Translated for the first time into English, Joopaka Subhadra's stories expose the lives of Madiga women, the most oppressed among Dalits in Telangana. As she declares that she has drawn these from lived experiences, the reader in turn witnesses the cruelties in the lives of Dakkalis, who are wandering bards, disturbance in the old feudal hierarchies with the arrival of educated Dalit youth, lack of compassion in society for women with disabilities, and the absence of accountability in government institutions, society, and the state. The stories reveal the subtle discrimination practiced despite education and employment and those on the politics of food are particularly intriguing.
