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The Sickle
Through the lives of farmers, migrant labourers and activists in Marathwada and western Maharashtra, Agnihotri illuminates a series of intersecting and overlapping crises: female foeticide, sexual assault, the violence of caste, feudal labour relations, farmers’ suicides and climate change in all its manifestations.
From Vaishali, trying to rebuild her life after her husband’s suicide, to Yashwant, a dhaba owner driven to activism by his mother’s murder, Agnihotri’s indictment of Indian society is grounded in individual lives.
From Vaishali, trying to rebuild her life after her husband’s suicide, to Yashwant, a dhaba owner driven to activism by his mother’s murder, Agnihotri’s indictment of Indian society is grounded in individual lives.
280 pages, Hardcover
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About the author
Anita Agnihotri
41 books8 followersঅনিতা অগ্নিহোত্রীর জন্ম কলকাতায়, ১৯৫৬-এর সেপ্টেম্বরে।শিক্ষা: প্রেসিডেন্সি কলেজ ও কলকাতা বিশ্ববিদ্যালয়ের পর অর্থনীতিতে স্নাতকোত্তর উপাধি পেয়েছেন ইংল্যান্ড থেকে।১৯৮০ থেকে ভারতীয় প্রশাসনিক সেবার সদস্য। ‘দেশ’ পত্রিকায় ‘স্থানান্তর’ প্রকাশিত হবার পর থেকে ছোটগল্প রচনায় নিয়মিত আত্মপ্রকাশ। লেখিকার কবিতার বই: চন্দন গাছ, বৃষ্টি আসবে, সাঁজোয়া বাহিনী যায়। ছোটদের জন্য লেখা গল্প এবং উপন্যাস: আকিম ও দ্বীপের মানুষ, তিতিরের বন্ধুরা, আকিম নিরুদ্দেশ।গল্পগ্রন্থ: তরণী। দুটি উপন্যাস: মহুলডিহার দিন ও যারা ভালো বেসেছিল।‘তরণী’ গল্পগ্রন্থের জন্য পেয়েছেন সোমেন চন্দ স্মারক পুরস্কার (২০০১)।
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 10 reviews
July 24, 2024
One of the best novels I have read this year!
Representation and character development are quite well done considering the serious nature of the issues surrounding the plot.
Well written and beautifully executed, one of my top reads by one of the most underrated Indian authors.
More than sixty percent of the story deals with female foeticide, the various societal factors involved and their consequences. The last few chapters deal with farmer suicides which I feel is discussed quite accurately.
I do recommend this gem of a book. I feel this book needs to be discussed more as such issues will prevail for decades to come.
A must read from my side.
But.
I hope you are in a good mental state when you decide to pick up this book.
Representation and character development are quite well done considering the serious nature of the issues surrounding the plot.
Well written and beautifully executed, one of my top reads by one of the most underrated Indian authors.
More than sixty percent of the story deals with female foeticide, the various societal factors involved and their consequences. The last few chapters deal with farmer suicides which I feel is discussed quite accurately.
I do recommend this gem of a book. I feel this book needs to be discussed more as such issues will prevail for decades to come.
A must read from my side.
But.
I hope you are in a good mental state when you decide to pick up this book.
May 30, 2024
Highlights: Strong narrative with a smooth translation!
Set in the rural Marathwada region of Satara, this is the story of migrant labourers being exploited - mentally and physically, extreme labour with half wages, rape and molestation, multiple cases of female foeticide, the constant fear of living among rowdy lecherous Mukadams (landlords)! Then they have to tolerate the humiliation due to caste, survive a harsh drought! There are cases of farmer suicides due to unethical debts. Most of these atrocities are borne by women!
There is a silver line in a parallel thread in the form of Daya Joshi, the lawyer dedicating her life for abandoning foetus sex determination tests, and in general uplifting the women in need.
Overall:
There are so many issues explored simultaneously. It breaks my heart to read this "fictional" account because we know most of it is true and bitter than fiction!
