CHENNAI: If the scorching heat, the somewhat pleasant vestiges of sea breeze and the presence of overnight nungu stalls herald the arrival of summer every April, then a flurry of social media activity, the familiar bilingual posters and this head-ups of a piece should be enough of an indicator of the other big thing this season — the Prajnya Equality Colloquium Series. After a successful maiden run amidst a raging pandemic last year, the series returns for another round of pertinent conversations and discussions.
This time around, the focus of the lecture series has evolved, notes Swarna Rajagopalan, founder of The Prajnya Trust. “Last time, it was important to try and get overviews. I also think it is important not to stereotype lectures on caste can only be on one or two topics. The fact is caste cuts across and colours everything that we do in this part of the world; so, everything is worth talking about in this part of the series. When we insist on people moving along, we can’t constantly be pointing them to the basics. All of us have to get with the picture, understand the various things that people are talking about when they talk about these issues, the various contexts these issues come up in,” she explains.
And so, we have Nrithya Pillai starting the series with a lecture on the role of caste and gender in the making of ‘classical’ Indian art. A dancer “well-known for her views and perspective on classical dance, and more importantly, the political economy and culture of classical dance”, Nrithya would be offering an insight into the Brahminic constructs abundant in the art world.
Malarvizhi Jayanth, who used to run the oral blog, Writing Caste, will be speaking about women’s hatred for caste practices and compulsory heterosexuality; she will be offering an academic perspective to the discourse as well. Writer Mahalakshmi, a resident of The Nilgiris, would be speaking of the manifestation of caste, gender and women’s rights in marginal areas. And Grace Banu, underscoring the intersectionality of caste and gender, would share her insights on the challenges of the trans community when it comes to education and employment and the need for reservation for them.
Presenting the lectures, from these persons of authority, and making it available to as many people as possible ultimately answers the question of why this exercise is important, points out Swarna. “Despite more than a century of politics, polemics, art and scholarship around these issues, there are still enough people who meet them for the first time this morning. By putting together more accessible events like this, it is a small way to push towards mainstreaming these conversations. Because it is not mainstream; if people in their 20s are still questioning reservations, there are still many conversations left to be had,” she concludes.
The lecture series will air every Saturday at 4.30 pm, starting April 8. For details, visit Facebook: Prajnya