Nationality Indian Role Novelist | Name Bama Soosairaj Occupation writer | |
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Full Name Faustina Mary Fatima Rani Born 14 March 1958 (age 62) Pudhupatti, Madras State, India Similar Urmila Pawar, Yashica Dutt, Namdeo Dhasal | ||
Writing feminism bama in conversation with githa hariharan
Bama (born 1958), also known as Bama Faustina Soosairaj, is a Tamil, Dalit feminist, committed teacher and novelist. She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel Karukku (1992), which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christian women in Tamil Nadu. She subsequently wrote two more novels, Sangati (1994) and Vanmam (2002) along with two collections of short stories: Kusumbukkaran (1996) and Oru Tattvum Erumaiyum (2003).she is the sister of famous Dalit writer Raj Gauthaman. In addition she has written twenty short stories.
Contents
- Writing feminism bama in conversation with githa hariharan
- Casteless writer Bama speech Karukku summary Karukku noval
- Early life
- Career
- Themes
- References
Casteless writer Bama speech | Karukku summary | Karukku noval
Early life
Bama was born in 1958 as Faustina Mary Fatima Rani in a Roman Catholic family from Puthupatti in the then Madras State.[1] Later she accepted 'Bama' as her pen name. Susairaj was her father and Sebasthiamma,her mother. Her father was employed in the Indian Army. Bama's grandfather had converted from Hinduism to Christianity.[1] Bama's ancestors were from the Dalit community and worked as agricultural labourers. Bama had her early education in her village. On graduation, she served as a nun for seven years.[3]
Career
After serving as a nun for seven years, Bama left the convent and began writing. With the encouragement of a friend, she wrote on her childhood experiences. These experiences formed the basis for her first novel, Karukku published in 1992. When the novel was published, Bama was ostracised from her village for portraying it in poor light and was not allowed to enter it for the next seven months. Karukku was, however, critically acclaimed and won the Crossword Book Award in 2000. Bama followed it with Sangati and Kusumbukkaran. Bama got a loan and set up a school for Dalit children in Uttiramerur. Bama's Karukku has been translated to English and Kusumbukkaran and Sangati to French.
Themes
Bama's novels focus on caste and gender discrimination. They portray caste-discrimination practised in Christianity and Hinduism. Bama's works are seen as embodying Dalit feminism and are famed for celebrating the inner strength of the subaltern woman.
