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Review of Untouchable Spring by G. Kalyana Rao (Translated from Telugu by Alladi Uma and M. Sridhar), Hyderabad: Orient Black Swan, 2010, pp. 285+vii. Print.
G. Kalyana Rao's Antarani Vasantam (Untouchable Spring - 2000). Translated from the Telugu (published by Orient Black Swan in 2000) by Alladi Uma and M. Sridhar, the book is a narrative which circumscribes several narratives across generations within its fold. Kalyana Rao is a Dalit writer and a Dalit convert to Christianity. Most importantly, as an ardent believer in revolutionary ideology, he has been a significant functionary of Virasam Viplava Rachayitala Sangham (Revolutionary Writers' Movement). Untouchable Spring which spans almost five generations of malas and madigas in Yellana Dinni in Andhra Pradesh foregrounds the oppression of malas and madigas - socially as well as culturally.
Dalit literature is often a reflection of the struggles and dilemma of Dalit communities across the country. More importantly, it is emblematic of an aesthetic which thrives beyond established literary canons. Sharankumar Limbale's Towards an Aesthetic of Dalit Literature: History, Controversies and Considerations1 is a provocative and thoughtful account of the debates among Dalit writers on how Dalit literature should be read. Limbale questions the applicability of the triadic concept of 'satyam', 'shivam' and 'sundaram' - the foundation of traditional Hindu aesthetics - to Dalit literary productions. And in doing so, the book talks back to the universalist assertions of India's dominant-group literary theorists. Dalit literature represents a powerful, emerging trend in the Indian literary scene. Given its overarching preoccupations with the location of Dalits in the caste-based...