Welcome to Litsy!

Has anyone read this book??

To be Dalit and to question the caste system inherent in Hinduism is to be a #heretic. This is an incredibly personal account of the costs of going against the social order in Indian society. Highly recommended.

#NoFemmeber @Billypar @Cinfhen

This book still has me thinking. And it‘s not the rebel Satyam and his hardships that has left a dent. It‘s his sister Manjula, the author‘s mother whose story is riveting with its immeasurable scale of pain. Oppression of any kind beats down women twice as hard. Yet she survives and how! Art by Neelu Jadav

Essential reading for India‘s urbanites. The ones who pretend caste doesn‘t exist, that Dalit oppression is a sham, that reservation is unjust. Bye bye privileged ignorance! This book reveals what‘s happening now isn‘t new or isolated. There‘s a long history of injustice fed by a depraved insecurity. Add to this the plague of gender discrimination. Prepare to be schooled! Gidla says it as it is. Art: An exhibit from ‘Hidden Feelings On Canvas‘

The moon, me and a book.

Day 2 of #RiotGrams #Februarychallenge @bookriot -#Currentread. Sujatha Gidla's book is an excoriating read about a societal problem that's unfortunately alive and kicking in India , even in the 21st Century and even amongst supposedly better educated people.We keep saying we're post-caste, but that isn't true at all.

Small #bookhaul from the library today. I‘ve wanted to read Almost Sisters for a while and the tagged book looked interesting for a #nonfictionnovember read.

This is a social history of Gidla's Dalit ("untouchable") family. It focuses on her mother Manjula & uncle Satyam, among the few Dalits who were educated & held middle-class jobs. It's a stark picture of the brutality of the caste system. The family turns to radical politics to alter the status quo. There were some rough edges to Gidla's bare-bones prose that made certain points/transitions seem abrupt, but it's an eye-opening, important read.

While I sometimes grew weary of all of the details in the political struggles against social oppression, this is nonetheless a remarkable family story. It's amazing that it's even in print, because the author was born an untouchable and grew up in extreme poverty. Most interesting to me are the parts about Gidla's mother, a college professor who faced unending discrimination & obstacles, rather than Gidla's uncle, a famous labour organizer.

"Sir, I know from my experience in Bengal what a library movement means. It is nothing but a revolutionary movement."
(When a group in Telangana wanted the right to speak Telugu in public, to print books & newspapers in their own language & organize Telugu literary festivals & libraries.)

[photo from Internet]

With her education and her job, she would have made a desirable bride. But she was no such thing. She was dark, her family was poor, they didn't go to church, and, worst of all, her brothers were violent Communist sons of bitches. Manjula was almost 25 years old. The fear of Manjula's spinsterhood spread like a dreaded disease through the family circle.

"Respected madam, I need one day casual leave, as my child is ill."
"How old is this child of yours?"
"Five, madam."
Sivagami laughed until her ribs hurt. "She is five and you still call her a child? Come off it, will you?"
Manjula was forced to stay.

[The 5-year-old is the author, who was left at home every day to care alone for her two younger siblings, who are pictured above with their mother, Manjula.]

Book synchronicity is happening. In The Golden House, Rushdie lampooned the many shifting incarnations of Communist parties in India. In Ants Among Elephants, Gidla describes her uncle Satyam's involvement with various Communist groups and their ideological differences. "After that meeting, the Revolutionary Communist Party split into two splinters, each one claiming the same name CPI(M-L)—ML for Marxist-Leninist." The SAME name! So confusing.

My windows are all steamy because I made highbush cranberry jelly this morning. And now it's snowing so it's just as well that I can't see outside! I will just curl up with a book now. 😸

I like the photo across the #endpapers in this nonfiction book. I also like the way it connects to Arundhati Roy's new novel, almost as if I'm learning the backstory of Roy's Tilo, child of an Untouchable and a Christian, and also learning more about the reason for her fury.

My fingers are crossed that these upcoming reads are #fivestarpredictions. Thank you to @Lacythebookworm for the tag. 😀

It is #thebest feeling to unexpectedly receive two beautiful review copies in the mail #AugustGrrrl @Cinfhen #bookmail