This short book has been made into movie in the year 1975 under the same title directed by B.V. Karanth. This movie has won the Swarna Kamala award from president of India.
The practice of untouchability is not new to India, it is much worse than racism. Author has elegantly captured all these practices and given the shape of a journey of a man called "Choma" and his beloved "Dudi" or "Drum".
Choma is an untouchable bonded labour in a village. He and his entire family was working for a landlord in a village, as he was not allowed to own a land and till on his own. Due to the tag of a backward class, Choma was not allowed to till any land, which he has desired the most. Though he had acquired a pair of bullocks from a nearby forest, he wish of owning and tilling a land remained a dream after all. This has frustrated him for life long and to forget his sorrows and show his anger on the society he gets drunk every night and starts playing his Dudi or Drum.
Without much success with any of his landlord, Choma was contacted by some Christian missionaries who intimidated him to get converted to christianity by offering him a piece of land to till. Though choma was interested at the beginning, later he rejected that offer and felt proud of his faith and religion.
Choma has 4 sons and a daughter, 2 of his elder sons Guru and Chaniya who were working in a coffee estate far away to pay off the debt. Chaniya dies of Cholera and Guru converted to christianity and marries a christian girl and never visited his father ever again. Here, choma's daughter Belli, goes to the same coffee estate to pay off his debt, who falls prey for Manvela, the writer of coffee estate's owner. She was abused constantly and even the estate owner had raped her often and one day sends her off from the coffee estate saying the debt was cleared.
In Choma's village one bad day, his 2 younger sons were playing near the river and accidently one of his son slips into the river. Since, they were untouchables none of the other villagers couldn't come forward to help him to save his son. All these events had eventually made Choma to lose his senses. He lost his sense and was always staying at house without going to labour work and often playing his Dudi (Drum) in a deafening noise to forget his tragic fate. When he thought everything was over, he and his daughter Belli decides to join Guru, and accept christianity.
Choma decides to go and meet his son Guru, he leaves his village. When he was half-way, he changes his mind and decides whatever happens to him, he is not going to change his faith and religion. By deciding this, he heads back to his house, but, he saw an unexpected scene at his house. His daughter Belli was seen in a compromising position with Manvela, who was that writer of that coffee estate. Full of anger, Choma beats his daughter and throws her out of the house and he chases off his bullocks into the forest and comes home, locks himself inside the house and starts playing his Dudi or Drum non-stop till he breathes his last breath. This marks the end of the book.
Choma's dream of becoming a farmer and tilling his own land remained a dream after all. Throughout all his tragic fate of incidents, only his Dudi or Drum remained as a loyal friend to him. Just because he was an untouchable, his entire village was against him and never allowed him to till his own land.
A must read book, it just opens you to an entire new world. Also, it teaches a great lesson to learn humanity first rather than clinging to one's own religion. The oppression Choma faced in this novel is beyond imagination. I have left with only one question, when this upper-caste, lower-caste altogether the caste system will be thrown out of this world ?
My Rating: 5/5
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