A Few Good Books I Read in 2020

 

2020 was a unique year for me. In the early stages of the year, I had to relocate from Hassan to Dehradun. I had planned to continue to my intermittent visits to the Himalayas, to wander in its majestic presence, and stifling my worries in the beautiful sceneries. However, it ended being confined to the campus, thanks to the lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19. Not to feel undone, I decided to read 100 books in the year. During this journey, I realised my urge for reading is best pursued when other things are equal or to say it simply, when life is hectic as ever. The lockdown got to me after a few weeks, and picking up a book again became a humongous task. I did not do too badly, having managed to read 55 books, and around 12,000 pages during the year. However, I can't control being querulous that this was the best year to read 100 books in a year. However, I started using Audible, which helps me feel good because I catch the technology bus more often than not.

The first book I want to discuss is `Republic of Rhetoric' by Abhinav Chandarchud. This book is for those to whom democracy matters. The book elicits the reason why restriction on Freedom of Speech was placed in India. Read this book to find out who was responsible for introducing a law against hate speech in India. The portion on obscenity is a good read.

Coming out As Dalit by Yashica Dutt was a book with which I could relate to a lot. I have written a blog on this, and you can click on this link to read it.

How `Coming Out As Dalit' By Yashica Dutt Resonates With My Life? 

Mahabharata is not just an epic, it is the story of life. It is a lesson in management, strategies, and personal management. Shakuni is the most egregious of all the villains who come in it. I feel he is the pivotal character of Jaya beside Krishna, especially when it becomes Pandavas and Kauravas' story. I always yearned to read a version of Bharata from the perspective of Shakuni, and Mallar Chaterjee's `Shakuni & Dice of Doom' was an exciting read. The quagmire of the relationship between Kunti, Shakuni, and Vidhura was new to me. The relationship between Shakuni and his wife Arshi is on expected lines. The role of Devapi in shaping Mahabratha was another interesting revelation. Bheeshma it seems had his own reasons in letting Shakuni stay on in Hastinapur. This book is a must-read for all the aficionados of Mahabharatha 

Chaturanga by Anand Neelakantan. He is a master storyteller. I couldn't put down this book till I finished it. The relevance of certain situations in this book cannot be missed. 

Ants among Elephants by Sujatha Gidla – This is a must-read for all Dalits who can read and write English. The book exposes the underbelly of casteism and is a telling tale of the author herself.

Promised Land By Barack Obama is an autobiography of his tryst with politics. The Presidential years, the troubles he faced, and the obstacles he had to overcome as POTUS, especially in dealing with the sub-prime crisis, Health Care, etc. are well documented. A spoiler, the much-expected portion is at the end. I heard it on Audible, and in his booming voice, it was worth listening. This is the story of a politician told by himself, so take it with a pinch of salt.

The Hand of Destiny by Srividya Srinivasan is a heart-warming book. The author is known more for her revolutionary poetry and holds no bar views on politics. It has weaved a wonderful tale involving two youngsters, their death in a terror accident, and how their families are impacted. This book makes you laugh, cry, rage with anger, and generally gladdens your heart.

The Man from Mandu by Manoj V Jain is an amazingly well-written book. It portrays how marketing can apotheosis an ordinary person. This book touches many raw nerves without inflaming them. 

Tharoorosaurus by Shashi Tharoor is a peek into his immense vocabulary. It is a great read, but I dare not use any of the words elicited in the book.

My Grandmother Sends Her Regards & Apologies by Fredrik Backman. This book is written by the author of `A Man Called Ove'. If you liked that book, you would adore this one. It is lively, funny, and straightforward. The story is about Elisa, a seven-year-old girl and her crazy grandmother. It takes us through the land of almost awake; the kingdom of Miamas; and the letter of apologies that Elisa has to deliver after her grandmother dies.

Books that disappointed me.

The Sceptical Patriot by Sidin Vadukut is an excellent book. Still, somewhere the author seems to have taken the easy route.

Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. I love dystopian novels, but this one went over my head.

Happy Reading in 2021

How `Coming Out As Dalit' By Yashica Dutt Resonates With My Life? ?

Coming Out As Dalit – A Memoir written by Yashica Dutt is a wonderful book of the authoress who has come out in open with her Dalit identity after years of hiding it. I am not going to review the book. The book has not only been written from the heart but after a lot of research. There are happenings from her personal life, which are also contained in the book, and have a relevance to the problems Dalit societies face. I belong to the Dalit community. What I am going to do is going to pick some lines from the book, and relate it to the happenings in my life.

The authoress in one of the portions of the book states that Dalits who fearlessly come out with their identity offend upper castes the most. She hits the top gear right at the beginning of the book, and there is no slowing down in exposing the caste predators.

It took me almost 25 years of existence to come out with my identity as a Dalit, and after that I too had nothing to hide. The authoress came out with her identity because of Rohit Vehumla, and I did it because I realised that no matter how much of a Hindu I tried to be, I was always a low caste, and in the context of independent India, a freeloader.

Caste is Ubiquitous

Ask any Dalit who has worked for the Government, who was as efficient as his upper-caste peers, with an interest in progressing his career, he will bet his last pie to vouch for this thought.

Hiding Caste Identities

We are living in the times of lockdown to contain the spread of COVID-19 virus. We are required to wear masks when we come outside to not contract this disease. Dalits will never find this difficult because for the better part of their lives they wear a mask of an upper caste person to avoid being ostracised.

