry Pinto

‘Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti (When I Hid My Caste) was hailed as “the epic of Dalits”. These brilliant stories gave Dalits the strength to face the painful and humiliating experiences of their wretched lives...’—K Satyanarayana and Susie Tharu

Baburao Bagul’s debut collection of short stories, Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti (1963), revolutionized Dalit literature, bringing to it raw energy and a radical realism—a refusal to understate or dress up gritty, brutal reality.

Through the lives of people on the margins, Bagul exposed the pain, horror and rage of the Dalit experience. The unnamed young protagonist of the title story risks his life and job, and conceals his caste from his fellow workers in the hope of bringing about social change. Damu, the village Mahar, demands the right to perform a religious masque—a preserve of the upper castes—thus disrupting the village order. Jaichand Rathod revolts against his parents’ wishes and refuses to take up the caste-enforced task of manual scavenging. Years of repressed maternal love begins to resurface when, in the face of death, Banoo calls out to her estranged son. And behind Savitri’s desire for revenge lies the gruesome pain she suffered at the hands of her husband.

Utterly unsparing in its depiction of the vicious and inhumane centuries-old caste system, this landmark book is now finally available in English, in a brilliant new translation by the award-winning author and translator Jerry Pinto.

Genres: Marathi, India, Short Stories, Nonfiction, Politics, Indian Literature, Classics

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 10, 2018

Reviews

[Jyotsna · Rating 4 out of 5]

Actual Rating: 4.5 stars

What a beautiful set of heartbreaking short stories. I smiled and I cried.

The effect of caste on the Indian society is so profound that you don't even consider seeing it in your daily life. My favorite story in the book was Revolt.

A few more favorites in the order as given in the index:

Prisoner Of Darkness
Bohada
Dassehra Sacrifice
When I hid my caste

[Conrad Barwa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Originally published in 1963 in Marathi, this is a landmark of Dalit fiction. Bagul's short stories expose in a hard realist fashion the realities of Dalit life in immediate post-colonial Maharastra and the seamier underside of urban and village life, with its violence, sexuality and exploitation on full display. An key text for those seeking to understand the social realities of India.

[Devi Keluskar · Rating 4 out of 5]

Extreme portrayal of emotions in life of dalits.... Set of these small stories leave huge impact on us... (personal suggestion : If possible read the book in it's original language Marathi)

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

"Banoo knew that Daulat was no fool, no idiot child. Behind his violent temperament, she began to see each of the blood-soaked secrets he had concealed. Even though she was his mother, she had done this to him: subjecting him to the evil atmosphere of the wada and the tradition-encrusted village where from childhood the constant pecking at him, the constant cawing and croaking to which he had been subjected, had all conspired to drive him mad."

Shanta Gokhale's Introduction identifies Bagul among the best of Dalit writing which she calls a "profoundly felt response to the complexity of the socio-cultural forces that have shaped the world." She further says, "Bagul isn't addressing himself to the world, but simply putting the life of his people out there to give it a public face. He is saying, here is the world that the public has so far erased from its consciousness. Now look at it and deal with it." This collection might have been first published in 1963 but it, sadly, still feels fresh with stories steeped in a gritty social realism that is not interested in veneers.

In "Revolt" the idealistic dreams of Jai are cut short when he has to give up on education and take up the job of manual scavenging, brutally portraying dehumanization. In "Bohada", Damu disrupts village order and breaks conventions by demanding a place in the religious masque, a preserve of the oppressor castes. In " When I Hid My Caste", Masthur decides to conceal his "lower" caste identity in order to fit in and retain employment and the revelation makes him the target of abuse and harassment. I hesitate to use the word but the best descriptor for these stories is "raw". I was quite shaken by the end.

[Parvathy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Life in the margins - raw, inhuman, close to the bone, utterly horrific. These stories of oppression deal with that irreconcilable contradiction at the heart of Hinduism - caste. They are of the sixties ...but we have to ask ourselves if the horror they speak of is even close to being over today. Dalit literature needs to be translated, read, discussed, if we are to gain even a modicum of understanding of what it means to be at the receiving end of centuries of exploitation.

[rim · Rating 5 out of 5]

Difficult and heart wrenching to read simply because of how starkly the writer presents the reality of Dalit lives even in post independence India. The writing combines Manto's matter of fact-ness and Premchand's penchant for presenting the depravity of our lives in stories. Certainly an enlightening read.

[Sonali Dabade · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short review soon.

[Shambhavi Pandey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti (When I Hid My Caste), originally published in 1963, is a collection of short stories by Marathi playwright Baburao Bagul. Viscerally raw in its essence, this book explores the harsh realities of Dalits in a casteist society. The stories spawn from the searing experiences of the people of these "marginalized communities".
Sheer brilliance on part of the author to sketch the real picture with such sharpness and perceptivity. The ramifications of unvarying humiliation and unwavering discountenance of society are particularly influential. The author shows exacting dispositions of the crossroads of castes with employment, educational opportunities, prostitution, marital status, societal rubrics, and community conventions.
It doesn't show the people at the receiving end of years of oppression and injustice as subdued and repressed. It portrays them as rather stalwart strong, smashing the overbearing unjust outlook and ideals of the society.
Jerry Pinto's translation is equally remarkable in capturing the true essence of the book. The footnotes in the translated copy is an added facilitation in understanding the work of Bagul.
It's a must-read as it brings us closer to the understanding of what we are going through collectively and the heinous crimes being committed around us in the name of caste.

[Manish · Rating 4 out of 5]

Angry. Bold. Horrific. Powerful. A must read.

[Nikita · Rating 5 out of 5]

मराठीमधे लिहण्याची उत्कृष्ट शैली आणि अत्यंत ज्वलंत मुद्द्यावर मनाला भिडणाऱ्या उत्तम कथा.... नक्कीच यांचे उर्वरित साहित्य वाचण्याचा निर्धार करेन.

[Kshitiz Goliya · Rating 5 out of 5]

Baburao Bagul shows us that metaphors have a power of smashing outlooks by bringing you closer to pain and injustice. From the humiliation of hiding your identity to facing blunt instrument of violence, his stories distill feelings and then pour on your conscience like an acid. It burns because it's something you will never relate since you, by virtue of your caste privilege, are somehow partaking into that oppression. Note how he describes a lower caste person being murdered: "Afraid that they would be the next victims of Daulat’s gupti, the crowd began to rain blows on his head as if they were drumming. His rage-filled, hate-soaked blood began to fly here and there. ‘Aa...’ he said, and before he could complete the word ‘Aai’ his stricken life began to mingle with the night that had now slipped away to the East. ‘Aai...’ Mother." Here is another instance where he describes a morning by blunt instruments, "And then, just as the crowbar of the first rays of the sun cracks the dark boulder of the night and allows the light to flood through, her weeping broke his shell open." Bagul takes it forward and makes you squirm in a story about a young dalit trying to rebel against the caste order through education but forced to clean shit to support his family. This is how, Jai, the character feels revolted when he is forced to do something he was trying to escape all his life: "His brain was thrashing about like a fish thrown on burning sand, his veins seemed ready to burst open and were beating against his forehead and the back of his head, and it seemed as if someone had shoved a churn into his stomach and was rolling it about again and again and the nerves of his stomach seemed ready to rip their way out of his mouth." Finally, Bagul takes a jab at Hinduism via Manu when Jai starts thrashing his supervisor out of anger: "The people stood and watched. But no one could make sense of the flame of revolt that was burning inside Jai. There was no way for them to understand it. For their minds had been murdered long ago by Manu." And once again in the last story, when a dalit railway worker answers his friend after being beaten up by his colleagues for hiding his caste: "‘Why did you have to take those idiots’ beating?’ ‘When was I beaten by them? It was Manu who thrashed me. "

[Read.Dream.Repeat.Blogger · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I Hid My Caste.

Baburao Bagul.

Original published as 'Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti' in 1963.

Translated by Jerry Pinto- 2018. Speaking Tiger. Pp- 135.

"Through the lives of people on the margins - rebellious youth and migrants, sex workers and street vendors, slum dwellers and gangsters- Bagul exposed the pain, horror and rage of the Dalit experience."

When I Hid My Caste can be described in just one word- Brilliant!

"They say translation gives a classic an afterlife" and I can't find any better way to say it. This indeed has given an afterlife to Bagul's work and I am grateful to have experienced it."

Speaking of the characters, they have a strong built. The stories are convincing, so much so that you start feeling them and it's hard for you not to live them. The narration is exquisite and most appreciable.

One of the best from Dalit literature, that I've read. It's disturbing, yet inspiring at the same time. This books is a journey in itself! :')

The last time I felt such strong emotions was when I read Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand.

When I hid my caste is a powerful book, and deserves to be read worldwide.
The sentiments in the book, in the stories and in the words in it are strong. The narration, page after page, brings out emotions in the reader. The book is full of agonising and humiliating experiences of the Dalit, which I'm sure are inspired by true events.
Baburao Babu successfully brings to light the "gritty, brutal reality" and it's disturbing.

He portrays the social fabric woven around a centuries old caste system, and in this book, he uncovers and unravels the (harsh) social reality.

A 5 on 5 and a must read!

Thank you so much @speakingtiger for the review copy!

26 down @htbrunch #htbrunchbookchallenge #BrunchBookChallenge #htbrunch.

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[Alankrita Singh · Rating 5 out of 5]

Finished reading 'Jivha ma jaat chorli hoti' by Marathi author Baburao Bagul, translated to English by Jerry Pinto as 'When I hid my caste'.

