Kerala Sanitation Worker's Book On Slum Life Is Now Part Of University Courses

Dhanuja Kumari from Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala, penned a book recounting her life as a sanitation worker living in a slum called Chengalchoola. Her poignant memoir in Malayalam, Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham (My Life in Chengalchoola) is now in its fifth edition and has been included in the State's university curriculums. The 48-year-old inadvertently documented her life oblivious that it would one day be a part of thousands of bookshelves.

"I am not an imaginative writer. What I have written is what life gave me in Chengalchoola. I do not think it is literature, but my life," Kumari told the Press Trust of India. 

Who Is Dhanuja Kumari?

Dhanuja Kumari had a troubled childhood, with her parents quarrelling regularly. "They had small issues, but sometimes they stopped seeing each other for a year or more. So they had sent me to a convent, where I stayed and studied," she told the PTI. This was where she developed the habit of writing.

Kumari dropped out of school at age 14, after her parents got her married to a 19-year-old 'Chenda' (percussion instrument) artist. She works as a sanitation worker, collecting waste from people's homes in Ambalamukku, Thiruvananthapuram. Their life in the Chengalchoola slum brought many adversities. 

"There were so many problems, and the discrimination we faced on the basis of caste and our life in the colony was too difficult to bear," Kumari expressed. However, she found catharsis in writing, using the skill as an outlet. "I wrote all my pains, experiences, and little happiness we had in between."

Over time, Kumari began rebelling against the discrimination and fought for the rights of people in the slum. "I used to tell everyone--the social workers, the researchers who visited our colony--that they were only interested in their study materials and not in our lives. I used to give public speeches. Hearing this, a noted writer, Vijila, prompted me to compile my writings as a book."

Apart from newspapers and children's books, Kumari never got a chance to engage in Malayalam literature. "I do not know how to write in the language of literature. I had no opportunity to get those books, and my language is still of a class 9 dropout," she expressed. However, she was determined to share her story.

Chengalchoolayile Ente Jeevitham was published when Kumari was 38 years old. The book was very well received by the readers, and Kannur University and Calicut University have now included it in their curricula for Bachelor of Arts and Master of Arts students. She is now working on a second part.

Today, Kumari is heading a women's collective in her colony, called 'Wings of Women', where they have their own library and engage in social activities. Meanwhile, she continues to work as a sanitation worker to earn a living. Kumari told PTI, "It is my profession, and I do it with passion. It is my livelihood."

However, Kumari and her family's fight against caste discrimination has not ended. "The most painful experience I had was when my son Nidheesh, a Chenda student, was discriminated against, humiliated, and ousted from Kerala Kala Mandalam. They called him names and treated him very badly," she shared.

Nidheesh later got a reappointment with the intervention of MP K Radhakrishnan. "What I want is to let the people know that there are many talents in our colony who, if nurtured, could reach great heights. I want people to stop discriminating against them based on caste and the place they live," Kumari asserted.