stories

My name is Ungi, and I am eighteen years old. My family lived in a village near Geedam Town in Dantewada district, Chhattisgarh. We lived a life where we had to work hard just to survive. If we didn’t find work on some days, we would go hungry. Despite his old age, my grandfather too would go out for daily labour. Since my mother didn’t have enough milk, I used

The students of ‘Comrades Devaraj - Ajita Political School’ got up for their lunch and filed out of the class tent. As soon as ‘MoPos’ guruji Chaitey came out of the tent, Swaroopa who was sitting on a stone nearby got up with the shout ‘Lal Salaaam didee (red salute comrade)’,  shook her hands with her and hugged her. Smiling happily in return, Chaitey asked, “When did you arrive? You

“BheemjiHajir ho... (Mr.Bheem present yourself) SuniljiHajir ho... (Mr.Sunil present yourself) JuliejiHajir ho...” (Ms.Julie present yourself) The court attender shouted loudly, so his voice echoed from the court entrance to the far end of the veranda. The entire veranda was bustling with activity. Above the entrance, there was a board written in Hindi indicating that it is the honorable judge K.N. Srivatsava's court, Court No. 4. There were many such courts

“If you meet Kamlididi, give her this honey, Bujji. She drinks water mixed with lemon juice and honey first thing in the morning, right? She is such a thin person”, said Sanni placing a honey bottle in the bag on the cot. Budri, who was sitting near the fire burning next to the cot and chatting with her friend Seedho, nodded her head without looking at her mother. “Oh, I

“Come what may, today I must write the letter. I was told that Idumaal dada and others would be leaving within two days,” thought Pojje while going for her 6 am sentry duty. She was not yet twenty. She stopped at the camp ‘B’ tent that was on her way and looked for Sajonti. But she did not find her. “She hasn’t returned from her sentry duty yet,” replied Reena

‘Motherless child’ Find me another word that can unleash an entire gamut of emotions such as compassion, empathy, love, affection or even passion from one’s heart, especially in women. What if they also happen to be Adivasis? On top of it, they are Maoists? What difference does it make even if it was not a human child, but only a tiny squirrel? ***                                          ***                                          *** Gilloo, as I named it

Sannu was walking, taking each step with a broad smile. He just started to learn how to walk. Maybe because he slept all day and woke up after drinking milk to his heart's content from his mother, his face looked even more peaceful and happy than ever. In the evening sunlight, his dusky body was glowing. He extended one hand forward as if trying to hold onto something, taking each

                                                                                                      My life in the forest began in 1994. I was struck by the enchanting beauty of nature, the gurgling river that is called 'pamula gautami ' (Gautami of the snakes) because it looks like a fast moving, hissing cobra as it flows down, the herds of deer which suddenly appear and disappear, luring sight of ripened fruit-laden mango trees, the smiling flowers that greet one all along the