It's a collection of short stories that document the "wretched" lives and daily lived experiences of Dalits with such force and brutality that leave the readers churn in their stomach.

The stories are based on the three imperatives of Dalit liberation, "vidroha(revolt), vedana(pain) and nakar(dissent)". At the same time the stories reinforce Dr B R Ambedkar's vision of "education, agitation and organisation" for improving the lot of the Dalits.

The author demonstrates extreme sensitivity and deep understanding of intersection of caste with gender, widowhood, prostitution, education status, migrant status, life in urban slums, street vending, manual scavenging, government employment and so on.

Finally, to sum up, I quote from the title story. When the protagonist of the story 'When I hid my caste' gets a job in Indian Railways, on the day of joining he is asked his caste by his work colleagues. In his words, "I roared like a thunderclap on hearing this. 'Why do you ask me my caste? Can you not see who I am? Me, I am a Mumbaikar. I fight the good fight. I give my life in the defence of the right. I have freed India from bondage and I am now her strength."

Read the book to reclaim the energy and zeal to fight injustice and attrocities based on caste. It's got to be a collective endeavour of all who wish to take our country to new heights.

[Aditi Debnath · Rating 4 out of 5]

"In the past, I was an untouchable.
In the past life they smelt my shadow and fled.
In the past life the meat I ate was rotten.
In the past I bathed in a stagnant pond.
That was the past.
Tie me, tether me,
So I don't stray there again." - Gita Hariharan.

'Untouchablity' over the time has been one of the prime bone of contention. If people lay an allege that in the current time we're free of it, I would say that no we aren't and never know when this woe would come to an end.

'When I Hid My Caste' is an umembellished and potent collection of short stories, originally written in Marathi by Baburao Bagul in 1963 and later translated by Jerry Pinto. The stories in this novel speaks of untouchability — the people, the injustices they went through, the consequences if they raise their voice and much more.

Reading this novel was indeed an obscure and onerous task I would say because the brutality, rudeness, ill-treatments that flows through each of the stories would fluster you and perturb you to the core. A reader could foresee the war, a woman getting molested and slut shamed, the horrendous tortures and much more which I simply couldn't dare to write about.

I can simply ask the readers to read the book not as a novel but as something which could inhabit a change in you. (P. S, the only drawback of this novel is that the narration and translation didn't work for me.)

[Chandni · Rating 3 out of 5]

Babulrao Bagul's 'When I Hid My Caste' is a searing view into everyday life of Dalits in India. The writing is raw yet sobering, mirroring the tones of atrocity, marginalisation, and sheer apathy that Bagul documents.

"My head begins to ache as if it is about to burst; in this luck-foresaken country, human beings should not be born as Dalits. If and when they are, they must bear such sorrow and disrespect as would make death seem as easier option, making a cup of poison a Dalit's best friend."

Is this a must-read from Dalit literature? Perhaps not. As short stories go, none of the ten stories stayed with me but collectively, they serve to document, if not address Dalit experiences. And in doing so, this is an important book. Commendably, some stories capture what it is to be a Dalit woman: marginal within the marginalised.

Jerry Pinto deserves special mention for making Marathi literature accessible to wider audiences.

[Abhilash · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not very happy with the translation. Most of the prose was lost on me, completely weirded out by all the metaphors used which delivered very little impact. I'm sure these stories would have been effective in their original language but reading this English translation just made me wince mostly. The only story which I could connect with reasonably was the first one in this collection.

[Parth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Bold, angry and powerful, Baburao Bagul's anthology collection is a cry for protest against the inhumanity of caste system. Making his protagonists people from the margins like manuel scavengers, prostitutes, widows and Dalits-- Bagul brings their voices to the centre. A must read.

[Arvind Radhakrishnan · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the best short story collections that I have read in recent years.Deserves a 4.5 rating.

[Neha Shrivastav · Rating 3 out of 5]

Stories are good but there could be better translation.

[Anupama C K(b0rn_2_read) · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some stories were truly heartbreaking
Favorites were
Prison of Darkness
Revolt

[Meghaa Pradyumnan · Rating 5 out of 5]

