The Outcaste by Sharankumar Limbale- A Critical Note and Summary

The Outcaste by Sharankumar Limbale

About The Author.

Sharankumar Limbale is a Marathi novelist, poet, critic, and short story writer. He has penned more than 40 books but is best known for his autobiographical novel Akkarmashi published in 1984. It was translated into several Indian languages including Malayalam, Tamil, and Hindi. He also wrote a critical work Towards an Aesthetics of Dalit Literature. He was born to an outcast landless mother and an upper-caste father. Therefore he describes himself as an 'Akkarmashi'.

A Critical Note on The Outcast by Sharankumar Limbale.

'The Outcast' is an extract taken from the famous autobiographical novel The Outcast written by Sharankumar Limbale. Firstly it was written in the Marathi language with the name Akkarmashi. Later in 2003 Santosh Bhoomkar translated it to English with the title The Outcaste.  The Outcaste is considered as one of the important works which exposes discrimination against the Dalit community. As it is an autobiographical story, Limbale draws many painful incidences from his own life.  He was an illegitimate son born to an untouchable outcast mother and upper-caste father. He faced several discriminations, as an untouchable, in different phases of his life. Here 'The Outcaste' reflects the conditions of a particular oppressed class, the Mahar community.

As a member of the Mahar community, he faced much discrimination during his time at school. This extract tells us about his experience at a school picnic when he was in the third standard.

In the extract, caste politics is reflected in different ways and means. The upper caste students were always protected by their teachers. They were already informed about their picnic. Therefore, all the upper caste students came with preparations. At the same time, the outcaste students were not informed before. Therefore again they had to back home to bring their tiffin. 

Another discrimination took place in the form of game politics. There were separate games assigned for upper-caste and outcast students. The upper caste Vani and Brahmin boys played Kabaddi. But being a member of the Mahar community, they could play simple games like touch-and-go.

Discrimination can be seen in the form of food politics also.  After the games, they were asked to sit separately under the different trees. The Outcast students did not have good food to eat, they had brought dried bhakari and, chutney, and bombil fish curry.  At the same time, the upper-caste students brought varieties of fried and tasty food. At the end of the lunch, teachers asked the upper-caste boys and girls to collect the leftovers on a paper and give it to them. 

On the next day of the picnic, the teacher asked both third and seventh-standard students to write an essay about their picnic. Senior boys and girls were swiftly started to write the essay.  Limbale as a 3rd standard student, could not start writing as other students. When the teacher noticed him, he shouted "You son of a bitch, come on, start writing!  You like eating an ox, don't you? He didn't know how to write and what to write.  But he started to remember the incidences that happened the day one by one. Here the teacher abused him without giving any consideration as a third standard student. It shows the mentality of the upper class those who see everything in the eyes of the caste system, they never leave even the children.

Summary of The Outcaste.

In The Outcast, Sharankumar Limbale describes his experience during the time of a school picnic. The upper caste students were informed before by their teachers about the picnic, therefore they came with all preparations, but the outcast Mahar boys and girls were not informed before. So they came without any preparations. That day was a strange experience for them because they haven't had any picnics so far. They rushed to the home and came back with tiffin. After they returned from home, joined a group of boys and girls who were getting ready to start their journey.

On the way, they have seen a group of women, who were gathering dung cakes. Then they saw Harya, who was grazing cattle along the bank of the river.  He was also a student of the same school, but his father put him on a farm run by Girmallya because of poverty. His family was a poor one, his mother did not even have proper clothes, and they could not eat properly. But after Harya had joined the job he was not a burden to his family and now all the members of his family could have sufficient food and cloth.  Here Hariya had to sacrifice his education for the sake of his family.

When they reached their destination place, boys and girls started to play different games. The caste girls played Phugadi, the teachers cards- game. Here the author did not join with them, he just watched them from the distance.  The upper cast Vani and Brahmin boys played Kabaddi but Mahar students cannot join with them. Because outcaste students can play only simple games like touch-and-go. Mallya, Umbriya, and Parshya all belong to the outcast Mahar community.

After the game was over, they were asked to sit and have lunch. The boys and girls from the upper caste were asked to sit in a circle under a banyan tree with their teachers.  The Mahar boys and girls were asked to sit under another tree. Here the tree that was allotted for the outcasts students was a bare one.  The cast students were sharing food with the teachers. Then some questions came to the writer's mind. Dare I offer my chutney and bakeries to my teacher?  Would he eat?  The upper caste students brought delicious dishes for their lunch. Their mother had given them fried food. But students brought pieces of dried Bhakaries, chutney, and bombil fish curry which were hardly enough to satisfy their hunger. 

The teacher asked upper-caste students to collect leftovers onto a piece of paper and give it to them. The writer and Parshya carried the bundle and others followed them.  All upper-caste students were making fun of them.  But their attention was only on the Bundle.  They had never tasted such delicious food so far.

The next day, the teacher had asked to write an essay about the picnic. All the boys and girls from the seventh standard started to write very swiftly. But Limbale as a third-standard student, could not start the essay. When the teacher noticed him, he shouted at him by saying that "You, son of a bitch, come on, start writing!  You like eating an ox, don't you?" But he did not know how to start and what to write as a third-standard student.  But he started to recall all the incidences that happened on the day one by one.

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