My Childhood on My Shoulders

by Singh Bechain, Sheoraj; Zafir, Deeba; Basu, Tapan

• ISBN13: 9780199479290
• ISBN10: 0199479291
• Edition: Reprint
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2019-03-17
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

My Childhood on My Shoulders is a translation of Sheoraj Singh Bechain's autobiographical work Mera Bachpan Mere Kandhon Par, a paradigmatic life-story of a member of one of India's numerous Dalit castes. The book narrates his struggle against the social disabilities imposed on him by the material circumstances of his 'outcaste' family and succeeding in his quest for an education.

Born in 1960 into a family of 'chamars' (tanners), and therefore stigmatized by the prevalent pollution norms maintained in his village community, Bechain was constrained to bear, all through his childhood, the burden of acute economic hardship. Despite being sold-off by his stepfather to serve as a bonded labourer at a brick kiln, after his rescue he remains a self-supporting individual throughout his childhood, earning through odd jobs like polishing shoes and serving in hotels. All through this time, he never gave up his aspiration for learning, for reading, and writing, and after much struggle, managed to get enrolled in formal schooling. Rendered in the folk idiom of western Uttar Pradesh, the author's native region, Bechain's autobiography, throws light upon the dismal lot of all those who grow up disenfranchised in free India.

Author Biography

Sheoraj Singh Bechain, Professor, Department of Hindi, University of Delhi,Deeba Zafir, Assistant, Laxmibai College, University of Delhi,Tapan Basu, Professor, Department of English, University of Delhi

Sheoraj Singh Bechain teaches in the Department of Hindi, University of Delhi. A prolific writer, Bechain has several publications to his credit, the most notable of which, apart from his bestselling autobiography, are---a collection of short stories 'Bharose ki Behen', two anthologies of poetry 'Nai Fasal aur Anya Kavitaayein' and 'Kronch Hoon Main' along with several books on Hindi journalism and Dalit discourse. A prominent voice in the world of Hindi Dalit literature, Bechain is the recipient of several prestigious awards---the national Subramaniam Bharti Sammaan, Ambedkar National Award and Rashtriya Hindi Gaurav Sammaan, to name a few.

Deeba Zafir has been teaching for more than twenty years in the Department of English, Lakshmibai College,University of Delhi. She has translated critical material and fiction from Urdu and Hindi into English. She has also written on and reviewed works of Urdu and Hindi literature.

Tapan Basu is Professor at the Department of English,

University of Delhi. He is the author of 'Khaki Shorts, Saffron Flags: A Critique of the Hindu Right' (Orient Longman 1993), and the editor of two anthologies on caste---'Translating Caste' (Katha 2002), and 'Listen to the Flames: Texts and Readings from the Margins' (OUP 2016).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements
Introduction
Chapter 1-An Untimely Death
Chapter 2-Whither Home?
Chapter 3-Fake Devotion
Chapter4-Custodians of Community
Chapter 5-Maya's Marriage
Chapter 6-Summons
Chapter 7-Delhi: Small Steps in a Large World
Chapter 8-'Swaraj': The Survivor
Chapter 9-Here Lived a Mochi
Chapter 10-On the New Path of Learning
Chapter 11-Bhai Saab: An Inspiring Role Model
Chapter 12-A Milestone in Life's Journey
A List of Names
About the Author and the Translators