📑 : 154
🔖 : #shortstories #translation
Have you ever wondered about the lives of the marginalized communities, the treatments meted out to them by upper-class arrogant people, and how caste plays an upper hand in these so-called lowlifes?
--
☪️ This book was originally published in 1963 in Marathi and was translated by Jerry Pinto. Baburao exposes the pain, horror, and rage of Dalits in Maharashtra with sheer brilliance and provoking rawness! Each of the ten stories in this book document the 'wretched' lives of Mahara, one of the many Dalit castes, that make us squirm. The stories are based on the three imperatives of Dalit liberation — vidroha (revolt), vedana (pain), and nakar (dissent). At the same time, they also enforce Dr. B R Ambedkar's vision of "education, agitation, and organization" for improving Dalits' lives. The tales demonstrate extreme sensitivity and deep understanding of the crossroads of caste with gender imbalance, widowhood, prostitution, education, manual scavenging, employment, and so on
--
✝️ The title is taken from the last story where the unnamed protagonist risks his life and job, conceals his caste from his fellow workers, all in the hope of bringing social change.
--
☸️This is truly the Epic of the Dalits. The effect of caste on Indian society is deep-rooted in the daily life of its people and it's the people in the lower strata who suffer from it the most! I strongly feel Dalit literature must be written, read, and discussed if we are to gain even an ounce of their miseries and exploitation.
--
☯️ I felt the repeated usage of certain words (ululate) was a bit distracting. That said, Jerry has done some remarkable work in translation and the footnotes are an added bonus in understanding Bagul's works. My favorite story would definitely be "Revolt" which deals with an educated Dalit youth forced to clean shit (manual scavenging).

[Sumit · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was fortunate enough to attend a course taught by Professor K. Satyanarayana when he covered the main story, and frankly, I didn't realize at the time what a privilege that was.

This book was reintroduced to me by my colleague Dedeepya, who randomly gave it to me about two months ago. I had some recollection of the main story, but I obviously understood and enjoyed it fully now.

All the stories in this book are emotional and gut-wrenching, reflecting the harrowing reality of how things were (and still are in some places). Baburao doesn't mince his words at all; I did find some sentences difficult to read because of their rawness.

Jerry Pinto does a great job of providing much-needed context for some of the local words. Apart from the main story, I found "Pesuk" interesting. I try not to analyze the language and sentence structure of translated works, but here they were impeccable.

As I'm forever attached to the caste debate, it is tempting to be biased when reading these stories, but some of them were eye-opening for me as well. Living in a city, it is quite easy to overlook caste issues and their impact; such works act as a brutal reminder of where we were and how much improvement is still needed.

[Siddarth Gore · Rating 4 out of 5]

‘Now look here, don’t get angry. When we meet a stranger, we always ask him his caste. This is the way in our country.

A set of stories which are like the Rorschach test. If you think they are unreal, overdone or fantastic then it shows you live in an India which is very different from this one. The caste mentality that is ingrained in all of us is brought to the forefront.

Living in a city and being from the historically privileged classes I hardly ever feel my caste. But you have to read these stories in order to realize how all pervasive it is. Especially in rural India.

Where I had once spoken with the freedom of the blowing wind, now I measured every word and considered its effects.

Self-censorship is the worst kind. And your caste teaches you to do just that.

‘Where is it written that a Bhangi’s son must become a Bhangi?’ ‘In our poverty. In our dharma. In our country.

Time is ticking, our mentality is not.

[Soniya Pondcar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"my heart is a city rich with revolution."

one of the most cathartic works i have read. i know this is categorised as "fiction," but the oppression that this book is rooted in exists visibly in everyday life, even so in 2024. baburao bagul is a genius for finding that exceptional bridge between storytelling and reality. each story managed to tug my heart strings, but the last one is the one that will stay with me forever. simply a very special collection of short stories- and that's saying something because i'm not easily drawn towards the short story genre. can't end this review without mentioning jerry pinto- i'm usually skeptical about reading translated works but jerry brings in the same level of emotion even in his translation. idk why i went ahead with the english version, when i can very well understand AND read marathi, but it didn't let me down. jerry pinto should be the official english translator for all marathi books tbh because what quality wow.

[Leanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

As jarring and difficult as it may be to read at times, this book is a must read. We all know how it paved the way for other Dalit authors to use their literary voices. Additionally, I think this book would be helpful in sparking up conversations and highlighting the atrocities faced by this community. As a society, we owe it to them to never forget. To ensure we play our part in ending patterns that have been normalised as routine and normal but are actually rooted in classism and casteism.

My favourite stories were- Streetwalker, Revolt, Pesuk, When I hid my caste

[Devyani Pattebahadur · Rating 5 out of 5]

A collection of powerful and heart wrenching short stories. My favorites include When I Hid My Caste, Revolt, Dassehra Sacrifice, Monkey and Pesuk. I have never read anything as evocative as When I Hid My Caste. My only regret is that I decided to read the English translation before reading the original book written in Marathi.

[Mridusmita · Rating 4 out of 5]

Raw, graphic writing and emotionally charged. Depicting power/powerless, violence, suffering, and injustice in their most brutal forms. Bagul's prose is often fragmented, reflecting the chaotic and painful realities his characters endure. His storytelling is deeply immersive, forcing readers to confront the lived experiences of the oppressed.

[Aniket Patil · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good Book.

[Rajendra Pimplakar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am interested this book

[Shubham Chandrakant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very very good book. Eye-opener.