Gabbilam: A Dalit Epic - Paperback

Name: Gabbilam: A Dalit Epic - Paperback
Brand: BooksCloud
SKU: 9789382579366
Price: 13.48 USD
Availability: InStock

by Gurram Jashuva

$13.48

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by Chinnaiah Jangam (Translator), Gurram Jashuva (Author)

Gurram Jashuva is considered the father of Dalit literature in Telugu. He wrote using the Sanskrit meter in classical Telugu to prove himself an equal to Brahmin pandits.

In Gabbilam, Jashuva challenges the dominant Sanskrit and Telugu literary sphere by choosing the bat, known as Gabbilam in Telugu and believed to be a bad omen, as it is considered neither a bird nor an animal, to reflect the existential status of untouchables. He subverts the classic Meghaduta, and instead of using swans, parrots, peacocks, and
clouds as messengers like the Savarnas, he uses the stigmatized bat, that hangs upside down in temple towers, to send his message of suffering to the god Shiva.

Gabbilam presents a Dalit man as the hero and protagonist perhaps for the first time in the classical verse-epic tradition of Indian poetry, and is the earliest text to highlight the oppression, exclusion, and dehumanization of untouchables in casteist Hindu society. It occupies a pre-eminent position in the Telugu literary sphere, not just for the depiction of Dalit suffering but also for bringing the language of ordinary people into the classical medium. In its English translation for the first time, this Dalit epic can now be read and relished by a global audience.

Number of Pages: 106

Dimensions: 0.25 x 8 x 5.25 IN

Publication Date: April 26, 2022

ISBN	9789382579366
Author	Gurram Jashuva
Publisher	Yoda Press
Genre	Literature
Format	Paperback
Published	April 2022
Language	ENG- English
Pages	106
Weight	1.0 lb
Target Audience	Adults
Print Size	Standard Print