CBSE Class 12 English Memories of Childhood Notes Set B

About The Author

Jitkala-Sa (February 22, 1876-January 26, 1938) birth name Gertrude Simmons was an American who strove to expand opportunities for native Americans and to safeguard their culture. She went to a Quacker Missionary School but she was uncomfortable with the school’s harsh discipline and its curriculum. It was devised to teach Euro- American ways and history instead of native American culture.

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 edge on both sides, are like doubleedged swords. By a felicitous pun, the Tamil word ‘Karukku’, containing the word ‘Karu’, embryo or seed means freshness, newness.

Summary

1. The Cutting of My Long Hair

The first day in the school was a nippy cold one with snow all around. The narrator recalls that the first day in the land of apples was a nippy cold one with the ground still covered in snow. As the sound of the large metallic bell assaulted the sensitive ears of the narrator, she understood that it was time for breakfast. The harsh racket caused by the clattering noise of the shoes, mixed with an incomprehensible murmur, agitated the narrator to the extent that in spite of putting up a good fight all hope of freedom seemed lost. On her way to the dining room, while standing in a line of girls, the narrator could not help but notice some of the other Indian girls. They wore dresses, which clung to their body and stiff shoes. The small girls had their hair shingled. The narrator felt ashamed because she did not have her blanket. However, it was the group of other Indian girls, who wore tight fitting clothes that seemed immodest to the narrator. Once in the dining room, the narrator heard the sound of a small bell being tapped. At this moment, each of the pupils pulled out a chair from under the table. Thinking that they could sit now, the narrator quickly slipped into hers. Seeing all the pupils still standing, the narrator started to rise. However, a second bell was sounded and the pupils sat on their chairs. A man’s voice was heard muttering something at one end of the hall.

The narrator’s eyes wandered to look for the man, she noticed that other pupils were sitting with their heads bowed. As she looked around narrator’s eyes met the palefaced women’s eyes, who had a stern countenance. The man ceased to speak and a third bell was sounded, which was an indication that they could start eating. Overwhelmed by the ‘eating by formula’, and her hopeless situation, the narrator bursts into tears. As the day progressed, narrator’s friend Judewin who knew few words of English, warned narrator that she had overheard palefaced woman talk-the cutting of her and other Indian girls’ heavy long hair. The narrator felt distraught because she remembered her mother to used say that only warriors captured by the enemy, mourners and cowards wore shingled or short hair. Judewin and most of other girls were willing to submit. But the narrator rebelled. As the moment of cutting of her long hair neared the narrator, unnoticed by everyone, fled the scene. Trying not to make any noise she moved slowly and quietly up the stairs looking for a place to hide. She walked into a large room with beds.

The room was quite dark and a perfect place for the narrator to hide. She crawled under bed in the corner farthest from the door. However, soon she heard footsteps and loud voice in the hall, calling out her name. Even though the narrator did all that she could to not get caught, the palefaced woman found her dragged her out and carried her downstairs. She resisted with all her might, kicking and scratching wildly, but it was all in vain. Tied fast in a chair, crying and shaking her head, she felt the cold scissors against her neck as they cut her hair. The narrator say in the end she had faced many indignities since she was taken from her mother. When her hair was cut, she needed her mother to comfort her, but no one came. The day her long hair was cut, the narrator had lost her spirit.

2. We Too are Human Beings

The narrator recalls the time when she was studying in third standard. She had not heard of untouchability yet, but she had experienced and humiliated by it. Talking about her childhood, she remembers taking half an hour to one hour to reach home from school, which was merely ten minutes walking distance. She took so much time because on her way back, she stopped to watch the things happening around her. The fun, games, entertaining novelties, oddities in the street, the bazaar, etc. appealed to the narrator a lot. There were so many amazing things to observe, for instance, the performing monkey, the snake charmer and his snake, the cyclist who had been peddling for three consecutive days. She saw Pongal offerings being cooked at Maariyaata temple, heard speeches given by politicians watched street plays, puppet shows, the cooling of coffee, etc.

The market, the narrator noticed, Memories of Childhood 301 was flooded with seasonal fruits and vegetables. A number of desserts and snacks being prepared in sweet shop tempted the narrator. Watching all this while coming back from school delayed her. One day, the narrator saw the landlord seated on a sacking spread over a stone ledge watching the proceedings as the people of her caste worked hard to separate grain from the straw. The narrator found it humorous that muzzled cattles were being driven round and round by the men. She then saw an elderly man from her village coming from the direction of the bazaar. The big man was carrying a small packet of vadai, in such a way that the narrator almost burst out laughing. He held out the packet by its string and tried not to touch it.

The man went to the landlord, bowed low and offered him the packet of vadais with both hands, neither of which touched the landlord’s food. When the narrator finally reached home, she narrated the story to her elder brother and started laughing. However, Annan did not laugh. He explained to her that people like the landlord considered themselves belonging to upper caste. For them, people like the elderly man, her brother, she herself and others from her community belonged to the lower caste; they were untouchables in the eyes of the society. To the people of the upper caste, touching an untouchable would mean the former has been polluted. That is why the elderly man did not hold the packet of vadais from the bottom. Hearing all this, the narrator was furious that such an important elder of the community was reduced to doing such petty and odd jobs. She thought whether the upper caste people were so devoid of human feelings that they did not consider other lower caste people too are human beings. Annan then advised her that since they were born into this community, the only way they could claim respect and honour was by studying hard and making progress. He told the narrator to learn as much as she could.

If she was always ahead of everybody in her lessons, people would come to her on their own and attach themselves to her. Therefore, it was important for her to work hard and learn. Those words said by Annan made a deep impact on the narrator’s mind. She studied with great effort and stood first in class. Since she was a bright student many people became her friends, just as Annan had said.