Distant Thunder: Voice of the Silenced

Transcription

1 Distant Thunder: Voice of the Silenced (Proceedings of the UGC Sponsored National Seminar during 11 th, 12 th December 2014) Editor Brinda Bala Sreenivasan Publisher Director Directorate of Public Relations and Publications Cochin University of Science and Technology Kochi , Kerala State, India Website: for Department of English and Foreign Languages Cochin University of Science and Technology Kochi , Kerala State, India Printed in India at Jose Printers, South Kalamassery Kochi , Kerala No part of this publication may be reproduced, or transmitted in any form or by any means, without prior written permission of the publisher or editor ISBN

2 Articulating Silence: A Study of Bama's Karukku Sheena Sarah Winny Bama's zeal for working towards the empowerment of Dalits finds expression in Karukku. The narrative is an articulation of the silence of the Dal it community as a collective whole. It shows how Bama has grown from a village girl with an acute sensibility to a woman disillusioned and later energized by the odds she faced. As is known, "Dalits are nameless and faceless people in dominant Indian culture" (Satyanarayana 64). What Bama has attempted in Karukku is universalize the struggles and sufferings of the community who live in penury unaware of the power of education which can alter their predicament. The 'untouchable liberation movement' was begun by Dr. BR Ambedkar. Speech was his medium of connecting with the masses. Later, literature and art became a medium of revolt alongside political activity. Short stories, poems, street performances, novels and various other genres voice the protest of the Dalits. Dal it literature, "expressed grinding poverty and often misery and yet it reflected pride in the way in which people had survived and sometimes fought under these conditions" (Omvedt xiv). An autobiography that Karukku is, takes one through the harsh lives of Tamil Dalit Christians in the native village of Bama and their relations with members of other castes and communities living nearby. Though she received higher education and was lucky to go out of her village to pursue a career in teaching she feels the same pain as any dalit still living the dark world of the village. She writes, "I share the same difficulties and struggles that all Dalit poor experience" (79). Dalits are forced to do menial jobs. Children, from a very tender age work in factories under hazardous conditions apart from helping their parents in the field. Bama is a Tamil Dalit Christian born as Faustina Soosairaj in Puthupatti village of Virudhunagar district in Southern Tamil Nadu. The narrative of Karukku abounds in instances from the various stages of her life right from childhood to leaving the convent renouncing the three vows. The consciousness of a community finds expression Karukku. She aims at the liberation of Dalits through her writing. Bama emphasizes that Dalits 22

3 Articulating Silence: A Study of... should break free from the socially constructed pseudo prison in order to fight against the forces of oppression and segregation. She remarks that, "Instead of being more and more beaten down and blunted, they must unite, think about their rights, and battle for them" (xxiv). She consistently contemplates on the events that shaped her social perspective and gives the readers an overview of the injustices meted out to the Dalits. Ruth Manorama writes about caste discrimination that, "Dalits have been the victims of systematic indoctrination done by the oppressive culture makers in traditional India" (447). It is this state of victimization that Bama yearns to alter. Dalits are psychologically conditioned to remain in the lower rungs of a socially stratified society. Their identity is nothing but a shadow generated by the whims and fancies of the dominant class. The concept of purity-pollution is a product of the hierarchical system of castes in our country. The members of the lower castes are considered as untouchables and kept on the fringes of the mainstream society. Arjun Dangle writes that, "Dalit is not a caste but a realisation and is related to the experiences, joys and sorrows, and struggles of those in the lowest stratum of society" (lii). The traditional caste system in India situates the Dalits in the lowest strata. They are discriminated against in social, economic, religious and political spheres. The bane of untouchability validates exploitation. The Dalits and their consciousness never receive legitimization in a caste ridden society. The titular word karukku of Bama's autobiography can be understood as a Dalit metaphor. Karukku means a palmyra leaf with seared edges. It is used to thatch the roofs of Paraya huts. The seared edges of the leaf hurt one who handles it. The pain experienced then is negligible compared to the wounds inflicted by the society. Once Bama observed an elderly man of her community bringing a parcel of vadai for a Naicker man, which amused her who was then a third standard student. Though she had not experienced untouchability she was aware of it. The Paraya elder carried the parcel to the Naicker man holding its string without touching the parcel as such. Bama on reaching home recounted this incident to her elder brother who did not find it amusing. He was very serious in his response. He told her that only education has the power to change the mindset of the society regarding their treatment of the lower caste. He said, ".. if we study and make progress we can throw away these indignities" (18). She followed her brother's advice and with a zealous determination pursued her studies to become a qualified teacher. 23

4 DISTANT THUNDER: VOICE OF THE SILENCED During her eighth standard at a school in a neighbouring town, she had firsthand experience of caste hatred surpassing all precedents. Harijan students were singled out both in the class and the hostel. The nuns as well as fellow students bullied them. In the village school where she had previously studied, the Pallar and Parayar students were made to do all the chores of the school. She recounts how the teachers looked at them with contempt. In the process of recovering identity Bama faced several obstacles. Caste oppression was prevalent not only in the social circle but also in the Catholic church, the taste of which she had right from school days. Her family was members of Our Lady's Sabai. It was a customary practice to make offerings to the Mother Superior and the priest. The Dalits pay their respects to the Church elders at the start of the New Year. They would first attend the Pusai and then assemble at the priest's house. Members of various congregations will be among those present. Bama feels that the Church elders somehow had sadistic pleasure in exploiting the humility of the devotees. The Tamil word for the Marathi `dalie is taazhtapattor which translates into 'oppressed' or 'downtrodden'. It is from this downtrodden state that Bama wants the community to liberate themselves. She attempts to awaken the Dalit consciousness through the medium of writing. Gajarawala remarks that Dalit consciousness is "expressible in a series of social, political, and literary strategies that necessarily inform a Dalit text" (2). Bama has taken a novel turn in the realm of Dalit literature. One of the striking features of Karukku is the simplicity of language employed. Bama intends her writings to assist the Dalits in recovering the lost identity of a community that has persistently suffered social, cultural and historical exclusion. They face a perpetual enslavement and the only way out, according to Bama, is to dare to stand up against injustices. The way to liberation is to demonstrate that they are no less than any other human being. From a very tender age itself children are imbued with the denigrating concept of untouchability. She writes, "Because Dalits have been enslaved for generation upon generation, and been told again and again of their degradation, they have come to believe that they are degraded, lacking honour and self-worth, untouchable;..." (28). Bama started to write about her life experiences after being released from the three vows of poverty, chastity and obedience. She had joined the 24

5 Articulating Silence: A Study of... convent against the wishes of her family. Her father wanted her to get married and settle down. But she had an enthusiasm to work among the lower caste people. She has experienced marginalization in every sphere of her life. During her younger days Bama used to look up to the nuns and priests with reverence. But according to her they did not deliver to the society the essence of their vocation. In the middle of the Pusai in the church if the children happened to doze off, the nuns would give a hard blow on their backs. The nuns never showed love towards the dalit children and also spoke ill of them. Bama was preoccupied with thoughts about sin and devil as these stories were made familiar by the nuns. It is only with awe and fear that she used to do the jobs of the church assigned to her. She would chant prayers continuously for fear of devil. While still a school girl Bama responded aggressively to humiliation. When she was refused permission to go home to attend the First Communion of her younger brother and sister on a weekend, she lost her temper and demanded answers from the Principal and the Warden. On another occasion, in her college which was at a distance from the village, Harijan students were asked to stand up to get enrolled for special tuitions as part of government project for Scheduled Caste students, she sadly realized that caste bias is everywhere. Naickers in her village never approve of any Dalit irrespective of whether they are educated or not. Both Bama and her elder brother had to face this prejudice in spite of being educated. Her elder brother was in the village for holidays. He was then a university student. He used to visit a library regularly to borrow books during the holidays. On one such day a Naicker man asked who he was and the very refined reply seemed to infuriate the upper caste man only because he happened to talk to a Dalit man. Once when Bama was travelling home for holidays, a Naicker woman was sitting beside her in the bus. The woman rose up and moved to another seat when Bama on being asked a query replied that she lived in the Cheri street. Cheri street is where the Paraya community has their settlement in the village. The woman was afraid of being polluted by an untouchable. Bama felt an elation of pride when she was awarded in the school assembly for being the SSLC topper among the Harijan students in the state that year. This was her opportunity to 'tell' the world that Dalits too can make progress. She had always been hardworking and studious probably to follow the footsteps of her elder brother who once enlightened her on the 25

6 DISTANT THUNDER: VOICE OF THE SILENCED power of education. She continued to be obedient and humble as she was well connected to her roots. Her firm foothold was the support from family. When she was home she helped her mother with the household chores. One day as she was carrying a load of firewood one of the villagers told her mother with astonishment, "Your daughter has finished her schooling at the convent, yet she doesn't mind canying fi rewood like this" (54). Hard work is part and parcel of Dalit life. Dalits had the physical strength to endure all sorts of hard work. Amidst a life of penury and humiliation the survival instincts never wane. Bama writes, "This is a community that was born to work" (55). It is heart rending to see puny children setting off to work early in the morning. The food prepared and eaten in the dalit houses speak volumes about their poverty. It is kuuzh, a pon-idge that is eaten daily, sometimes accompanied by the watery driedfish curry. When she joined the convent Bama came to experience a wealthy lifestyle unlike the wretched one she was accustomed to. She also contemplates on the harsh words of the nuns when they used to remark that lower caste children who lived in the school hostel were turning plump. Bama severely criticized her paatti, grandmother, for her excessive servitude towards the Naicker household where she worked. Both her grandmothers worked for the upper-caste people. Her paatti considers the left-over rice and curry from the Naicker house as "nectar of the gods", remarks Bama sarcastically (16). She had seen how the Naicker lady gives the left-over food to their servants. The Naicker lady would make sure to stand at a distance to avoid contact with a dalit to avoid being polluted. She then pours the left-over into the vessel held out by paatti. Paatti is so conditioned that Bama's chiding does not affect her at all. The grandmother tells her, "Without them, how will we survive? Can we change this?" (17). Bama's mother too shared the attitude of not coming out in the open to protest injustice. She once advised her daughter, "Say you are from a different caste. They'll never know" (20). Bama never supported this cowardice. Caste, to her, was her identity. She is a dalit first and then a Christian. It ached her heart to see how easily people of her community have resigned themselves to their subaltern status. Karukku tries to foreground the inferior position served to dalits and create a platform to fight exclusion. Amidst all the pain Bama attempts to break the silence of subjugation. She frankly writes that during several occasions she maintained silence as it was her only way to wade through 26

