Book Review: Ants among Elephants by Sujatha Gidla

While reading the last few lines of Ants among Elephants: An Untouchable Family and the Making of Modern India by Sujatha Gidla, readers would surely overcome by a mixture of emotions. Chief amongst them was a deep sorrow.

The book is a memoir that details the author's family history, with her uncle Sathyamurthy looming large over everything. One of the leaders of the Communist and Naxalite movements in Andhra, he is the primary mover and shaker of most events.

But what reached out to readers more was the story of her mother Manjula. Rising like a phoenix again and again from the pits of poverty, politics, and patriarchy, she is the epitome of all the things a woman fights for in this country.

Many insights into the turmoil of Andhra and Telangana, the abject poverty and hopelessness of so many people that people turn a blind eye to, the pitiless monster of caste that devours without mercy, the bravery and relentless struggle for the basic right to live with dignity. All this leaves one uncomfortably aware of how much of a cocoon people live in.

It is indeed creditable that the author manages to present such personal material as a fairly balanced narrative. It seems all the more relevant in the vituperative times of today. Irrespective of personal philosophies, it is an eye-opener, and food for thought.

Excellent writing and very incisive and nuanced look at one family’s mobility from lower middle-class or poor to rich with all the attendant questions. What does money really bring? How much is too much?

Comments

Book Review: The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond

Among all Ruskin Bond books, The Blue Umbrella has, so far, gathered immense applaud from readers and critics alike. This is a short novel, but the kind of moral lessons it teaches to us are simply overwhelming. This is a story of Binya, a poor little girl living with her mother and an elder brother, Bijju, in a small hilly village of Garhwal. One day while herding her two cows back home, she stumbles upon some city people enjoying the picnic in the valley. She is enthralled to see them well-groomed and rich. She craves to be one like them and among many other things of their, a blue frilly umbrella catches her attention. She begins craving for it. On the other hand, the city people get attracted by her innocent beauty and the pendant in her neck. The pendant consists of leopard’s claw – which is considered a mascot widely in the hills. Binya trades her pendant off with the blue umbrella. The blue umbrella is so much beautiful that soon it becomes a topic of conversatio...

Poem Summary: Where The Mind Is Without Fear by Rabindranath Tagore

Poem by Rabindranath Tagore: Where the mind is without fear and the head is held high Where knowledge is free Where the world has not been broken up into fragments By narrow domestic walls Where words come out from the depth of truth Where tireless striving stretches its arms towards perfection Where the clear stream of reason has not lost its way Into the dreary desert sand of dead habit Where the mind is led forward by thee Into ever-widening thought and action Into that heaven of freedom, my Father, let my country awake. Short Summary: This poem is written by Rabindranath Tagore during pre-independence days, when India was a colony of the British. The underlying theme of the poem is absolute freedom; the poet wants the citizens of his country to be living in a free state. According to the poem, we see that the poet is expressing his views there should be a country, like where people live without any sort of fear and with pure dignity…they should ...

Character Sketch of Binya from ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond

The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond is a popular children’s story. It features Binya as the main character, though there are other important characters as well, but the story revolves around Binya and her little beautiful umbrella. The story is widely popular among children, thus it has also been included in the schools’ syllabus all across the country. Since it is often taught in the school, thus the character sketch of Binya is often demanded by students from year to year. Character Sketch of Binya from The Blue Umbrella by Ruskin Bond Binya is the main character of the novel ‘The Blue Umbrella’ by Ruskin Bond. Her full name is Binyadevi. As in the hills or anywhere in India it is a kind of trend to call children with their short nicknames. Binya’s elder brother’s name is Bijju, whereas his real name is Vijay. Binya aged eleven is a hilly girl. She lives with her small family in the hills of Garhwal. Her father died when she was two years of age. For sustenance, the...

Kevein Books and Reviews

Search This Blog