Visual Spaces and the isomorphism
Locating the South Indian Dalit Movement through Art
Dalit movements instead of dalit movement is the term that is appropriate in India
today as there are several strands visible within a state or region today.Similarly there are
several dalit movements in South India too. Though the term South India has been used in the
title, this paper would focus only on Kerala and Tamilnadu. The dalit movements in these
two regions will be located by studying the pictorial representations in art. This is a difficult
task given that several major events have taken place even before the Indian struggle for
independence to the present.
Major efforts in recovering and preserving the history of dalit movements in writings
have taken place whether they are histories, biographies of leaders, important speeches/events
or in creative writings. Except for leaders like Dr B R Ambedkar, sources regarding the
visual representations of leaders or events in art, photographs or videos are comparatively
scant. Scholars on dalit studies like Sanal Mohan have made tremendous efforts to preserve
such visual representations of leaders from Kerala like Mahatma Ayyankali. Tasveer Ghar ,a
digital archive on South Asian Visual Culture also has focused on the ‘re-formed’ icons of
Kerala. This paper would look into the portraits of dalit leaders from Kerala and Tamilnadu ;
assertions through cultural symbols and myths; and the portrayal of historical events.
I
Why are visuals important? As the sociologist Badri Narayan rightly observes’…the
visual medium has a great impact not only because it is a vehicle for representation but also
because it has the ability to inscribe itself on the memory of people (71). Many events from
the history of freedom struggle have been captured, frozen in images and reproduced
innumerably. These include ‘Gandhi on his Dandi March’(Guha-Thakurta,124), Bhagat
Singh in his ‘British trilby hat, part of the disguise that enabled him to pass as an English
Sahib’(Davis,20)and Ambedkar as ‘a suited and booted Westernized gentleman holding a
copy of the Constitution in one hand’(Narayan,76).Often, it is the defining moment that is
captured in art.
The defining moment in the life of Ayyankali that was captured in art was his journey
in the ‘villuvandi’( Chentharassery2010,20) across a ‘forbidden street…that was open only to
caste Hindus’(ibid)in the year 1898. This was considered a blatantly outrageous act as dalita
were not allowed to use the public roads, vehicles or wear decent clothing then.All these are
found in the following two pictures:
Fig1.1-Raghavan Atholi’s illustration of Ayyankali reproduced from Nisar
Fig1.2 Photograph of cultural pageantry organized by KPMS in
Thiruvananthapuram to mark centenary of Ayyankali’s entry into
Sree Moolam Praja Sabha
In Raghavan Atholi’s illustration, there is also the drawn dagger held high which was to ward
off the upper caste attackers. The drawn dagger conveys that this forceful entry into a public
space was a revolutionary act.
One of the ways in which ‘classificatory differences’ (Davis,20) were maintained
whether it was between the English and Indians or the dominant castes and dalits was that of
clothes. The breast cloth mutiny and struggles for wearing decent clothes in Kerala need no
elaboration. Chentharassery records in his biography on Ayyankali as to how dalits were to
blacken their new clothes with soot so as to appear unclean and inoffensive to the upper
castes( ). For the same reason, there is utmost care to portray dalit leaders in brilliant attire.
As in the above pictures, he wore a ‘mulmul dhothi’ and a ‘thalappavu’(roughly a
turban).The turban has its significance in India. While for the Punjabis, it is a mark of
religion, for Gurkhas it is an association ‘with the plainsmen’( Cohn, 81).In regions like
Kerala or Tamilnadu, to wear a turban implied a sense of respectability. Ayyankali from
Kerala and Iyothee Thass from Tamilnadu are two leaders who are always portrayed with the
turban. Such a portrayal must be treated as a purposive defiance of upper caste hegemony.
Fig.1.3Photograph and portraits of Iyothee Thass
reproduced from ayyothidhasapandithar.blogspot.com
Fig.1.4 Photograph and portraits of Ayyankali
Reproduced from digital archive Tasveer Ghar
One of the major thrusts of the dalit movements in Kerala has been ‘the recovery of
important historical figures’(Satyanarayana and Tharu,28). Other than Ayyankali, the other
important figure has been that of Poikayil Yohanan or Sree KumaraGuru Devan. He was the
founder of Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha(PRDS) ,an organization that addressed the
discriminatory treatment towards dalits in the church.He has been depicted in both the garb of
a preacher where he is referred to as Poikayil Appachan (Fig.1.5,1.6) and also akin to a
spiritual leader where he is called Sree Kumara Guru Devan(Fig1.7).
Fig1.5Sketch of Poikayil Yohanan reproduced from
Tasveer Ghar
Fig.1.6 Front cover of book Poikayil Yohannan
by M R Renukumar
Fig.1.7 Portrait ofSree Kumaraguru Devan reproduced from http://malayalam.webdunia.com
MORE
II
The Dalit movements have also brought about cultural assertions through paintings.
Several marginalized mythical figures have been employed in paintings to reinterpret or resignify history. The use of brahmanical myths giving them an alternate reading has been
deemed as ‘replication in the form of dissent rather than as part of the process of
Sanskritization’ (Narayan, 67).One of the mythical characters who has been powerfully recast
in literature and art (by several writers across languages ) is that of Eklavya. In earlier
Brahmanical versions, the qualities of sacrifice and patience were glorified in the character of
Eklavya. But present day dalit readings treat the story as an upper caste conspiracy to curtail
the progress of dalits and also because they feared that prime positions would be usurped by
the lower castes (ibid).Artists and writers have connected the myth to the purposive denial of
education and consequently the denial of upward mobility to dalits. In the following painting
by Anbhazhagan(Fig.1.8) titled ‘Ekalaiva’, the mythical character positions himself as an
archer. But the oddity is that he stands sans bow, sans arrow and importantly sans his right
thumb. Yet his upturned face, fists and posture shows the courage with which he faces the
elemental rage. It conveys the protest of dalits at the historical injustices.
Fig1.8 Painting ‘Ekalaiva’ reproduced from The Colours of Liberation
In another painting on Ekalavya(Fig.1.9), the severed thumb along with an emaciated
face is seen. But there is a tiny sapling that sprouts from the thumb which might stand for
regeneration even though the sun is not fiery enough to provide replenishment. It could
signify that even when opportunities are bleak, there is scope for hope. The thumb is also
rooted to the palm which could stand for the sustenance that is drawn from the society inspite
of its historical injustices.
Fig.1.9painting exhibited at Dalit Painting Exhibition,VIBGYOR2010,
reproduced from http://www.flickr.com
The cow has been portrayed as ‘Holy’ in dominant Hindu ideology symbolizing
bounty, purity and containing the 84 deities(Pinney Photos of God,109).The mythical
slaughter of the cow, beef-eating , the use of cow’s intestines and hide in making musical
instruments have been considered ritually polluting and the cause for pushing dalits down the
caste ladder. Dalit artists from Tamilnadu have engaged themselves with these issues and re
defined the cow and the parai from the dalit perspective.
The following picture has been entitled ‘Kamadhenu’(Fig.1.10). Kamadhenu in Hindu
mythology stands for the cow which grants all the wishes and desires.Conventional portraits
have shown Kamadhenu with the 84 deities or associated with Lord Krishna. In this picture,
the dung and intestines are shown. Cow dung is used as manure in agriculture and the
intestines are used as food and for making parts of musical instruments.Most of the people
who labored in the fields in India belonged to the dalit castes; and most of the instruments
were made by dalit castes. So the cow was a’Kamadhenu’, a provider of bounty.This is an
example to show the image of the cow has been redefined by dalit artists.
Fig.1.10 ‘Kamadhenu’by artist Chandru reproduced from The Colours of Liberation
As has been hinted earlier the drums ‘parai’ and ‘satti’ owed its ritual pollution to the
fact that it made use of parts of the cow. The past few decades have witnessed a de-pollution
and re-signification of the drum :
‘The drum, which was a symbol of pollution, the death-drum (sapparai), is being transformed
into
a
symbol
of
Paraiyar
art
and
a
political
weapon,the
wardrum(porpparai).’(Arun,188).Political parties and dalit cultural festivals have been
responsible for such a change. The frenzy of the war-drum is seen in this picture by artist
Sekar.