7 Articulating Silence: A Study of... rough waters. The spark in her was kept alive to come out as fire to fight discrimination and humiliation. She writes, "I swallowed the very words that came into my mouth; never said anything out aloud but battled within myself'. She continues, "I lamented inwardly that there was no place free of caste" (25). She boldly confesses that "being a coward, I survived somehow" (26). Her native village has a layout based on the stratification in society. The Naickers were the landowning class in the village. The others in the village were Nadars, Koravars, Chakkiliyars, Kusavars, Pallars and Parayas. Each community lived in a particular street. The name of the street is synonymous with the name of the caste. The upper-caste people kept to their part of the village. Schools, shops, church and other establishments were on the side of the upper-caste settlement. The lower-caste people lived in filthy conditions and Bama considers this to be the reason why the church and the schools are not in her part of the village. Caste discrimination in the Catholic Church became clearer to Bama on joining the convent. She decided to become a nun in order to serve the oppressed. The wealthy lifestyle of the convent disturbed her. The true essence of her vocation was in renouncing material pleasures and embracing simple living. After leaving the job of a teacher Bama joined the order with high ideals. But she was transformed into a "wingless bird" chained to the three vows (122). She had realized much earlier in her life that, "If you are born into a low caste, every moment of your life is a moment of struggle" (27). This was further proven during her training period. During the last leg of training to become nuns, a Sister told everyone that, "in certain orders they would not accept Harijan women as prospective nuns and that there was even a separate order for them somewhere" (25). The lifestyle at the convent was not like anything she had in her village. Bama could not help but wonder why the nuns and priests who are chosen to serve the oppressed and the needy be so prejudiced. When she started to work again as a teacher after becoming a full-fledged nun, she had to teach students from wealthy families. She noticed that in the school, Dalits "were looking after all the jobs like sweeping the premises, swabbing and washing the classrooms, and cleaning out lavatories" (25). The spark of resistance in her was fanned on seeing the Dalits do menial jobs and treated in a derogatory manner. The young and the old alike kept their lips sealed and obeyed the Sisters. Self-respect and pride was being sacrificed in every act of enduring subjugation. 27

8 DISTANT THUNDER: VOICE OF THE SILENCED Bama was desperate to leave the convent due to disillusionment. It was not without skepticism that she desired to go back. She writes, "I have entirely lost faith in all the talk of service to the poor from within the convent" (121). She was excessively worried about her social security as she would remain unemployed until she finds a prospective employer. The convent is a symbol of the hollow promises of the church. There is no human touch in the service imparted to the society. The rules in the convent damaged her consciousness and she yearned for a time when she will be able to soar with wings spread in the sky of freedom. The wounds received by Bama will take time to heal. She finds it largely ironic that the nuns considered the Dalits as faithless. The Dalits are so devout when it comes to religious matters. Every festival and ritual is observed with devotion and gaiety. Bama recollects various instances of religious celebrations in her childhood where the whole village exhibits their faith. The disastrous phase of her life ended when the Sisters released her from the three vows. The pull of caste-consciousness in Bama is so strong that she decided to stand up against the traditional hierarchy of caste prevalent in India. The experiences of the Dalits are reflected in the series of interrogatives that incessantly came out from Bama throughout her life. In Karukku she presents her anxiety about the unfulfilled hopes of Dalits who are still reeling in the gloom of exploitation and discrimination. The Dalits are in a state of mental enslavement. The dominant class finds it easy to target the psyche of the lower caste people. Once the psyche is taken over the subject ceases to be the real self. The karukku leaf continues to hurt those handling it, at the same time energizes them to face the odds. Bama moves a step ahead in her life by creating Karukku in the hope that the silence of the Dalits will articulate itself and herald a world of respect and pride. References: Bama. Karukku. Trans. Lakshmi Holmstrom. 2nd ed. New Delhi: OUP, Print. Dangle, Arjun. "Introduction: Dalit Literature Past, Present and Future.7 Introduction. Trans. Avinash S. Pandit and Daya Agrawal. Poisoned Bread: Translations from Modern Marathi Dalit Literature. By Dangle. New ed. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, xix-liv. Print. Gajarawala,Toral Jatin. Untouchable Fictions: Literary Realism and the Crisis of Caste. New York: Fordham University Press, Print. 28

9 Articulating Silence: A Study of... Manorama, Ruth. "Dalit Women: The Downtrodden Among the Downtrodden." Women's Studies in India: A Reader. Ed. Mary E. John. New Delhi: Penguin, Print. Omvedt, Gail. "Literature of Revolt: Prefatory Note." Preface. Poisoned Bread: Translations from Modern Marathi Dalit Literature. Ed. Arjun Dangle. New ed. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, ix-xviii. Print. Satyanarayana K., and Susie Tharu, eds. No Alphabet in Sight: New Dalit Writing from South India. Dossier I: Tamil and Malayalam. New Delhi: Penguin, Print