Summary of The Dalit Presence in Malayalam Literature by Sunny M Kapikkad - Part II

This is the second part of the essay. Click here to read Part-I

    Drawing parallels between these two canonical works - Appunni’s desire to restore the power and glory of the tharavadu in modern guise, Paramu Pillai escape from debt-ridden tharavadu to Communist party without any internal change and the binaries of Amminiyedathi-Malu/Sumam-Mala- the writer digs deeper into the psyche of Malayalees and lays bare the deep rooted casteism that prevail in the collective unconscious while they lip serve the cause of revolution and progress. His critical eye catches hold of the subtle forms of casteism in the  literary works of the 1960s which narrated the existential pangs of the modern man. Reviewing the politics of Khasakkinte Itihasam, an epitome of modernist fiction in Malayalam, the author establishes that beyond the enchanting layer of language and landscape, the protagonist Ravi’s musings on upanishad and astrology endorses the Brahminic value system. Ravi’s disengagement with the outside world, extremely passive social mind and pseudo spiritualism spring up from deep rooted caste consciousness.

    The author views that the works of Anand  and Vaikkom Muhammed Basheer bring a blessed break into Malayalam literary tradition. Basheer captures the everyday struggles, agonies and ecstasies  of his characters from the vantage point of a Sufi whose view of the world is not fettered by any systems of discrimination. On a similar line, Anand depicts the dilemmas of human freedom and a deep sense of history informs his works. In Nishadapurana, he portrays the conflicts faced by Ekalavya, an outcast whose mastery in archey is disabled when he gifts his guru with his thumb. Anand breaks free of the inertia modernists delved in with his philosophical vigour.

    In this section of the essay, the author traces the emergence of Dalit literature in Malayalam. Dalit writers like T K C Vaduthala and Paul Chirakkilodu voice the angst of their characters. In his collections of short stories, C Ayyappan has formed an alternative aesthetic with which he interrogates the prevailing socio, religious and ethical values. In ‘Pretabhashanan’, for example, a Pulaya woman questions God on matters of caste and religion and also brings out the pseudo moral standards of the upper castes. His metaphors triples down upper caste constructions of superiority and present them in the social context to which they belong. His stories voice the conflicts inflicted by modernity on the dalit community. Though readers in Malayalam did not acknowledge the mastery of his narrative, novelty of his imagery and the grave social issues they present, they form a significant part of Malayalam Dalit writing.

    An array of Dalit writers have entered the scene of Malayalam poetry in the 1980s. Notable poets like KKS Das, G Sasi Madhuravalli have created  distinct styles of writing. KKS Das’ poetry is remarkable for its aesthetic expression of angst, tribal memory and the negation of upper caste values. He draws metaphors from the collective memory of the oppressed people to create songs of revenge and retaliation. G Madhuravalli rereads the story of Sambuka from the epic Ramayana and contextualise it within the politics of dalit aesthetics. Addressing Shambuka, the poet speaks of the futility of imitating the Brahmins and requests him to revert to kattala as Brahminism refuses salvation to all. He underscores the need of offering salvation to all.

(This is the second part of the essay The Dalit Presnce in Malayalam Literature by Sunny M kapikkad. Click on the link to read Part I of the summary)

 

Summary of The Dalit Presence in Malayalam Literature by Sunny M Kapikkad - Part I

 

Kapikkad starts the essay rising the issue of categorisation in Dalit literature. He identifies two types of approaches to Dalit literature in which the first one is labelling everything written about dalits as Dalit literature and the second is denying the rightful attention due to Dalit literature as a category. Both this approaches are problematic as the first one- anything written about dalits as dalit literature- reproduces the steriotypical representations of dalits in mainstream literature as dalit literature. In the second case, critics assume that the term dalit is a common term for designating the untouchables and refuse to acknowledge socio-political implications of the term especially its transformation to an epitome of India’s dreams of liberation. 

    Quoting Mahatma Phule, the writer hints at the deep rooted casteism of Indian psyche and its inability to appreciate dalit aesthetic experience. He, then, points at the role of social reformers such as E V Ramaswamy Naicker, Ambedkar, Sreenarayana Guru, Ayyankali, and Sahodaran Ayyappan in creating a new understanding and rebuilding the Indian psyche. The author states that Dalit literature is born out of the creative engagement of indian psyche with this historical formation.

    The possibility to form and transform oneself is the backbone of human freedom and the caste system in India limits this to caste norms one is born into; which denies the human potential to be free. We have to understand the organic relationship between anti-caste traditions with human freedom to fully realise the implications of dalit assertions. In India, caste values have been normalised and dalit literature has to contest with existing aesthetic traditions to develop an aesthetics of its own. 

    Dalit literature is a mode of self expression which challenges the class and caste values and aesthetics we have internalised. The anxiety about human liberation is the central concern of Dalit literature and it recurrently enters into the domain of language and value system to open up new vistas of understanding. He proceeds to reread certain canonical works in Malayalam literature which are instrumental in forming the aesthetic sensibility of Malayalees.

    The writer closely analyses the fictional world of NaluKettu, a novel on the disintegration of the matrilineal Nair tharavadu aristocracy in Kerala, and brings out the power politics implied in the text. Appunni, the protagonist, is forced to live away from the privilege and protection of the nalukettu as his mother is expelled from it for choosing a man of her choice as husband. The author notes that his anger and revenge for the house come not out of any concern for people who suffered under the feudal tharavadu but his expulsion from the resources and power of the house. He looks at Appunni’s lust for the fair, slender and physically attractive Amminiyedathi and neglect for the dark skinned Malu and observes that the novel operates on binary oppositions of fair/dark and Appunni’s lust for power and women forms the core of the novel. He is also critical of the wide reception of the novel and inquires into the role of the novel in forming the aesthetics of Malayalee readers. He concludes by commenting on the caste imprints of the rustic language used in the novel and stating how the aesthetics of the novel becomes a liability within the context of Hindu revivalism.

    Ningalenne Cammunistakki is a play by Thoppil Bhasi which dramatises the conflict between a crumbling Nair aristocracy and Communist Party. The author looks through the revolutionary sentiments of the text and drags out the orthodoxic caste consciousness that is at work in the text. He cites the cases of Chathan and Mala and their lack of social agency in the text. Mala’s love for Gopalan is turned down whereas his relation with Sumam is naturalised and Thomas, the party leader, admonishes Mala for crying over lost love when she has to lead the class struggle. The excitement shown by untouchable Chathan when touches Paramu Pillai is exaggerated in the play.

(This is not complete. Second session will be posted after this. Please click on the link to read Part II of the essay)