Vanmam, Bama's third full-length work, is an exception focusing instead on the inter-caste rivalry within Dalit communities. It highlights the animosity between the Pallars and the Parayars, and describes how the landowners of the dominant Naicker caste stoke the fires of intra-Dalit hostilities to benefit themselves, ignoring the human costs paid for time and again in misery, loss and death.
A comprehensive introduction skillfully sketches the history of the Dalit movement in Tamil Nadu, and an interview with the author along with visuals of her village Kandampatti provide the context for this novel and, in a broader sense, for all of Bama's writings. This book will appeal not only to those who enjoy a story grounded in contemporary issues, but also to students and scholars of Indian writing in translation, politics and social history.