Fig.1.11 painting by Sekar reproduced from Hidden Feelings on Canvas
Different dalit castes have been appropriated into
Dalit movements instead of dalit movement is the term that is appropriate in India
today as there are several strands visible within a state or region today.Similarly there are
several dalit movements in South India too. Though the term South India has been used in the
title, this paper would focus only on Kerala and Tamilnadu. The dalit movements in these
two regions will be located by studying the pictorial representations in art. This is a difficult
task given that several major events have taken place even before the Indian struggle for
independence to the present.
Major efforts in recovering and preserving the history of dalit movements in writings
have taken place whether they are histories, biographies of leaders, important speeches/events
or in creative writings. Except for leaders like Dr B R Ambedkar, sources regarding the
visual representations of leaders or events in art, photographs or videos are comparatively
scant. Scholars on dalit studies like Sanal Mohan have made tremendous efforts to preserve
such visual representations of leaders from Kerala like Mahatma Ayyankali. Tasveer Ghar ,a
digital archive on South Asian Visual Culture also has focused on the ‘re-formed’ icons of
Kerala. This paper would look into the portraits of dalit leaders from Kerala and Tamilnadu ;
assertions through cultural symbols and myths; and the portrayal of historical events.
I
Why are visuals important? As the sociologist Badri Narayan rightly observes’…the
visual medium has a great impact not only because it is a vehicle for representation but also
because it has the ability to inscribe itself on the memory of people (71). Many events from
the history of freedom struggle have been captured, frozen in images and reproduced
innumerably. These include ‘Gandhi on his Dandi March’(Guha-Thakurta,124), Bhagat
Singh in his ‘British trilby hat, part of the disguise that enabled him to pass as an English
Sahib’(Davis,20)and Ambedkar as ‘a suited and booted Westernized gentleman holding a
copy of the Constitution in one hand’(Narayan,76).Often, it is the defining moment that is
captured in art.
The defining moment in the life of Ayyankali that was captured in art was his journey
in the ‘villuvandi’( Chentharassery2010,20) across a ‘forbidden street…that was open only to
caste Hindus’(ibid)in the year 1898. This was considered a blatantly outrageous act as dalita
were not allowed to use the public roads, vehicles or wear decent clothing then.All these are
found in the following two pictures:
Fig1.1-Raghavan Atholi’s illustration of Ayyankali reproduced from Nisar
Fig1.2 Photograph of cultural pageantry organized by KPMS in
Thiruvananthapuram to mark centenary of Ayyankali’s entry into
Sree Moolam Praja Sabha
In Raghavan Atholi’s illustration, there is also the drawn dagger held high which was to ward
off the upper caste attackers. The drawn dagger conveys that this forceful entry into a public
space was a revolutionary act.
One of the ways in which ‘classificatory differences’ (Davis,20) were maintained
whether it was between the English and Indians or the dominant castes and dalits was that of
clothes. The breast cloth mutiny and struggles for wearing decent clothes in Kerala need no
elaboration. Chentharassery records in his biography on Ayyankali as to how dalits were to
blacken their new clothes with soot so as to appear unclean and inoffensive to the upper
castes( ). For the same reason, there is utmost care to portray dalit leaders in brilliant attire.
As in the above pictures, he wore a ‘mulmul dhothi’ and a ‘thalappavu’(roughly a
turban).The turban has its significance in India. While for the Punjabis, it is a mark of
religion, for Gurkhas it is an association ‘with the plainsmen’( Cohn, 81).In regions like
Kerala or Tamilnadu, to wear a turban implied a sense of respectability. Ayyankali from
Kerala and Iyothee Thass from Tamilnadu are two leaders who are always portrayed with the
turban. Such a portrayal must be treated as a purposive defiance of upper caste hegemony.
Fig.1.3Photograph and portraits of Iyothee Thass
reproduced from ayyothidhasapandithar.blogspot.com
Fig.1.4 Photograph and portraits of Ayyankali
Reproduced from digital archive Tasveer Ghar
One of the major thrusts of the dalit movements in Kerala has been ‘the recovery of
important historical figures’(Satyanarayana and Tharu,28). Other than Ayyankali, the other
important figure has been that of Poikayil Yohanan or Sree KumaraGuru Devan. He was the
founder of Prathyaksha Raksha Daiva Sabha(PRDS) ,an organization that addressed the
discriminatory treatment towards dalits in the church.He has been depicted in both the garb of
a preacher where he is referred to as Poikayil Appachan (Fig.1.5,1.6) and also akin to a
spiritual leader where he is called Sree Kumara Guru Devan(Fig1.7).
