Thunderstorm: Dalit Stories

By: Mridul Bhasin and Ratan Kumar Sambharia

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Synopsis: In fifteen stories that are at once grim, wryly ironic, humorous and affecting, acclaimed Rajasthani writer Ratan Kumar Sambhria portrays with rare acuity the injustices rampant in a caste-driven society and the triggers that spark rebellion. Poverty and greed degrade blood ties; money plays a dramatic role in changing equations between oppressor and oppressed; livestock and land become precious beyond measure. Yet, love ? between men and women, mother and child, a man and his land, and human beings and the animals they nurture ? underlies such dark overtones, and integrity and honour shine through in the bleakest moments. Remarkable for their craft and rendered here in an authentic translation, these deceptively simple stories are narratives of love and anger, hope and fortitude, and subtly negotiate equality in a society inherently marked by inequity.