Hachette India

Lootaloot

Baburao Bagul

Manav Kambli

Translation of the 1969 Marathi classic Maran Swasta Hot Aahe (Death is becoming cheap)

A brothel exposes the intricate mechanisms of power and exploitation within a family. A petty conman attempts to feed his desperately sick children. A poet and a writer walk around Mumbai's slums to cure themselves of writer's block, only to discover the gruesome life stories of its inhabitants.

In eleven explosive stories, Baburao Bagul, a pioneer of Marathi and Dalit literature, casts an unflinching look at the lives of those society has rendered invisible - goons, sex workers, criminals and the desperately poor. Even as they battle systemic exploitation, starvation and police brutality on Mumbai streets, Bagul's characters simmer with rage, and rebellion is always around the corner.

As relevant today as when it was first published, Lootaloot lays bare the effects of caste on Indian society and marks Bagul as one of the most astute and remarkable chroniclers of our age.

Classification : Translation
Pub Date : JUN 17, 2024
Imprint : Hachette India
Page Extent : 200
Binding : PB
ISBN : 9789357317733
Price : INR 499

Baburao Bagul

Baburao Bagul (1930‐2008) was a Marathi writer, poet and playwright regarded as among the most prolific and influential Dalit voices of his generation. Born in Nashik and growing up in Mumbai, Bagul's oeuvre was shaped by Ambedkarite and Marxist thought, and he was a major figure in the radical group Dalit Panthers.

Manav Kambli

Manav Kambli is a writer, editor and translator with a degree in Literary and Cultural Studies from FLAME University, Pune. He has co-edited and contributed to Jamshedpur: 100 Years and Counting for The Marg Foundation and has published in literary magazines such as Lila: Inter-Actions, Helter Skelter and Andolan. Currently, his focus is on translating the works of marginalized Marathi authors, including Hamid Dalwai and Baburao Bagul.