Growing Up Untouchable in India: A Dalit AutobiographyThere is much in Vasant Moon's extraordinary story of his vasti, his childhood neighbourhood in India, that would probably be true of any urban ghetto anywhere in the world. But there is much that is peculiarly and vividly Indian. In this first autobiography of a so-called Untouchable, we learn about the inescapable hierarchy imposed by caste, based on ancient principles of heriditary pollution. We see the unmatched importance of the heroic Dr. B. R. Ambedkar for India's awakened and newly ambitious Dalits. We feel, viscerally, Nagpur's heat and the joy brought by the monsoon. Vasant Moon's Vasti, the first Dalit autobiography to be published in English, is a moving and eloquent testament to a uniquely Indian life as well as to the universal human spirit. |
Contents
The Neighborhood | xix |
Fearless | 8 |
Callousness and Clouds | 16 |
Heat and Rain | 22 |
Dev Masters Curse Fails | 31 |
Religious Hymns | 37 |
Shooting Star | 44 |
chickpeas and Parched Rice | 49 |
An Unspoiled Picture | 116 |
The Welfare of the World | 122 |
For What? For Books? | 127 |
I Begin to Write | 133 |
The End of Omar Khayyam | 136 |
Rising Moon | 140 |
The Vows of Religion | 147 |
Falling Star | 155 |
The Unconquered | 59 |
Parade of Lions and Tigers | 62 |
Foreshadowing | 67 |
Holy Victory | 71 |
Robust and Rollicking | 76 |
Sports and Study | 81 |
Politics and Pigeons | 87 |
Climax | 91 |
Wrath | 100 |
Cultural Transformation | 105 |
Tying the Knot | 161 |
The Spinning Top | 167 |
Summing Up | 173 |
Chronology | 175 |
Glossary | 177 |
Biographical Notes | 187 |
Bibliography | 191 |
Index | 193 |
Other editions - View all
Growing up Untouchable in India: A Dalit Autobiography Vasant Moon,Gail Omvedt,Eleanor Zelliot Limited preview - 2002 |
Common terms and phrases
activists Ambedkarite asked Baba Babasaheb Ambedkar Bardi Bavanes began Bhim boys Brahman Buddha Buddhist called chapatis Chokhamela clothes Colonel Park Congress conversion ceremony cooking Cowherds Dalit Dasharath Patil daughter father festival front Gandhi Gangya gave girls give hand Hardas Harijan Hindi Hindu hostel India Indora jayanti Kamathi Kanoba Kavade leaders lived Madhya Pradesh Mahar Maharaj Maharashtra Maharpura Maniram Marathi Master mill Mother movement Mumbai Muslim Nagpur Narayan neighborhood never night Patwardhan play police Pradesh Prahlad puja Pundalik qawwali Radhabai Ramteke Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh road rupees Sadashiv Samata Sainik Sangh satyagraha Scheduled Caste Federation shirt Shivaram singing Sitabardi songs sticks subcaste teacher temple trust told took tree Uncle Untouchables Ustad Varade Vasant Moon vasti Vidarbha village Vithoba Vitthal volunteers Waman Wamanrao Godbole warkari wife women Wrestler writing youth