Untamed: The Story of Young Bhangi
Untouchable follows a day in the life of Bakha, an 18-year-old Bhangi boy. Written by Mulk Raj Anand in 1935, the fictional story is set in a refugee colony outside an unnamed British-occupied town. The story is told by Bakha who is a hard working boy who never disobeys his father, despite the opposition to him and his lifestyle. Bakha had worked in the fortifications of the British garrison and “was caught in the noise of the white man’s life (9)”. The British, or ‘Tommies’ as they called Bakha, still treated him with the honor of their rank. “Bakha had gazed upon Tommias, gazing with wonder and astonishment … and soon overcome with excessive desire in day Bakha saw the Brahmin boys walking to school and dreamed of going with them. How nice it is to read He could read the cards after he was in school (38) .
Again Bakha is interested in the West, by learning and talking with the sahibs he rises above his rank. However, he has no opportunity for education as a refugee was not allowed in school because he “parents other children at ret does not allow his children to be contaminated by the touch of an ignoble man’s son (39). Bakha did not have so much money that the offer of a scholarship indicated his interest in education. Education was denied to people such as Bakha and to become educated. Bakha hoped to distance himself from the stigma of his caste. Many Bakhas act with his desire to distance himself from the refugees, his brother.
Bakha endures one of the saddest and saddest days of his young life in this story. From the rising of the sun he is forced to deal with discrimination, hatred and hypocrisy. He was awakened by his parents early in the morning and cried out. The first dance of the day is to clean the toilets before the rest of the community gets up to use them. When Bakha sleeps in, he is reprimanded by a local Hindu who wants to use the toilet: “Why are the toilets clean, traitor from Bakhe! He is not fit to approach! (7)”. Bakha takes this abusive practice in stride and starts cleaning the toliets. A local man is grateful for Bakha’s work and offers him a hockey stick in a rare display of generosity. This gift greatly pleased Bakha, and he “rejoiced with the smile of a servant at the condescension of his master, closer to pride than to happiness (17)”.
The servant Bakha is compared several times throughout this book. As Bakha shows above in the text, he is more proud that he has satisfied the needs of the local Hindus then he is happy that he got a new hockey stick. Although Bakhas hates his job and lifestyle, he still feels pride when he rejects his superiors as a sergeant. Bakhas duty in life seems to be innate to him. He wants to separate himself from the outcast as much as he wants, as much as he had in his life. He is conditioned to do his job and do it well. And therefore he is pleased when his superiors honor his duty, or show some other sign of kindness. Bakha, as much as he hates work, recognizes that it is his duty, so he does the work without complaint.
Bakha is stored more humbly before his day. Curiosity takes him to a local temple, where he climbs the steps to see the wonders inside. For reasons of purity, it is not allowed to see the inside of the temple undefiled. While Bakha was looking through the window, the priest interrupted him, shouting: “Contaminate, pollute! (60). Soon a crowd gathered and all reproached Bakha, saying that it was necessary to foreshadow the ceremony of purification now. “Retreat to the scavenger’s steps! Go with you! You have polluted our entire service! ” he shouted to the crowd (61). Bakha ran to the court where his sister was waiting. Here she was shocked as the priest asserted: “I have been contaminated by contact (61)”. sees contempt in her eyes and notices him replacing one. Religion does not change people’s attitudes in another country.
