The Stepchild By Joseph Macwan, Oxford, Rs 295
As Dalit stories go, The Stepchild — or Angaliyat as the Gujarati original is called — is quite predictably about marginalization, oppression and injustice. Set in the pre-independence years, the novel by the well-known Dalit writer, Joseph Macwan, presents a fairly vivid picture of the harsh realities of the lives of Dalits, whose standing in Indian society has not improved much even after so many years of independence and progress.
The novel’s protagonists, Teeha and Valji, belong to the Vankar (weaver) community in Gujarat. But the simple lives of the two friends take an unexpected turn after Teeha intervenes to prevent a group of upper-caste Patidar young men from harassing Methi, a Vankar girl from a neighbouring village. Love blossoms, but the incident also sparks off a cycle of vicious back-biting, betrayal, murder and destruction in their villages. The story then revolves around the undercurrents of tension and the way it forges or sunders human relationships — Valji dies in a futile attempt to unite Teeha and Methi, while Methi struggles to live with an abusive husband. Circumstances later compel her to go and live near Teeha, but there are new complications which result in Teeha’s death.
The deep-seated bias against Dalits on the part of the dominant, land-owning village leaders and the wretchedness of the lower castes are exposed relentlessly and are a reminder the bane caste discrimination has come to be in Indian society.
Angaliyat (meaning stepchild in Gujarati), is not the story of only one stepchild. The term first surfaces in Chapter 11 as an explanation for Valji’s diffidence and again towards the end, when Gokul, the son of the widowed Methi, is unfairly branded an angaliyat in school.
Macwan’s choice of title is deliberate; “stepchild”, for him, sums up the miserable condition of the Dalits. But not all Vankars are resigned to their outcaste status. Some like Valji’s widow, Kanku, are angry at the wretchedness of the entire caste. Others carry themselves with dignity; instead of submitting meekly, they strive to assert themselves and create an identity of their own. As one village elder mused, worldly matters may be sullied, but the world had to go on. Such sagacity, though inspiring, does not always help.
Macwan’s narrative, as described in the blurb, transforms “the vanquished into the victor…turning the periphery into the core”, and reflects his experiences as a Dalit and the people he grew up with and the community’s struggle to be heard. His efforts were recognized when Angaliyat received the Sahitya Akademi award in 1988.
The translator, Rita Kothari, retains all the words in the Charotari dialect used by the Vankars. This enables readers to get a more real picture of the story and its setting. The translation is lucid and readable except in patches where Kothari attempts too literal a translation.
