MEMORIES OF CHILDHOOD

Two people recall their childhood when they were made victims of social inequalities.
Introduction
Zitkala Sa was a Red Indian. She was admitted in the Carlisle Indian School run by the
British. The school authorities imposed a lot of rules on the students, some for the
students good and some to show the British superiority and some for fun.
But Zitkala could not agree with all this; she could not think of allowing her long hair to
be cut. She didnt like to wear the short skirts, stiff shoes, uniforms But she had to.
When the authorities attempted to cut her hair short, Zitkala ran away and hid under a
bed. But she had to submit. They tied her to a chair and cut her hair. Another custom
that she didnt agree to was the ceremonial eating which she calls eating by formula.
The basic human way of eating doesnt involve any rules. Eat when you are hungry is
the natural way. But the British superiority wanted the people here to dance to their
senseless tunes. There were bells to take the chair out, sit on the chair, pray to God,
take a spoon, take a fork Zitkala did not know of these rules. When the first bell
sounded she thought it was time to eat. She sat down and initiated eating for her great
shame.
Zitkala Sa, the Red Indian

Zitkala Sa was a new student of the Carlysle Indian School.

She felt boundation on the first day.

She had to speak a new language, wear short skirts, shoes and short hair.

She was never used to these modern etiquette.

When the children were taken to the dining room, she made a mistake.

There was a bell for prayer before breakfast. When the bell rang, Zitkala thought
it was time to sit and eat.

She sat down and began to eat but soon realized that all the children were still
standing. This embarrassed her.

Later she was informed by her friend Judewin that the school authorities were
going to cut the hair of girls who hadnt got their hair shingled/cut.

In her culture, short/shingled hair was worn by the three kinds of people:
o

Unskilled warriors caught by the enemy,

Mourners and

Cowards

She went into the living room and disappeared under a cot/bed.

She was searched for, found and was tied to a chair. They cut her hair.

She cried, felt lost and weak.

PART I

The first part deals with the account of Simmons, An American Indian, who
fought against the prejudices of the society against American Indians.
She describes her experiences on her first day at the Carlisle Indian School.
The customs and rules of the place were strange and new to her.
She was forced to wear clothes that were considered undignified in her culture
At breakfast, she was embarrassed as she did not know the routine of the place.
When she comes to know that they were planning to cut her hair, she protests
by hiding under the bed, even though she knew it was futile. In her culture, it
was the cowards whose hair was shingled.
She felt like an animal driven by a herder.

Bama, the Indian Writer

Similar was the case with Bama, an Indian writer from Tamilnadu. She too was a
human being but the richer and privileged society didnt consider her so. She was a
happy girl but once she witnessed a scene of discrimination. A much respected elder
of her society was once made the victim of untouchable ity. This infuriated her. She
wanted to react. She knew the only weapon to fight ostracism was acquiring equal
status through education.

Bama was a happy girl but until she heard that she belonged to the caste of
untouchables!

She took a lot of time to reach home from school. She looked at the following
scenes, people, happenings:
o

Performing monkey.

Snake charmers snake-show.

Cyclists stunts.

Spinning wheels.

Maariyaata Temple

Dried fish stall, sweet stall, snack stall.

Narikkuravan hunter gypsy with his lemur (nari)

Vendors who sell needles, clay beads, ear-cleaners

Politicians who shout through loudspeakers

Magic shows, puppet show, street plays, stunts, etc.

Coffee clubs

People chopping onions

Almond tree and its fallen fruits

Mango, cucumber, sweet potato, gram, palm-syrup, guavas, jack fruits,

etc.

The second part is an excerpt from the autobiography Karukku by Bama a

Tamil Dalit.
She was in her third grade when she becomes aware of the indignities that the
lower caste people face.
She happens to see an elderly person from her community abase himself in front
of a higher caste person as he was not supposed to touch the food that he was
ordered to fetch for the landlord.
Later, her brother explains to her that the incident was not at all funny as she
initially thought, but very pathetic. The people from the lower caste were treated
as untouchables.
She was deeply saddened and decided to study hard to overcome discrimination