Pain and anguish of an ‘untouchable’
Reviewed by Kanwalpreet

Changiya Rukh: Against the Night — An Autobiography
By Balbir Madhopuri.
Translated from Punjabi by Tripti Jain.
Oxford University Press.
Pages 215. Rs 395. 

WE are familiar with the pathetic condition of Dalits living in India since centuries. Unfortunately, inhuman treatment has been meted out to this particular community even in independent India. Its practise is quite rampant in the rural areas. The touching words quoted from the text on the back cover of the book prompted me to read the book. ‘Today, we (untouchables) walk barefoot on this mound of grain, but once it is stored, we can’t touch it, our touch contaminates it.’ Such poignant words flow freely from the author because it is his own story that he has decided to narrate. The narration comes from the heart and touches the reader deeply.

Tripti Jain has translated the autobiography from Punjabi and she has done a good job by holding on to the essence of the tale. But there are places in the narration where you feel that Jain loses grip on the essence of the story. Thankfully, this happens only in the first few pages and then Jain gets comfortable with her work. Probably, the sheer magnitude of the work undertaken by her deterred her initially. The introduction has been penned by Dr Harish Puri, a political scientist who tells about the prevailing conditions among the Dalits as also their past.

Madhopuri writes about his childhood which saw sexploitation. He grew up seething with resentment, not with the idea of revenge but only to, "tunnel his way out of illiteracy and poverty". He learned to live life the hard way but still snatched every moment to live life to the full. Perhaps one can credit a child’s innocence for this. He tells about the deplorable condition where their lot lived. Human beings and animals took shelter under the same roof at night, the former sleeping amongst the stench and the dirt of the animals. Madhopuri narrates the abusive language that was hurled at them by the other communities. The Dalits took all the insults, suppressed under the burden of circumstances not of their own making. Nowhere does he blame anybody, rather he accuses the system.

Throughout the narration, the image that stays on with the reader is of a child running through the lanes of the village. The child, Madhopuri, works in the fields of a landlord, runs chores for his schoolteacher and toils for his family to make the both ends meet. But that child takes out time to enjoy the celebrations and festivals in the village. Snide remarks from children of the other community did not deter him for long, though he was affected a little, "My heart seemed to shrivel the way tender plants do at the onslaught of severe winter." We realise at times, children can be very harsh. He is very nostalgic about some families of the other communities who were very kind to the author and his family. Their small gestures left a lasting impression on the author. Such families for him were like an "oasis in the desert."

Madhopuri gives credit to his father for instilling in him the ideas of self-respect and dignity. His father, whom he fondly called ‘Bhaia’, lived a life full of deprivation and poverty, but wanted his children to live a life of dignity and comfort. The author quotes his father, from whom he learned the real lessons of life, liberally. The author learnt that their condition could improve only through education. As he struggled to get education, Madhopuri tells about his experiences. So, we are introduced to the activities of the Communists in Punjab and how caste, as the author observes, sometimes, permeates the ranks of the party, too.

He tells about his stint with the Food Corporation of India where corruption was rampant. He later left the job for greener pastures and was posted to Delhi. He tells about his ordeal of renting a house for his family. Even here the demon of caste haunted him. They were told to vacate the houses once the landlord learned about their caste. He talks fondly about his paternal grandmother who sat outside their hut and commanded respect from one and all. He sympathises with his mother who gave birth to many siblings of the author that cost dear to her health.

It is a book through which you come to know about the life of a Dalit family with the rural life forming the background. It gives you another facet of life as it is in Punjab.

HOME