Cirrus@Austlit

'It's Monday, 24 September. The equinox passed a few days ago; the last of the monsoon showers seems to have gone. After Mass on my pre-breakfast walk, I notice the difference: the air fresh without the monsoon humidity, the lush green paddy crops, the dappled green and yellow of the early morning sun on the Sal trees. Out beyond the back of the parish is an unsurfaced road, good for stretching out. I first pass the houses of some of our Catholics, pukka,brick and cement, the fruit of their hard work and years of government employment.' (Introduction)

'In Disturbing the Dust Tony Herbert recounts some of his many experiences during his years as a missionary, and reflects on their role in shaping both the Dalits’ world and his. Disabused of the romanticism of poverty, he relates his experiences as a Jesuit immersed in the lives of India’s poorest, most marginalised caste. He acknowledges both the inroads that he has made over many long decades of work, and the failures he’s weathered. Perhaps most poignantly, he tackles the many ways in which his ministry has shaped him and his idea of church and faith. Ultimately, Disturbing the Dust is a book that gives witness to the Dalit’s struggle, and strips away the reader’s own status to reveal in all of us a “common human poverty.' (Publication Summary)