Two rupees and a bag of grain

Ruthvika Rao's The Fertile Earth is a beautifully narrated tale of cruelty, power imbalance, and love that brings to life Telangana's feudal past and the rise of both the CPI(ML) and Hindu nationalist factions there in the 1960s.

- Akankshya Abismruta

Ruthvika Rao's The Fertile Earth is a beautifully narrated tale of cruelty, power imbalance, and love that brings to life Telangana's feudal past and the rise of both the CPI(ML) and Hindu nationalist factions there in the 1960s. Surendra Deshmukh lives with his family in a gadi, a traditional fortified mansion that towers over Irumi village. As landlords, the Deshmukhs' "authority... and their power over the lives of those who lived in Irumi was absolute." Surendra has two nieces, Vijaya, a pre-teen, and four-year-old Sree.

Their mother showers Sree with love and despises Vijaya, who assumes this hatred is because she is dark-skinned while her sister is pale. As a result, she dislikes her sibling. Sree, unaware of this dynamic, often tails her sister everywhere. Ranga and Krishna are sons of the washerwoman at the gadi. Ranga, the elder sibling, is trusted deeply by the Deshmukhs. Krishna and Vijaya are classmates and friends. Krishna wants to impress her, which leads him to agree to her proposed expedition into the forest to catch a man-eating tiger.