When I posted my short review on Instagram, I started off by saying this -
There are books that make you want to read differently; there are books that make you want to write differently; and then there are books that make you want to live differently.
For me, Karukku by Bama definitely falls under the third category. I can safely say that it is the first book that made me pause and look back at my life through a different lens.
All my life, I've been privileged enough to not have to pay any attention to casteism or bother about caste based discrimination. It didn't affect me at all. Actually, I take that back. It affected me. Once. When my ignorant ass ranted against the reservation system because I didn't get admitted to the medical college of my choice but a "less deserving" classmate of mine did because of reservation. She was a person from the Scheduled Caste community. It has taken me 18 years to realize how spoilt and ignorant I was then. How blind. How insensitive. That incident is too glaringly obvious to miss. But Karukku opened my eyes to the many more instances when I was present but just chose not to observe, assimilate or react. It revealed my blind pride in my achievements, prompted by opportunities that I thought I deserved, but which were instead handed to me on a silver platter.
This was my first attempt at reading Dalit literature. Bama's writing is fiery and unapologetic. She doesn't mince words. Doesn't believe in sugar coating situations. Her language is raw, real and representative of her community. She talks about the village she grew up in, the natural beauty, the simplicity of life, the hard manual labor, the faith, the celebrations. And through it all, she shows how discrimination seeps in to every single aspect of their life. How they are ostracized, shunned, humiliated, snubbed, belittled day in and day out.
Karukku is not a easy read. It wasn't for me. But I feel that it's an essential read. A book that needs to be read. A story that needs to be told. A truth that needs to be accepted. A situation that needs to be resolved.
There are books that make you want to read differently; there are books that make you want to write differently; and then there are books that make you want to live differently.
For me, Karukku by Bama definitely falls under the third category. I can safely say that it is the first book that made me pause and look back at my life through a different lens.
All my life, I've been privileged enough to not have to pay any attention to casteism or bother about caste based discrimination. It didn't affect me at all. Actually, I take that back. It affected me. Once. When my ignorant ass ranted against the reservation system because I didn't get admitted to the medical college of my choice but a "less deserving" classmate of mine did because of reservation. She was a person from the Scheduled Caste community. It has taken me 18 years to realize how spoilt and ignorant I was then. How blind. How insensitive. That incident is too glaringly obvious to miss. But Karukku opened my eyes to the many more instances when I was present but just chose not to observe, assimilate or react. It revealed my blind pride in my achievements, prompted by opportunities that I thought I deserved, but which were instead handed to me on a silver platter.
This was my first attempt at reading Dalit literature. Bama's writing is fiery and unapologetic. She doesn't mince words. Doesn't believe in sugar coating situations. Her language is raw, real and representative of her community. She talks about the village she grew up in, the natural beauty, the simplicity of life, the hard manual labor, the faith, the celebrations. And through it all, she shows how discrimination seeps in to every single aspect of their life. How they are ostracized, shunned, humiliated, snubbed, belittled day in and day out.
Karukku is not a easy read. It wasn't for me. But I feel that it's an essential read. A book that needs to be read. A story that needs to be told. A truth that needs to be accepted. A situation that needs to be resolved.