Books For Beginners
Girija Rani Asthana
PHIR JEET GAI TATAKI AUR DILER BADEYYA by Gogu Shyamala Eklavya, 2018, 46 pp., 110
November 2018, volume 42, No 11

Both the stories are set in the tribal areas of Andhra Pradesh. Balamma is a spirited 12-year-old girl. She reaches her peanut farm at the crack of dawn before any one is up and waters her peanut crop. When the neighbouring field of the landlord Tirumalla Rao gets less water, the annoyed landlord decides to teach Balamma a lesson.

Balamma’s family had been bonded labourers of the landlord’s family for generations but not any more. The landlord carried a grudge against them for this. To punish Balamma, he goes to the fields early in the morning and hides in the long grass. When Balamma comes there to water her crop, he jumps on her and tries to molest her. But the brave girl hits the landlord in his groin so hard that he falls on the ground and she races off to the village. The villagers are all praise for her.

The story vividly describes village surroundings, and the reader gets a glimpse of the life of the tribal people their ethnicity, food, etc. The black and white illustrations are in the tribal style.

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