NCERT Book Class 12 English (Vistas) Chapter 6 Memories of Childhood

6
Memories of Childhood
Zitkala-Sa and Bama

Before you read
This unit presents autobiographical episodes from the lives of two women
from marginalised communities who look back on their childhood, and
reflect on their relationship with the mainstream culture. The first account
is by an American Indian woman born in the late nineteenth century; the
second is by a contemporary Tamil Dalit writer.
Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, born in 1876, was an extraordinarily talented
and educated Native American woman who struggled and triumphed in
a time when severe prejudice prevailed towards Native American culture
and women. As a writer, she adopted the pen name ‘Zitkala-Sa’ and in
1900 began publishing articles criticising the Carlisle Indian school. Her works
criticised dogma, and her life as a Native American woman was dedicated
against the evils of oppression.

Bama is the pen-name of a Tamil Dalit woman from a Roman Catholic family.
She has published three main works: an autobiography, ‘Karukku’, 1992; a
novel, ‘Sangati’, 1994; and a collection of short stories, ‘Kisumbukkaaran’,
1996. The following excerpt has been taken from ‘Karukku’. ‘Karukku’
means ‘Palmyra’ leaves, which with their serrated edges on both sides, are
like double-edged swords. By a felicitous pun, the Tamil word ‘Karukku’,
containing the word ‘karu’, embryo or seed, also means freshness, newness.