Karukku

Bama

Translated by Lakshmi Holmström

Oxford University Press India

168 pages, R250

First published in Tamil in 1992, this Dalit writer’s autobiography has become a classic of subaltern writing. Revolving around the theme of caste oppression within the Catholic Church, it portrays the tension between the self and the community, and presents Bama’s life as a process of self-reflection and recovery from social and institutional betrayal. This new edition of the English translation includes a postscript in which Bama relives the dramatic moment of her leave-taking from her chosen vocation and a special note titled “Ten Years Later”.