A Dalit Epic
V.S. Sreedhara
KUSUMABALE by Devanura Mahadeva Oxford Novellas, Oxford University Press, New Delhi, 2015, 121 pp., 250
August 2015, volume 39, No 8

Devanoora Mahadeva’s Kusumabale, ever since it was serialized in a Kannada magazine in 1984 and later published in book form in 1984, has evoked mixed responses from readers, activists and critics. However, everyone agrees that it is a great text, a classic in fact, unprecedented in its treatment of dalit experience both in its form and content. Its cult status can partly be attributed to its unique narrative technique, mixing myth and social reality as well as breaking a linear narrative with effortless ease, the first of its kind in modern Kannada literature. The other reason could be the author himself, a highly respected icon in Kannada cultural and socio-cultural milieu, known for his outright and uncompromising pro-people and anti-establishment stand, shunning many coveted rewards and positions. He has often taken hard and unpopular decisions, but has always tried to win over his opponents through his gentle manners and persuasions. Most recently, he refused to accept the chairmanship of the annual conference of Kannada Sahitya Parishat, a pre-eminent body of Kannadigas and Kannada literature on the ground that the State Government was not firm on its commitment to bring in a common school system, with primacy to teaching in mother tongue.

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