Winner of Sahitya Akademi Indian literature golden jubilee prize for poetry

Once known as the “rice bowl” of Odisha, Kalahandi became infamous for large scale starvation deaths in the 1980s. The agrarian economy of Kalahandi was devastated following a 20 year famine starting in 1965.

The author contends that although the famine was a natural disaster, the starvation deaths were an avoidable manmade disaster.

The real life stories and poems in this book describe in graphic details the economic and sexual expoitation of poor tribals of Kalahandi by the scheming moneylenders, businessmen, contractors, politicians and indifferent bureacrats.