Cast(e)ing Experiences Into Fiction

HYDERABAD: The subject of caste has always been a touchy one in India, irrespective of who speaks about it. And the Dalits, who were considered to be the lowest caste way back when, the “untouchables”, went through ignominies that are examples of how humanity shouldn’t be. It took a whole revolution to bring about a gradual, positive change in society. The turning of the tides towards a better tomorrow, is definitely something to be rejoiced.

This, however, does not mean we forget our past and where we came from. The past is an inspirational lesson, because sometimes, you could learn how not to be, and at other times, you could implement what history itself did and make today better. Baburao Bagul’s collection of short stories, ‘When I Hid My Caste’ is one such lesson.

Baburao Bagul was born into a poor Dalit family in the village of Vihitgaon in Maharashtra’s Nashik district. Bringing all his experiences together as inspiration, he wrote the Marathi book ‘Jevha Mi Jaat Chorli Hoti’ that was published in 1963. It was a cornerstone book at the time in Dalit literature that was just about spreading its long-oppressed wings. This was brought out for a larger readership to appreciate when Jerry Pinto, of ‘Em and the Big Hoom’ fame translated it into ‘When I Hid My Caste’.

Every story in this collection, from the first story to the last, is a social commentary that is woven matter-of-factly, but will leave you stupefied in wide-eyed horror. The tales aren’t of gory violence; much worse, in fact. When a person isn’t treated as human, everything else fades into slight obscurity.

The first story, ‘Prisoner of Darkness’ tells a tale of casteism and misogyny – a combination so horrifyingly lethal to the woman at the receiving end that it leaves your spine restlessly tingling. The stories that follow talk about discrimination, the ‘importance’ of reputation, animal sacrifices, violence, social competition, revolt, conflict, education, demonising people who don’t conform to societal ideals – especially women, and whole list of other topics that are best experienced by reading them.

The last story, ‘When I Hid My Caste’ is what gives the book its title, and rightfully so. Because every single one of these stories is because of the existence of the caste system. It is the story of how one man pretended to be from “the higher caste” to make sure he had a job and sustenance. Pretension is all but one way to survive in such cases, but the question is, how successful is he? And is he prepared for the outcome if things go bad? It’s sad to see how people were forced to be someone they’re not for survival; still are, if you take the statement in the most philosophically organic sense.

It’s a rare book that is free of flaws, and ‘When I Hid My Caste’ is one that isn’t. Though every one of these stories is about certain important topics, heavily underlined by the ‘concept’ of caste, the translation in many places does not do justice to what the stories are trying to say. The context setting hardly does its job and it takes a long time to come to the point. And sometimes, it doesn’t even make the point clear.
‘When I Hid My Caste’ is yet another example of how translation could at once be a boon and a bane to the original stories. Despite the flaws, this book is an easy read, language-wise and could be picked up just for the lessons it teaches us.

Spine-chilling tales

The last story, ‘When I Hid My Caste’ is what gives the book its title, and rightfully so. Because every single one of these stories is because of the existence of the caste system. It is the story of how one man pretended to be from “the higher caste” to make sure he had a job and sustenance. Pretension is all but one way to survive in such cases, but the question is, how successful is he?

Publisher: Speaking Tiger
Price: `399