The Weave of My Life

A Dalit Woman's Memoirs

Nonfiction, History, Asian, India, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Biography & Memoir
Cover of the book The Weave of My Life by Urmila Pawar, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Urmila Pawar ISBN: 9780231520577
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: July 15, 2009
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Urmila Pawar
ISBN: 9780231520577
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: July 15, 2009
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

"My mother used to weave aaydans, the Marathi generic term for all things made from bamboo. I find that her act of weaving and my act of writing are organically linked. The weave is similar. It is the weave of pain, suffering, and agony that links us."

Activist and award-winning writer Urmila Pawar recounts three generations of Dalit women who struggled to overcome the burden of their caste. Dalits, or untouchables, make up India's poorest class. Forbidden from performing anything but the most undesirable and unsanitary duties, for years Dalits were believed to be racially inferior and polluted by nature and were therefore forced to live in isolated communities.

Pawar grew up on the rugged Konkan coast, near Mumbai, where the Mahar Dalits were housed in the center of the village so the upper castes could summon them at any time. As Pawar writes, "the community grew up with a sense of perpetual insecurity, fearing that they could be attacked from all four sides in times of conflict. That is why there has always been a tendency in our people to shrink within ourselves like a tortoise and proceed at a snail's pace." Pawar eventually left Konkan for Mumbai, where she fought for Dalit rights and became a major figure in the Dalit literary movement. Though she writes in Marathi, she has found fame in all of India.

In this frank and intimate memoir, Pawar not only shares her tireless effort to surmount hideous personal tragedy but also conveys the excitement of an awakening consciousness during a time of profound political and social change.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

"My mother used to weave aaydans, the Marathi generic term for all things made from bamboo. I find that her act of weaving and my act of writing are organically linked. The weave is similar. It is the weave of pain, suffering, and agony that links us."

Activist and award-winning writer Urmila Pawar recounts three generations of Dalit women who struggled to overcome the burden of their caste. Dalits, or untouchables, make up India's poorest class. Forbidden from performing anything but the most undesirable and unsanitary duties, for years Dalits were believed to be racially inferior and polluted by nature and were therefore forced to live in isolated communities.

Pawar grew up on the rugged Konkan coast, near Mumbai, where the Mahar Dalits were housed in the center of the village so the upper castes could summon them at any time. As Pawar writes, "the community grew up with a sense of perpetual insecurity, fearing that they could be attacked from all four sides in times of conflict. That is why there has always been a tendency in our people to shrink within ourselves like a tortoise and proceed at a snail's pace." Pawar eventually left Konkan for Mumbai, where she fought for Dalit rights and became a major figure in the Dalit literary movement. Though she writes in Marathi, she has found fame in all of India.

In this frank and intimate memoir, Pawar not only shares her tireless effort to surmount hideous personal tragedy but also conveys the excitement of an awakening consciousness during a time of profound political and social change.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book Subjects of Desire by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book The Role of Law in Social Work Practice and Administration by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book Sex Crimes by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book Triassic Life on Land by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book If You're in a Dogfight, Become a Cat! by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book The Great Flowing River by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book Special Effects by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book War Over Kosovo by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book The Ethical Soundscape by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book Odd Girls and Twilight Lovers by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book Heidegger's Black Notebooks by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book The Birth of Vietnamese Political Journalism by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book The Dynamic Frame by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book Falling Through the Cracks by Urmila Pawar
Cover of the book If A, Then B by Urmila Pawar
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy