It is the story of a young domestic worker, who has battled poverty, hardship and violence to make a name for herself as a writer. Hurriedly married off at the age of twelve, a mother by the time she was fourteen, Baby lived in her married home for several years, facing continual violence from her husband. Her father’s long absences from their home, her mother’s decision to walk out of the marriage, leaving Baby and her sister to manage the household, were the realities that shaped Baby’s early life. When marriage came, Baby, still a child, yearned to play and study, but was burdened with the responsibility of being wife and mother. Escape finally came many years later, by which time Baby still young was a mother of three, and she fled to the city in the hope of finding a job. Working in Delhi as a domestic help, Baby was lucky enough to come across an employer who encouraged her to build upon her few years of education and to read – and then to write. The story of Baby’s life is a lesson in courage and survival. Since its first publication in India in Hindi, the book has become a bestseller, recieving accolades from some of the best-known writers and critics in India and elsewhere. It has been translated into several other Indian languages.
Imprint: India Penguin
Published: May/2006
ISBN: 9788189013677
Length : 188 Pages
MRP : ₹250.00
By Urvashi Butalia It is close on two decades now that I have been researching and writing on the human histories of Partition. As story upon story unfolds, and terrible, painful histories begin to emerge, it does not, contrary to popular wisdom, become any easier to deal with them. One of the many grave consequences […]
