How I Became a Writer: An Autobiography of a Dalit

Description

‘Writing was my truth, my god, my everything. I could not leave it for anything.’ With these words, Manoranjan Byapari points to how writing is as important to him as breathing. How I Became a Writer: An Autobiography of a Dalit is the translation of the second volume of his remarkable life story Itibritte Chandal Jivan. In this volume, translated for the first time into English with great sensitivity, the author talks of his life in Kolkata after leaving the Chhattisgarh Mukti Morcha. He takes up the post of a cook at a school, which provides work, albeit gruelling. Part I, School Shenanigans, describes how he carried out his duties, while being treated contemptuously because he is a Dalit, and became more determined to forge a new identity as a writer. Part II, The Right to Write, reveals how his persistence gradually resulted in his works being published in little magazines and, later, by mainstream publishers and how his fame slowly spread with television interviews and prestigious awards. He discusses Dalit writings, Dalit literary organizations and whether he is a ‘Dalit writer’. His forthright observations on society and governance provide many insights. Cover Contents Foreword Acknowledgements A Note by the Translator PART I School Shenanigans CHAPTER 1 My First Visit to the Helen Keller Institute for the Deaf and the Blind CHAPTER 2 The Warden and the Mother Killer CHAPTER 3 The Four Guards CHAPTER 4 More on the Warden and Introducing the Teacher-in-Charge CHAPTER 5 Tensions at Work CHAPTER 6 Tact or Free Flow like Pebbles? CHAPTER 7 Checkmate CHAPTER 8 Something Fishy CHAPTER 9 Arm Wrestling CHAPTER 10 The Unlettered Are Not Fools CHAPTER 11 Lessons in Morality CHAPTER 12 Embattling Superiors CHAPTER 13 Mother Killer CHAPTER 14 The Secretary of the Organization for Disabled People CHAPTER 15 Boro Sahib CHAPTER 16 How Duttada’s Intentions Came to Nought CHAPTER 17 Mutating Viruses CHAPTER 18 More Pilferage and Persecution CHAPTER 19 To Eat or Not to Eat? PART I I The Right to Write CHAPTER 20 Jogenda, Ashokji and Podokkhyep CHAPTER 21 More Literary Expeditions CHAPTER 22 Ananta Acharya, Khokon Majumdar and Dalit Writings of Bengal CHAPTER 23 The Story of Jibon Das CHAPTER 24 A Tumultuous End to a Decade CHAPTER 25 The Publication of Itibritte Chandal Jivan CHAPTER 26 A Job Offer Gone Wrong and Returning to Chhattisgarh CHAPTER 27 The Patna Literature Festival CHAPTER 28 Literary Accolades CHAPTER 29 In Pursuit of Parivartan CHAPTER 30 Boro Sahib’s Desire to Felicitate Me CHAPTER 31 The Bangla Akademi Award and Other Honours CHAPTER 32 An Interview with 24 Ghonta CHAPTER 33 My Writing Philosophy CHAPTER 34 The End of an Era About the Author and the Translator Index