Dressed in a deep green sari bordered by red and gold, with the seragu (pallu) tucked in at the waist so she could sit comfortably and move unhindered, Sanntimmi sat alone on the dais, securing the turiyo mane (coconut grater) with her foot. In front of her was a bowl of chopped bananas, a plate of crushed jaggery and a towel. “I shouldn’t sit around idly chatting. I’ll tell you the story while doing some work,” she said, beginning to grate the coconut. Sanntimmi (pronounced SaNNthimmi) is a Kannadiga Dalit woman. Her name might mean ‘small girl’, but she is larger than life, and the Ramayana she is about to tell us is not the popular Valmiki Ramayana or Tulsi Das’ Shri Ramcharitamanas but a narrative that weaves stories told by Dalit women in the villages of Karnataka.

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