The Adivasi Will Not Dance by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar

India is in my opinion very much neglected from the discussions about world literature. A diverse enormous country, with a very dense population and a high incidence of languages, we rarely hear about the books and novels coming from the country. There are so many fantastic authors of Indian origin living abroad, but I want also to get to know the local voices.

I´ve started this new literary project with a collection of short stories, The Adivasi Will Not Dance by Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar. The author himself belongs to the Santhal tribe and lives in Jharkhand. Placed in the early 2000s, the stories are diverse in length and topics, but they reflect everyday interactions and situations: from betrayal to love and dysfunctional family dynamics, poverty and unexpected alliances.

The dialogues between characters or the voice of the storyteller give the tone of the entire plot, leading us towards the end of the story or sharing unique takes on characters and their intentions. In between robberies, escapes from poverty and desperate dreams of love, the twists of destiny may change everything or just delude the characters to believe, only for bringing them back on their knees in the most possible cruel ways. 

The tone is very realistic, using local vocabulary and fine sociological and psychological observations. It is a world on survival mood that doesn´t need the priviledge of luxury - either material or time.

Not all story are equal, some may just end too abruptly when we were about to become more and more familiar with the story. Some do focus too much on characters only neglecting the plot, or in some cases the plot takes over the character development.

However, reading this collection, I´ve feel like there is a door towards the many hidden worlds of India, leaving me with a thankful feeling of gratitude.

Hansda Sowvendra Shekhar is a doctor by day´and he writes also poetry and novels, as well translates from Hindi and Santhal into English. The Adivasi Will Not Dance was shortlisted for the Hindu prize.

I am looking forward to continue my ´Indian project´, hopefully opening up new worlds and human possibilities, as well as bringing me more knowledge about the diverse local literary realm.

Rating: 3.5 stars