This is an excellent book in Marathi and translated in English by Vasant Moon and available in Barnes and Noble and other US book stores.
Growing up Untouchable in India: A Dalit Autobiography
Vasant Moon Gail Omvedt (Translator) Eleanor Zelliot (Introduction)
Original : Marathi
Synopsis
There is much in Vasant Moon’s extraordinary story of his vasti, his childhood neighborhood in India, that would probably be true of any urban ghetto anywhere in the world. But there is much that is peculiarly and vividly Indian. In this first autobiography of a so-called Untouchable, we learn about the inescapable hierarchy imposed by caste, based on ancient principles of hereditary pollution. We see the unmatched importance of the heroic Dr. B. R. Ambedkar for India’s awakened and newly ambitious Dalits. We feel, viscerally, Nagpur’s heat and the joy brought by the monsoon. Vasant Moon’s Vasti, the first Dalit autobiography to be published in English, is a moving and eloquent testament to a uniquely Indian life as well as to the universal human spirit.
From the Publisher
There is much in Vasant Moon’s story of his vasti, his childhood neighborhood in India, that would probably be true of any ghetto anywhere in the world. There is hunger and deprivation, to be sure, but also a sense of community, an easy acceptance of petty crime and violence, the saving grace of sports and organized activities led by caring adults, the off-again on-again aid from relatives, the inexplicable cruelty and unexpected generosity, and escape through education. But there is much here that is peculiarly and vividly Indian as well. Primary among these is the factor of caste, a hierarchical system unrelated to race but based on ancient principles of hereditary pollution and purity, with Brahmans the purest and Untouchables the most polluted. Second is the presence of a hero so important he is described as a “wave,” and surely no despised group has ever had a leader as meaningful as Dr. B. R. (Babasaheb) Ambedkar was and remains for India’s awakened and ambitious Dalits. Third is nature, with Moon’s compelling descriptions of Nagpur’s heat and the vivid joy brought by the monsoon. Indeed, every tree, every fruit, every nook and cranny of the world in and around the vasti plays an important part in his story. Dalit literature, poetry, plays, and autobiographies have been one of the most important developments in the culture of India in the past thirty years, yet little has been translated for a Western audience. Vasant Moon’s “Growing Up Untouchable”, the first Dalit autobiography to be published in English, is a moving and eloquent testament to a uniquely Indian life as well as to the universal human spirit.
From the Critics
From Harvard University
This book puts living flesh on the bones of recent Indian social historiography.
From Library Journal
Moon is a Dalit (formerly known as untouchable) activist and editor of the speeches and writings of the late Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar, a Dalit and the architect of the Indian constitution. The emergence of Dalit literature is an important development in the Indian literary scene, and Omvedt’s translation of Moon’s autobiography makes this work accessible to the Western reader. Despite poverty and hunger, Moon’s account of his boyhood in the Mahar “Vasti,” or neighborhood, of Nagpur is idyllic. Moon portrays the solidarity among the Ambedkar loyalists of this urban slum as well as a vast array of characters who are athletic, feisty, and resourceful activists. Omvedt’s translation is true to the original Marathi, but the use of a very limited English vocabulary makes her writing a stylistic curiosity. This reservation aside, the book is recommended for comparative literature and Indian collections in academic and large public libraries.–Ravi Shenoy, Naperville P.L., IL