Inter II year English Study Material
PARIGE
VATTIKOTA ALWAR SWAMY
INTRODUCTION: The short story ‘Parige’ was written by VattikotaAlwarSwamy in Telugu and translated into English by Dr. Elananga. It gives us a vivid description of the miserable life led by the dalits in feudal Telangana and give us glimpse of inhuman social order that prevailed during the Nizam rule in the 1940’s. Among a dozen or so such stories. ‘Parige’ is one which is included in the collection entitled ‘Inside the Prison’.
CONTENT AND MEANING: Mallaiah was a harijan who worked on turns in a village named Khanapuram. When he was small, his mother passed away after giving birth to his sister. His aged father worked hard but led a hand-to-mouth existence. As Mallaiah’sfather was bed ridden and awaiting death, Mallaiah had to take up the messenger’s job. He struggled hard to make the both ends meet. He had to shoulder the responsibilities of his sister’s marriage, the medical treatment of his father and feeding of the family. He used to do additional work as a hired labourer. At times, his sister would do the messenger work in addition to looking after their ailing father when he had to accompany the government officials to other places. Sometimes they had to starve the whole day for want of additional hired work. With great difficulty they fed their father with meager quantities of food.
One day, Mallaiah found his father in a very critical condition. His health had deteriorated. He intended to bring something to eat and so reached the outskirts of the village. Mallaiah felt desperate when he observed the miserliness of the landlord. He was not giving enough wages to the hired laborers though they toiled in the fields all the day. He didn’t have a ray of hope to get even a grain there. With a feeling of despondency, he moved towards the fields in which harvesting was over. In the twilight, Mallaiah gathered the left over stack of paddy one by one. He felt proud of himself for getting something to eat that night.
Mallaiah, had been imprisoned for three months for gathering parige in the fields. One day, Mallaiah, came across an acquaintance, when he went to the bazaar for some work. He requested the jawan for permission to talk to him. Then, he was informed that this father had died, his sister left the village and his house was in a dilapidated condition. He controlled his grief with great difficulty. He restrained himself till he reached his cell. He started wailing in the cell. When the fellow prisoners tried to console him, his grief swelled up and he started sobbing. His silent wail turned into an out- burst as his woes were unbearable and he needed an outlet.
CONCLUSION: ‘Parige’ gives us a vivid description of the sufferings of the people belonging to the lowest rung of the social hierarchy. Its theme is so tragic that we feel deeply touched.
English Study Material 