Harum-Scarum Saar & Other Stories

From the author of the highly acclaimed novels, Karukku and Sangati, a jewel-like collection of short stories, in a translation that retains the freshness and inventiveness of the original Kisumbukkaran. Set among the Dalits of Tamil Nadu, Harum-Scarum Saar & Other Stories displays the full potential of the ‘weapons of the weak’ the dominant Brahmanical order is not openly challenged, but bawdy comments and subversive intent undermine the authority of the powerful. Rustic humour takes the indignity and suffering of lower-caste life in its stride, and bristles with the raw energy and vitality that comes from living close to the ground. Bama teaches in a primary school in Uthramerur, near Chennai. She draws her energy from the dalit movements in Tamil Nadu and her writings is a source of strength the growing dalit consciousness.