Book Review 63
Name Of The Book : The Adivasi Will Not Dance (Stories)
Author : Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Publisher : Speaking Tiger Publishing
Year : 2017
Category : Fiction
Review :
In this collection of stories, set in the fecund, mineral-rich hinterland and the ever-expanding, squalid towns of Jharkhand, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar breathes life into a set of characters who are as robustly flesh and blood as the soil from which they spring, where they live, and into which they must sometimes bleed. Troupe-master Mangal Murmu refuses to perform for the President of India and is beaten down; Suren and Gita, a love-blind couple, wait with quiet desperation outside a neonatal ward, hoping - for different reasons - that their blue baby will turn pink; Panmuni and Biram Soren move to Vadodara in the autumn of their lives, only to find that they must stop eating meat to be accepted as citizens; Baso-jhi is the life of the village of Sarjomdih but, when people begin to die for no apparent reason, a ghastly accusation from her past comes back to haunt her; and Talamai Kisku of the Santhal Pargana, migrating to West Bengal in search of work, must sleep with a policeman for fifty rupees and two cold bread pakoras. The Adivasi Will Not Dance is a mature, passionate, intensely political book of stories, made up of the very stuff of life. It establishes Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar as one of our most important contemporary writers.
This book contains ten short stories set in Jharkhand. The stories talk about the everyday lives of the laymen. The stories are simple, yet they send powerful messages about politics and religion and how it impacts the lives of common man. The oppression faced by the tribes of Jharkhand will open our eyes towards the social evil still present in the society without any filters. The stories are a raw representation of the lives of the oppressed. I was surprised to know that the tribes of Jharkhand still face such cruelty. The book is heart touching. I had heard a lot about this book and was looking forward to reading this book. However, I felt that the book was overhyped. I do not want to write about each story as it will ruin the suspense. If you want to read a book of short stories set in Jharkhand, India about the common man and their lives to know more about their culture and problems, you should read this book.
Rating : 4.1/5
Name Of The Book : The Adivasi Will Not Dance (Stories)
Author : Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar
Publisher : Speaking Tiger Publishing
Year : 2017
Category : Fiction
Review :
In this collection of stories, set in the fecund, mineral-rich hinterland and the ever-expanding, squalid towns of Jharkhand, Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar breathes life into a set of characters who are as robustly flesh and blood as the soil from which they spring, where they live, and into which they must sometimes bleed. Troupe-master Mangal Murmu refuses to perform for the President of India and is beaten down; Suren and Gita, a love-blind couple, wait with quiet desperation outside a neonatal ward, hoping - for different reasons - that their blue baby will turn pink; Panmuni and Biram Soren move to Vadodara in the autumn of their lives, only to find that they must stop eating meat to be accepted as citizens; Baso-jhi is the life of the village of Sarjomdih but, when people begin to die for no apparent reason, a ghastly accusation from her past comes back to haunt her; and Talamai Kisku of the Santhal Pargana, migrating to West Bengal in search of work, must sleep with a policeman for fifty rupees and two cold bread pakoras. The Adivasi Will Not Dance is a mature, passionate, intensely political book of stories, made up of the very stuff of life. It establishes Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar as one of our most important contemporary writers.
This book contains ten short stories set in Jharkhand. The stories talk about the everyday lives of the laymen. The stories are simple, yet they send powerful messages about politics and religion and how it impacts the lives of common man. The oppression faced by the tribes of Jharkhand will open our eyes towards the social evil still present in the society without any filters. The stories are a raw representation of the lives of the oppressed. I was surprised to know that the tribes of Jharkhand still face such cruelty. The book is heart touching. I had heard a lot about this book and was looking forward to reading this book. However, I felt that the book was overhyped. I do not want to write about each story as it will ruin the suspense. If you want to read a book of short stories set in Jharkhand, India about the common man and their lives to know more about their culture and problems, you should read this book.
Rating : 4.1/5