Beast of Burden

Translated from original Tamil ‘Koveru Kazhudaigal’, this narrative throws sharp insights into a lifestyle that has now passed. Well-known translator Lakshmi Holmstrom brilliantly captures in English the powerful and original voice.’Beasts of Burden (Koveru Kazhudaigal) is Imayam’s first novel. The changing times of a village unfold in telling details through the eyes of Arokkyam, a washerwoman who serves a dalit community of agricultural laborers. Rich in ethnographic detail and native idiom, the narrative throws sharp insights into a lifestyle that has now passed.Arokkyam, a woman of indomitable courage, the pillar of the family, valiantly fights for her rights, but amazingly enough displays an unshakeable, unquestioning belief in the oppressive caste system. Deeply compassionate yet shorn of sentimentality, Imayam captures with ringing poignancy the struggle of an individual trapped within the dilemma of changing times. ‘Beasts of Burden’ is also a moving testament to dalit struggle as a whole.Imayam’s trenchant, subversive prose, totally uninhibited and startling, challenges the reader of contemporary Tamil Fiction. Well-known translator Lakshmi Holmstrom brilliantly captures in English his powerful and original voice.