What do you think?
Rate this book
The Ichi Tree Monkey: New and Selected Stories
‘[Bama has] painted the Tamil-Indian village from the perspective of the cheri (Dalit colony), thus turning the socio-cultural geography upside down.’ —The Hindu
From the author of the widely acclaimed novels Karukku and Sangati, this is a fiery, feisty collection, comprising all the stories from her acclaimed book Kusumbukaran and new ones written for this volume. Set among the Dalits of
rural Tamil Nadu, these stories display the full potential of the ‘weapons of the weak’—small, everyday acts of rebellion, sharp, irreverent humour and a determination not to be crushed and extinguished. Pachayamma in ‘Chilli Powder’ taunts the rich landlady Gangamma by collecting fodder only from her fields, despite dire threats, and laughs in the face of blustering policemen. The handsome and audacious young Ammasi leaves a landlord fuming in impotent rage by calling him his brother. A pig and a monkey debate which of them deserves a higher status. A ghost demands whisky and insists he has no caste.
Bama’s prose bristles with the raw energy and vitality that comes from living close to the ground, and Ravi Shanker’s translations retain all the power, wit and brilliance of the originals.
From the author of the widely acclaimed novels Karukku and Sangati, this is a fiery, feisty collection, comprising all the stories from her acclaimed book Kusumbukaran and new ones written for this volume. Set among the Dalits of
rural Tamil Nadu, these stories display the full potential of the ‘weapons of the weak’—small, everyday acts of rebellion, sharp, irreverent humour and a determination not to be crushed and extinguished. Pachayamma in ‘Chilli Powder’ taunts the rich landlady Gangamma by collecting fodder only from her fields, despite dire threats, and laughs in the face of blustering policemen. The handsome and audacious young Ammasi leaves a landlord fuming in impotent rage by calling him his brother. A pig and a monkey debate which of them deserves a higher status. A ghost demands whisky and insists he has no caste.
Bama’s prose bristles with the raw energy and vitality that comes from living close to the ground, and Ravi Shanker’s translations retain all the power, wit and brilliance of the originals.
153 pages, Paperback
Published January 1, 2021
2 people are currently reading
76 people want to read
About the author
Bama
23 books51 followersBama (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.
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.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
March 18, 2021
The Ichi Tree Monkey: New and Selected Stories by Bama, translated by N Ravi Shanker is the latest short story collection that tells you exactly how the contemporary Indian literary scene is shaping up: diverse, enriching and just bursting with a life force that is just difficult to not succumb to! The collection of 15 short stories are entertaining, playful, some that brings out a flavour to the mundane that is unique. But there are those that are politically relevant with their undertones of caste commentary as seen from the perspective of a low caste and then moving towards how within those living under the oppression of the high caste, there is an inherent internal prejudice within.
Bama writes her characters with a flair and a vibe that makes them relatable to readers: they are eccentric, they are pig headed, they are stoic, they suffer, some fall down but pick themselves up. They are everyday people caught in the larger schemes of life and where society boxes them in but they are not ones to fade into nothingness. There are stories set in only the domestic sphere that frames the question of women's agency and how domestic violence is pushed away as something that is best left to individuals, something that happens in the exact manner in real life in the country today.
It would be a difficult, nay an impossible task to pick out a favourite story for each one is fleshed out in their own individual glory. Two stories stand out for me: Empty Nest follows a character's play of emotions as she feels an emotional connect with the travails of a sparrow family and wrestles over whether to accord the same to a human being! 'Single' neatly tackles how a woman is considered incomplete because of a physical health condition but how an act of aggression puts an end to the social disdain. It left me thinking. Recommended!
Full review here: https://bookandconversations.wordpres...
Bama writes her characters with a flair and a vibe that makes them relatable to readers: they are eccentric, they are pig headed, they are stoic, they suffer, some fall down but pick themselves up. They are everyday people caught in the larger schemes of life and where society boxes them in but they are not ones to fade into nothingness. There are stories set in only the domestic sphere that frames the question of women's agency and how domestic violence is pushed away as something that is best left to individuals, something that happens in the exact manner in real life in the country today.
