The Step Child: Angaliyat

Angaliyat tells the story of oppression and exclusion by transforming the vanquished into the victor, by turning the periphery into the core. The portrayal of Methi and Kanku as 'pure' women challenges the age-old perceptions of higher castes which denigrate the practice of remarriage among 'backward' communities. The stepchild who follows the mother to a new home holding her finger or angali, remains on the periphery of the stepfather's family. Significant from several points of view, the novel provides a view of the 'history from below'.