The Stomach That Chewed Hunger and Other Stories

Tamil Literature in English Translation Series

Jealous of the ‘success’ of his hardworking farmhands, the rich farmer cuts off access to their land; a free gift won by a working-class family is appropriated by their rich employer who feels his status entitles him to such benefits, a teacher finds herself rendered speechless by the subtle, insidious ways in which caste operates around her, a pregnant woman dreams of clean toilets for her child. Hard hitting, often unrelenting, the twelve powerful stories in this slim volume have been selected by Bama, a Dalit writer who broke new ground by speaking out publicly against caste discrimination, particularly in the Church. Written in everyday Tamil and in regional dialects, and skillfully translated by Ahana Lakshmi, the stories are firmly rooted in the twin experiences of caste and gender and upend much of the received wisdom about what counts as ‘good’ literature.

Contributors: Nachiyal Suganthi | Aranga Mallika | Bama | Amutha Arathi | Puthiya Maadhavi | Revathi Muhil | P. Sivakami | Thenmozhi | Uma Devi

BAMA is a celebrated contemporary dalit writer in Tamil. She has been in the forefront of feminist and anti-caste activism and has given dalit aesthetics tremendous visibility on the literary campus as well as at literature festivals in India and abroad. Bama’s writing offers compelling insights into human nature and her portraits of ordinary people and their everyday pleasures, rebellions and deceits are unforgettable. Her pathbreaking autobiographical novel Karukku won the Crossword Award in 2000 and is widely taught. Her other publications include Sangati (1994), Kisumbukkaran (1996), Vanmam (2002) Oru Thath Avum Yerumayum (2003) Kondattam (2009) Manushi (2012), Thavittukuruvi (2015) and Virutchangalagum Vithaigal (2022). Her works have been translated into many languages including English, French, Hindi, Telugu, Kannada, Gujarati and Malayalam.

AHANA LAKSHMI holds a PhD in Environmental Science and has been writing from a young age. She has translated a selection of Ranganayaki Thatham’s writings entitled From the Inner Palace: A Kumudini Anthology and Prema Nandakumar’s Election Fever and Other Stories. She writes for children and is on the editorial board of Rashtra Deepika’s Children’s Digest.