It would be a difficult, nay an impossible task to pick out a favourite story for each one is fleshed out in their own individual glory. Two stories stand out for me: Empty Nest follows a character's play of emotions as she feels an emotional connect with the travails of a sparrow family and wrestles over whether to accord the same to a human being! 'Single' neatly tackles how a woman is considered incomplete because of a physical health condition but how an act of aggression puts an end to the social disdain. It left me thinking. Recommended!
Full review here: https://bookandconversations.wordpres...
April 11, 2021
The ichi tree monkey is a collection of stories by Bama. Translated from the Tamil by Ravi Shankar.
My first interaction with Bama's writing was when I read her autobiography Karukku. Her prose is utilitarian and yet hard hitting. It has no room for flamboyance, but captures the irony of the Indian society with wit.
In this eclectic collection, she shows us glimpses of the Tamil rural communities and how the caste system drives the narrative of their lives.
In each story, she picks a next door neighbour kind of character and documents how they come to be.
Not only does she deftly expose the hypocrisy, double standards and the sheer inhumanity that the caste system upholds and enforces, but she also captures the ways in which people are fighting against it.
While she illustrates the struggle against the caste system, she allows accounts the intra caste issues, which often holds people back from growing out of these clutches and the many socioeconomic issues that come with it.
Some stories are grim, some are laden with caustic humour, some with hope and misery, but each are vivid and precise, spanning just long enough to drive home a point.
I personally enjoyed - Poonuthayi, Half Sari, the ichi tree monkey, stereotype.
My first interaction with Bama's writing was when I read her autobiography Karukku. Her prose is utilitarian and yet hard hitting. It has no room for flamboyance, but captures the irony of the Indian society with wit.
In this eclectic collection, she shows us glimpses of the Tamil rural communities and how the caste system drives the narrative of their lives.
In each story, she picks a next door neighbour kind of character and documents how they come to be.
Not only does she deftly expose the hypocrisy, double standards and the sheer inhumanity that the caste system upholds and enforces, but she also captures the ways in which people are fighting against it.
While she illustrates the struggle against the caste system, she allows accounts the intra caste issues, which often holds people back from growing out of these clutches and the many socioeconomic issues that come with it.
Some stories are grim, some are laden with caustic humour, some with hope and misery, but each are vivid and precise, spanning just long enough to drive home a point.
I personally enjoyed - Poonuthayi, Half Sari, the ichi tree monkey, stereotype.
August 16, 2021
4.5 ⭐️
This set of stories tell us tales wandering across various rural parts of Tamil Nadu being gravitated at a common theme of 'prejudice'. Thrusted majorly on casteism & diffused with the sweet scent of village soil through & through , Bama's flow of narration sticking to the rawness & realities starts off with a lighter vein but ends up with bringing out the exploitative traits.
Stories like “Annachi” & “The Ancharamanippoo Tree” brimming with wit & humour & in a couple of stories like "Those days" & " Old man & Buffalo" with quirky & funny characters- events witnessing evolution in the recent past were put forth. Bama's female protogonists from "Ponnuthayi" , "Single" & "Chilli powder" are crackling & has fondly won my heart. They never bend their head to oppressions; starkly detest diktats & question the qualms of the patriarchy & soceity juxtaposing the labelled rural feminine quirks of fear and subservience.
The titular story is a satire by animals on heterogeneous lifestyles of humans based on caste & creed; though this story reads hilariously, leaves us with many thoughts lingering at the end. Likewise in "Pongal" Some people in the said stories choose to tread forward towards the flickering light at the end of the tunnel by voicing against the biases thanks to their educated children, while some voices are being hushed & muted , they unknowingly falling for the bait of money as if in the story "Rich girl". The demarcation of rich & poor both inclusively & exclusively in the caste system is shown very well in "Empty Nest". And I'm still reeling out of the story "Half Sari" which wretched my heart.
Bama has never gone beyond that thatha sitting daily on the village bund smoking; that paatti who is lenient to our mischiefs; his arrogance which had labelled that boy as infamous; & that wise girl who was deprived of academic resources.
We are all very much acquainted with them, their stories are told, seen & heard atleast once for all. Such are the stories in the collection which seems everything familiar yet ignored (deliberately?).