Fig1.5Sketch of Poikayil Yohanan reproduced from
Tasveer Ghar
Fig.1.6 Front cover of book Poikayil Yohannan
by M R Renukumar
Fig.1.7 Portrait ofSree Kumaraguru Devan reproduced from http://malayalam.webdunia.com
MORE
II
The Dalit movements have also brought about cultural assertions through paintings.
Several marginalized mythical figures have been employed in paintings to reinterpret or resignify history. The use of brahmanical myths giving them an alternate reading has been
deemed as ‘replication in the form of dissent rather than as part of the process of
Sanskritization’ (Narayan, 67).One of the mythical characters who has been powerfully recast
in literature and art (by several writers across languages ) is that of Eklavya. In earlier
Brahmanical versions, the qualities of sacrifice and patience were glorified in the character of
Eklavya. But present day dalit readings treat the story as an upper caste conspiracy to curtail
the progress of dalits and also because they feared that prime positions would be usurped by
the lower castes (ibid).Artists and writers have connected the myth to the purposive denial of
education and consequently the denial of upward mobility to dalits. In the following painting
by Anbhazhagan(Fig.1.8) titled ‘Ekalaiva’, the mythical character positions himself as an
archer. But the oddity is that he stands sans bow, sans arrow and importantly sans his right
thumb. Yet his upturned face, fists and posture shows the courage with which he faces the
elemental rage. It conveys the protest of dalits at the historical injustices.
Fig1.8 Painting ‘Ekalaiva’ reproduced from The Colours of Liberation
In another painting on Ekalavya(Fig.1.9), the severed thumb along with an emaciated
face is seen. But there is a tiny sapling that sprouts from the thumb which might stand for
regeneration even though the sun is not fiery enough to provide replenishment. It could
signify that even when opportunities are bleak, there is scope for hope. The thumb is also
rooted to the palm which could stand for the sustenance that is drawn from the society inspite
of its historical injustices.
Fig.1.9painting exhibited at Dalit Painting Exhibition,VIBGYOR2010,
reproduced from http://www.flickr.com
The cow has been portrayed as ‘Holy’ in dominant Hindu ideology symbolizing
bounty, purity and containing the 84 deities(Pinney Photos of God,109).The mythical
slaughter of the cow, beef-eating , the use of cow’s intestines and hide in making musical
instruments have been considered ritually polluting and the cause for pushing dalits down the
caste ladder. Dalit artists from Tamilnadu have engaged themselves with these issues and re
defined the cow and the parai from the dalit perspective.
The following picture has been entitled ‘Kamadhenu’(Fig.1.10). Kamadhenu in Hindu
mythology stands for the cow which grants all the wishes and desires.Conventional portraits
have shown Kamadhenu with the 84 deities or associated with Lord Krishna. In this picture,
the dung and intestines are shown. Cow dung is used as manure in agriculture and the
intestines are used as food and for making parts of musical instruments.Most of the people
who labored in the fields in India belonged to the dalit castes; and most of the instruments
were made by dalit castes. So the cow was a’Kamadhenu’, a provider of bounty.This is an
example to show the image of the cow has been redefined by dalit artists.
Fig.1.10 ‘Kamadhenu’by artist Chandru reproduced from The Colours of Liberation
As has been hinted earlier the drums ‘parai’ and ‘satti’ owed its ritual pollution to the
fact that it made use of parts of the cow. The past few decades have witnessed a de-pollution
and re-signification of the drum :
‘The drum, which was a symbol of pollution, the death-drum (sapparai), is being transformed
into
a
symbol
of
Paraiyar
art
and
a
political
weapon,the
wardrum(porpparai).’(Arun,188).Political parties and dalit cultural festivals have been
responsible for such a change. The frenzy of the war-drum is seen in this picture by artist
Sekar.
Fig.1.11 painting by Sekar reproduced from Hidden Feelings on Canvas
Different dalit castes have been appropriated into