Let the Rumours Be True

14 Stories. One Voice.

A modern narrative of Dalit Stories from Urban India

“Standing here for the first time?” he asked.

She was startled. How did he guess? Have I done something wrong?

In the Name of the Mother, is a story of Smita, a banker, who has stumbled upon the fact that her wonderful mother, a single parent, was actually a waitress and sex worker. Devastated, because it challenges the very foundation of her life and living, Smita takes off from her work to grieve and change the lens in which she views the world; and to act on it.

And thus “Let The Rumours Be True” written by Pradnya Daya Pawar and translated by Maya Pandit, takes you on an evocative journey of contemporary Dalit Feminist stories.

In the 14 stories that the author takes us through you will have the pleasure of meeting very regular, urban people—artists, actors, activists, home makers and employees in MNCs and banks. And while at one level it is their everyday story, it is also an impassioned voice of the third generation Ambedkarites of Maharashtra—men and women who are vocal, who have had their struggle and yet who have more or less established a space for themselves in society. Each story evokes pleasure and surprise.