The Stepchild : Angaliyat

Joseph Macwan

ISBN 10: 0195666240 / ISBN 13: 9780195666243

Published by Oxford University Press, 2005

About this Item

The Stepchild is a cornerstone of Gujarati literature the first Dalit novel set in rural Gujarat of the 1930s which draws attention to its own aesthetics and political ideology. Rich in local idioms and expression the novel vividly explores the ethos fears and aspirations of the Vankar community through the characters of Valji Methi Teeharam and Bhavaankaka. Angaliyat in Gujarati is a Child whose Mother leads him by the Hand to his stepfathers house. This is metaphorically the social position of the Vankars a Dalit community. Significant from several points of view the novel provides a view of history from below. Caught in External and internal forms of subjugation the community of weavers the Vankars is subject to oppression from the more powerful upper castes the Patels. Through the use of powerful dialogue The Author illustrates the subtlety and complexity of the major Dalit characters and elevates them. But they are ultimately defeated by the dominant castes in the story. The novel critiques systems of internal colonization that exist within the Hindu Caste system which is far more difficult to fight than the British colonization of the land. Angaliyat represents the recently emerged genre of the Dalit novel. Today Dalits are both asserting their identity and challenging a Society that had earlier excluded them by Writing about their lives themselves. This translation is aimed at students and general readers interested in regional Indian literature and anyone who is trying to understand South Asian society. 240 pp. Seller Inventory # 100001979

Bibliographic Details

Title: The Stepchild : Angaliyat

Publisher: Oxford University Press

Publication Date: 2005

Binding: Hardcover

About this title

Synopsis:

The first Dalit novel set in rural Gujarat of the 1930s, The Stepchild explores the ethos of the Vankars, a community of weavers.

About the Author:

Joseph Macwan (1935-2010) lived and taught in Anand, Gujarat. He told the stories of Dalit lives in the region as vivid narratives told in the Charotari dialect. Angaliyat is his most acclaimed novel, and Joseph Macwan is Gujarat's well-known Dalit writer. He won several state and national awards for literature. Rita Kothari is a Professor of Humanities at the Indian Institute of Technology, Gandhinagar. She is well known for her translations, as well as her academic work on translation and language politics in Sindh and Gujarat.