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This memoir takes us through modern Indian and Kerala history, both of which the author had a ringside view.
About the author
K. Saradamoni was born in Kerala in 1928. She studied economics for her BA and MLitt. After working in the Bureau of Economics in Thiruvananthapuram for a few years, she moved to join the Planning Unit of the Indian Statistical Unit, Delhi. She received her doctorate in socio-economic history working with Louis Dumont; her doctoral work was published as Emergence of a Slave Caste: Pulayas of Kerala. She has published several books and articles in English and Malayalam. She passed away in 2021.
Summary
“I believe that we should have a sense of history. In a sense, an autobiography is history. It has in it traces of geography as well. Each new place, the sights they offer, the people we meet and the moments we spend with them, do not leave us that easily or completely. They influence our thoughts and actions thereafter, even if unconsciously.” – K. Saradamoni
K. Saradamoni who retired as an economist from the Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi, spent her childhood and young adulthood in Kollam. Spinning khadi or taking Hindi lessons were all small efforts to contribute to the growing national movement around her. Deciding to study economics also arose from this desire to make a difference. This book takes us through her journey both in the world of economics, her disenchantment with its obsession with model-building and the process through which she becomes a ‘concerned social- scientist’. Using simple language, her student days in Kerala, Madras and later Paris are described along with her academic work on caste, class, land, labour, gender and agriculture. Her travels both for work and leisure in India, the United States, Africa, parts of Asia and Latin America make for fascinating reading. Saradamoni draws upon her life as an academic and activist to narrate a gripping story told with keen observation and insight.