This set of stories tell us tales wandering across various rural parts of Tamil Nadu being gravitated at a common theme of 'prejudice'. Thrusted majorly on casteism & diffused with the sweet scent of village soil through & through , Bama's flow of narration sticking to the rawness & realities starts off with a lighter vein but ends up with bringing out the exploitative traits.
Stories like “Annachi” & “The Ancharamanippoo Tree” brimming with wit & humour & in a couple of stories like "Those days" & " Old man & Buffalo" with quirky & funny characters- events witnessing evolution in the recent past were put forth. Bama's female protogonists from "Ponnuthayi" , "Single" & "Chilli powder" are crackling & has fondly won my heart. They never bend their head to oppressions; starkly detest diktats & question the qualms of the patriarchy & soceity juxtaposing the labelled rural feminine quirks of fear and subservience.
The titular story is a satire by animals on heterogeneous lifestyles of humans based on caste & creed; though this story reads hilariously, leaves us with many thoughts lingering at the end. Likewise in "Pongal" Some people in the said stories choose to tread forward towards the flickering light at the end of the tunnel by voicing against the biases thanks to their educated children, while some voices are being hushed & muted , they unknowingly falling for the bait of money as if in the story "Rich girl". The demarcation of rich & poor both inclusively & exclusively in the caste system is shown very well in "Empty Nest". And I'm still reeling out of the story "Half Sari" which wretched my heart.
Bama has never gone beyond that thatha sitting daily on the village bund smoking; that paatti who is lenient to our mischiefs; his arrogance which had labelled that boy as infamous; & that wise girl who was deprived of academic resources.
We are all very much acquainted with them, their stories are told, seen & heard atleast once for all. Such are the stories in the collection which seems everything familiar yet ignored (deliberately?).
April 20, 2021
Set in rural Tamil Nadu, this is a collection of 15 short stories written by Bama about Dalits and their everyday lives. All the stories from her book 'Kisumbukkaran' are included along with some new ones written exclusively for this collection.
Dalits are suppressed of their rights since time immemorial. Generations of a Dalit family serve a landlord for years and years. With the evolving times, they slowly realize the injustice of the scheme of things and rebel in their own ways. The stories are filled with sharp humor, wit and determination and devoid of any wails of victimhood.
Almost all the stories were equally good but some stories were truly remarkable. 'Ponnuthayi' is about a brazen woman who stood up for herself by refusing to surrender to her husband and the society. 'Single' shames a woman for her deformity and how an act of valor puts an end to the bickering of the society. In 'The Ancharamanipoo Tree', a ghost insists that he has no caste. 'Empty Nest' is a poignant story about how a woman empathizes with a sparrow but acts differently to a human under similar circumstances.
Translated from the Tamil by N. Ravi Shanker, the book retains some local dialects and words thus providing a vernacular flavor. I believe a translation is successful when it brings out the flavor of the original. Being a Tamilian, I can safely assure that this translation works. I highly recommend this amazing collection of stories❤️
Dalits are suppressed of their rights since time immemorial. Generations of a Dalit family serve a landlord for years and years. With the evolving times, they slowly realize the injustice of the scheme of things and rebel in their own ways. The stories are filled with sharp humor, wit and determination and devoid of any wails of victimhood.
Almost all the stories were equally good but some stories were truly remarkable. 'Ponnuthayi' is about a brazen woman who stood up for herself by refusing to surrender to her husband and the society. 'Single' shames a woman for her deformity and how an act of valor puts an end to the bickering of the society. In 'The Ancharamanipoo Tree', a ghost insists that he has no caste. 'Empty Nest' is a poignant story about how a woman empathizes with a sparrow but acts differently to a human under similar circumstances.
Translated from the Tamil by N. Ravi Shanker, the book retains some local dialects and words thus providing a vernacular flavor. I believe a translation is successful when it brings out the flavor of the original. Being a Tamilian, I can safely assure that this translation works. I highly recommend this amazing collection of stories❤️
February 2, 2022
The ichi tree monkey and other stories: Author is based out of rural Tamilnadu and setting of the stories is Dalit communities of the place. It well depicts the situation concerning casteism and exploitation of poor, uneducated so called lower caste people. Some of the stories have a routine setup and conversations you might be familiar if you’re from rural india, however, the end of each story is thought provoking. Translation in english is good, i would prefer to read this in original language as i feel it misses the power of some local phrases and words.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews