ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Mulk Raj Anand was born on 12th December,1905 in Peshawar.He attended University College London as an undergraduate and later studied at Cambridge University,earning a PHD in Philosophy in 1929 with a dissertation on Bertrand Russell and the English Empiricists.Anand's literary career was launched by a family tragedy arising from India 's caste system. Dividing his time between London and India during the 1930s and 40s.Anand was active in the Indian Independence movement. Mulk Raj Anand returned to India in 1947 and continued his prodigious literary output there. His work includes poetry and essays on a wide range of subjects as well as autobiographies,novels and short stories. He also founded a literary magazine,"MARG",and taught in various universities. During the 1970s,he worked with the "International Progress Organization " on the issue of cultural self awareness among nations. Anand was a lifelong socialist. He was awarded with the "International Peace Prize " in 1953,"Padma Bhushan" in 1968 and the prestigious "Sahithya Akademi "Award in 1971.Mulk Raj Anand died on 28th September,2004 at the age of 98.
OTHER BOOKS FROM THE AUTHOR:
Coolie
Two Leaves and a bud
The Village
The big heart
The sword and the sickle
The big heart
Across the black waters
The lost child e.t.c.
MAIN CHARACTER IN THE BOOK:
Bakha.
SUMMARY OF THE BOOK:
Bakha is a member of the Untouchables,a designation for people so far below even the lowest caste in Indian Society that they are considered outside of the system.His job is to sweep streets and latrines for the upper class,who are forbidden from cleaning or touching human waste. One day,while cleaning the latrine of a famous street hockey player named "Charat Singh" the man invites Bakha tk visit him later in the day.He promises to give a hockey stick as a gift.Bakha moves through the streets sweeping.He accidentally brushes up against a Brahmin Hindu who begins to shout that he has been polluted by Bakha.
He spends the rest of the afternoon begging for food,all while being subjected to various indignities and cruelties from the upper caste Hindus.After collecting his hockey stick from Charat Singh,Bakha joins a game of street hockey. During the game,one of the rocks hits a little boy in the head.Bakha picks him up and carries him to his mother.Even though he is trying to help she screams that he has polluted her son .At home,Bakha's father is furious and he kicks Bakha out of the home.Bakha makes his way to the station where he hears that Gandhi is coming there to give a speech.Gandhi's speech condemns the caste system and urges the people to follow his example of non violent protest.Afterward Bakha hears two high caste educated friends discussing the speech. Bakha hears that one of the friends mention that flush toilets will soon be brought to India and hence will no longer need the untouchables to clean it.He understands that having a flush system would decrease the problems faced by untouchables and heads back home.
LESSONS FROM THE BOOK:
Never loose hope.
Don't judge a man by his appearance.
Become a shoulder to your family when in hazardous situations.
WHO WOULD I RECOMMEND:
This gem will be loved by the one's who likes classics and also it will be loved by the socialists and activists.
LANGUAGE:ENGLISH
FIRST PUBLISHED ON:1935
GENRES:HISTORICAL FICTION,CLASSIC
ISBN:978-0-14-018395-5
HOW LONG IT TOOK TO READ(APPROX):3 DAYS
AVAILABLE AT:AMAZON,FLIPKART,GOODREADS
OVERALL RATING:4.5/5
Happy reading............
Suraksha.K
Comments