Scan barcode
A review by shaambhavipathak
Untouchable by Mulk Raj Anand
4.0
"How a round base can be adjusted on a round top, how a sphere can rest on a sphere is a problem which may be of interest to those who think like Euclid or Archimedes. It never occurred to Sohini to ask herself anything like this as she balanced her pitcher on her heat and when to and from her one-roomed home to the steps of the caste-well where she counted on the chance of some gentleman taking pity on her ad giving her the water she needed."
Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable gave me a taste of my own medicine as an Indian. Not saying that I am biased towards the caste, but there were several instances where I felt that why this sect has still not progressed even after 60-70 years of Independence.
I am a Brahmin, yes, just like the infamous Brahmin caste in the book. However much I try to say that I do not discriminate, somewhere down the line, I do remember growing up with this. Towards the end of the book, I could relate to Gandhi's speech, about how he never found them to be different, yet had to follow certain customs out of regard for family.
I remember my mother condemning me for playing with the kids of my maid or talking to the street urchins, supposedly from this caste. She said, "they're bad company". 20 years later, whenever I travel, I am not sure who I sit next to in the train, or metro or on a plane. A Thakur, Brahmin or Untouchable. As long as people don't know things are fine here, when they do know, though, some deep seated stigma switches on, forcing them to judge.
Coming back to the book, Mr. Anand did a great job putting the real face of an outcast personality. If I imagine Bakha today, I don't think I will be able to spot any difference between him and myself. He probably might be more well-read than me, well-settled and earning well.
The story talks about the misfortunes happening to the protagonist one fine day. Bakha is a character who is easily forgettable, yet, difficult to forget, once you know what goes inside his mind. Somewhere, in taking pride of one's own caste, we have forgotten that basically we are humans underneath this superfluous crap of caste and religion.
Mulk Raj Anand's Untouchable gave me a taste of my own medicine as an Indian. Not saying that I am biased towards the caste, but there were several instances where I felt that why this sect has still not progressed even after 60-70 years of Independence.
I am a Brahmin, yes, just like the infamous Brahmin caste in the book. However much I try to say that I do not discriminate, somewhere down the line, I do remember growing up with this. Towards the end of the book, I could relate to Gandhi's speech, about how he never found them to be different, yet had to follow certain customs out of regard for family.
I remember my mother condemning me for playing with the kids of my maid or talking to the street urchins, supposedly from this caste. She said, "they're bad company". 20 years later, whenever I travel, I am not sure who I sit next to in the train, or metro or on a plane. A Thakur, Brahmin or Untouchable. As long as people don't know things are fine here, when they do know, though, some deep seated stigma switches on, forcing them to judge.
Coming back to the book, Mr. Anand did a great job putting the real face of an outcast personality. If I imagine Bakha today, I don't think I will be able to spot any difference between him and myself. He probably might be more well-read than me, well-settled and earning well.
The story talks about the misfortunes happening to the protagonist one fine day. Bakha is a character who is easily forgettable, yet, difficult to forget, once you know what goes inside his mind. Somewhere, in taking pride of one's own caste, we have forgotten that basically we are humans underneath this superfluous crap of caste and religion.