Viramma, life of an untouchable by Viramma

Author:Viramma [Viramma]
Language: eng
Format: epub, pdf
Tags: Viramma, Untouchables -- India, South -- Biography, India, South -- Economic conditions, South -- Social conditions
ISBN: 1859841481
Publisher: London ; New York : Verso
Published: 1997-10-15T00:00:00+00:00

High and low castes in Karani

All my family is employed at the Grand Reddiar’s. My husband takes care of the pumps. The Reddiar owns two which irrigate every day. I collect the cow dung and clean the stable. My daughter Miniyamma helped me until she got married. Sundari has done the same and now it’s my daughter-in-law Amsa who works at the Reddiar’s. Anban started by looking after the cows. Now he does the important cultivation work with my husband. The reason is that we don’t own any land. God only left us these eyes and these hands to earn our living. By working hard at the Reddiar’s we’ve been able to lead our lives in the proper way. We’ve been able to give Miniyamma and Sundari away in marriage with silver ankle chains and some clothes. We’ve paid our share of funeral expenses when we’ve had to. I’ve been able to buy these jewels for my ears. And when we married Anban, the Reddiar gave Amsa her gold tali and her sari. Thanks to the Reddiar, thanks to his fortune - and it’s a great one, especially in land - we have enough to eat without worrying. The Reddiar is an important man. Every day or nearly every day he goes to Pondy. The serfs who work at the Reddiar’s have their rice guaranteed!

Of all the castes in the wr, the Reddiar caste is the highest. They have no equals. 'The others come after them: the Mudaliar, the Naicker, the Gounder. The Reddiar are the people who don’t go to work, they put others to work: fifty, sixty, ninety, two hundred people. Their women don’t work and they never go out.

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