My father was polemical to hiding our caste identity but wanted his children to grow outside the earmarked Dalit areas of Bangalore. To be fair, most house owners never asked us about our caste except one who insisted that we should not cook non-vegetarian food. Our economic condition did not allow us to regularly consume non-vegetarian food, but my parents went heads over heels to comply with this condition. Possibly ashamed of being born as Dalits, my parents avoided all those things that could reveal our caste. Over a period we performed poojas, marriages, funerals, and festivals befitting an upper caste. We were indirectly acknowledging that the Dalit customs were inferior.

How do Dalit legends and ultra-legends hide their caste identities?

Dalits try to hide their caste identities but legends do it by ridiculing Dalits, and even by criticising the move of Babasaheb to provide reservations to Dalits. They even label the acts of successive Governments to extend reservation as a regressive step.

The ultra legends are the ones who say that castes no longer exist in the society. Over the past few years, the Government has made it mandatory to celebrate the birth anniversary of Dr B R Ambedkar in a befitting manner, and the ultra legends who work in Government offices ensure that they don’t turn up for this function.

However, when it comes to claiming reservation in promotion, or quarters allotment, or getting relief from being reprimanded for indifferent work/corruption, or getting medical/engineering seat for children, or BDA residential site allotment, they will swear about their being a dalit on the Manu Smrithi itself.

My brother also works for the Government, and he is a Dalit Ninja Warrior. Wish I could insert a sound clip of him in this blog describing such bilious masqueraders. Many in Government service have used their Dalit identity to get promotions, get elected to lucrative employee cooperative societies, and when they reach the helm trample the Dalits working under them. They are more upper caste than upper-caste themselves.

I prominently display a photograph of Dr BR Ambedkar on my desk ever since I entered Government service. The aforesaid masqueraders have advised me to remove it to avoid the wrath of the management. I did not pay heed to it, and till date my table contains an image of Babasaheb.

Embracing Vegetarianism in to-to or selectively 

Between the age of 18 and 24, I had embraced vegetarianism due to a misconception that being a non-vegetarian is imbruing humanity. Having exorcised that belief, I am now a passionate non-vegetarian. Caste Hindus become vegetarians during certain days of the week and select periods of the year. I have no objection to it because it is their belief and they have been conditioned so for ages. Dalits who for ages were maimed, raped and assaulted for entering a place of worship or trying to behave like a caste Hindu, follow these conditions religiously. It does not prick their conscience that even during this period of abstinence Dalits across the country are butchered by upper castes.

Assuming that possessing a flawless English knowledge can hide your Dalit identity.

 Three months after I joined my present job, I came to understand that one of the upper caste officers had enquired with my boss whether I could read and write decent English. There have been quite a few uncharitable remarks about my ability to express in English. I don’t claim coruscating English knowledge but these remarks were made against me because I am a Dalit, because we are assumed to be unintelligent. As pointed out by the authoress, Tina Dabi, the daughter of a civil servant couple, is accused of wrongly availing reservation, even though she had scored more marks than general candidates in the main exam. It was only in personality test interview that she did not perform to her potential. The matter of fact is that more often than not when a Dalit commits a mistake in Government service, it will reminisce in closed corridors how reserved candidates are a useless lot and a virus in the system.  

 My father’s formal education was limited but he had a great passion to better his English. He relentlessly pursued this goal by reading many English books and even consulting my English teacher on some doubts. A relentless pursuit to attain an ability to speak and write English impeccably is part of my genes. It is the only language in which I have an acceptable proficiency.

Anti Reservation Protests in AIIMS during 2006

 Mandal Commission Protests was the first big anti-reservation protest I was a witness to. I will reproduce two incidents from those protests which will explain the contemporary hatred against Dalits. 

 During the protest, I saw a young lady holding a placard `Wanted an SC/ST Groom with a Government Job’. Inter-caste marriage is the best solution for eliminating the caste system. This placard was not an invitation but intimidation of a community trying to assert itself.

 During the Mandal Protests, I was pursuing ICWAI course. My friends, a few of them who knew my caste status had warned me not to tell to anybody that I was a Dalit, as if otherwise I was proud about flaunting my Dalit identity. The classes for this course were held in the evenings in a prominent Christian college in Bengaluru. Please excuse me for reproducing this crass graffiti from the Men's Restroom.

At a height, it was written `if you can p**s till this point, you can become a fireman.

At a lower threshold, it was written, this height is enough for SC/ST.

I too laughed it off shamelessly but that graffiti has stuck in my mind as an epitome of the hatred that is present against Dalits.

 Dalits were always the despised lot. The contemporary hatred is fuelled by the fact that some of us have escaped the dragnet of caste humiliation thanks to reservations, and a need is felt to prevent further hostages getting away through this method.

The book is well written and must be read by all Dalits who are ashamed of asserting their identity. The Upper Caste would do well to encourage such an assertion. Dalits asserting their identity would mean the end of caste discrimination, and also the ignominious reservation. Once the stain of reservation goes from the face of India, we can look forward to only meritorious doctors, engineers, scientists and administrators. None of the IIT Engineers and Doctors will leave this holy land for foreign shores. This could mark the return of the proverbial `Sone ki Chidiya’.