Set in the rural Marathwada region of Satara, this is the story of migrant labourers being exploited - mentally and physically, extreme labour with half wages, rape and molestation, multiple cases of female foeticide, the constant fear of living among rowdy lecherous Mukadams (landlords)! Then they have to tolerate the humiliation due to caste, survive a harsh drought! There are cases of farmer suicides due to unethical debts. Most of these atrocities are borne by women!
There is a silver line in a parallel thread in the form of Daya Joshi, the lawyer dedicating her life for abandoning foetus sex determination tests, and in general uplifting the women in need.
Overall:
There are so many issues explored simultaneously. It breaks my heart to read this "fictional" account because we know most of it is true and bitter than fiction!
December 27, 2021
During my last visit home, I got this book at the airport... Somehow the title grabbed my attention... Also this should be my first hardbound for 2021... About the story there are three different stories but all adding up to the same problem looking for the same solution... It's basically about the plight of farmers in India, the drought, the difficulties they face, what leads up to farmer's suicide and what happens to the family after such tragic event... It also deals with female infanticide, problems faced by women adding up to the problem already faced by their farmer husband... Their revolution and the question, 'Will there ever be an end to all this? '.... All the stories are work of fiction but they are as true as can be..., what is really happening in our country... I look at our present generation and feel disheartened, how for e.g., possessing an iPhone is a status symbol, for people in villages and rural areas just pure drinking water is a status symbol... How they thirst, how they crave for basic amenities... How lucky we are to have a roof above our head, to sleep soundlessly and to get a square meal without worrying about how to get it... But the plight of these unfortunates are unheard and ignored...
September 29, 2021
I can't believe I had the good luck of discovering such an incredible book through Instagram and I'm so grateful about it.
The Sickle starts with the plight of labourers in sugarcane fields moves to illegal sex determination abortions of girl child in the womb and ends with farmers suicide in Maharashtra. India being a country of haves and have not, this book is filled with characters who are so real yet people of privilege like me wouldn't know about them. And this is exactly why I read and this is exactly why I want everyone to read it. There was an instance in the book where dogs were eating the aborted foetuses and it made me want to retch. This is also a book about the government's incomptence and the ever present corruption.
The last part about farmers marching to Mumbai was just like it was a news report of the ongoing farmers protest. "This wasn't self-confidence, this was arrogance - a deliberate attempt to ignore and humiliate the very people whose work made sure dining tables were full."
The Sickle starts with the plight of labourers in sugarcane fields moves to illegal sex determination abortions of girl child in the womb and ends with farmers suicide in Maharashtra. India being a country of haves and have not, this book is filled with characters who are so real yet people of privilege like me wouldn't know about them. And this is exactly why I read and this is exactly why I want everyone to read it. There was an instance in the book where dogs were eating the aborted foetuses and it made me want to retch. This is also a book about the government's incomptence and the ever present corruption.
The last part about farmers marching to Mumbai was just like it was a news report of the ongoing farmers protest. "This wasn't self-confidence, this was arrogance - a deliberate attempt to ignore and humiliate the very people whose work made sure dining tables were full."
April 22, 2021
Though this is a fictional work, I believe the truth might be not much different if not harsher.
The book makes you aware about the situation and poor state of farmers from the region of Marathwada, Maharashtra.
Some of the key topics touched are female foeticide, drought and its impact & farmer suicides. It's a must read to make oneself aware of the sad state of affairs.
The book makes you aware about the situation and poor state of farmers from the region of Marathwada, Maharashtra.
Some of the key topics touched are female foeticide, drought and its impact & farmer suicides. It's a must read to make oneself aware of the sad state of affairs.
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December 22, 2023Contemporary intricate fact and fiction
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
July 23, 2024
A fictional but true telling of some of the challenges facing India's peasant and adivasi agricultural communities.
January 17, 2026
It’s terrific in tackling those bygone things which are still, surprisingly, prevalent. But it’s astoundingly terrible in making a pamphlet, an essay, a research like more than a novel.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 10 reviews