Thunderstorm: Dalit Stories

In fifteen stories that are at once grim, wryly ironic, humorous and affecting, acclaimed writer Ratan Kumar Sambhria portrays with rare acuity the injustices rampant in a caste-driven society and the triggers that spark rebellion.

Poverty and greed degrades blood ties, and money plays a dramatic role in changing equations between the oppressor and the oppressed. Yet, love – between men and women, mother and child, a man and his land, and human beings and the animals they nurture – underlies such dark overtones. And integrity and honour shine through in the bleakest moments.

Remarkable for the authenticity of their telling, these deceptively simple stories are narratives of love and anger, hope and fortitude, and subtly negotiate equality in a society inherently marked by inequity.