A compilation titled "Bama: Writer and Activist" was recently published by Routledge to honour the prominent Tamil Dalit writer for her significant contributions to literature and social justice.
During the book launch, Dr CT Indira remarked, "Enough of introducing Shakespearean studies, Hemingway studies, it is appealing to hear Bama studies"— which is not an overstatement.
Indeed, Bama's work has achieved global recognition, with her autobiographical novel Karukku gaining international acclaim following its English translation in 2000. The text has now become a staple in subaltern studies curricula across most Indian universities and colleges, while also serving as a fertile source for scholarly research.
It has been 25 years since Macmillan published the English translation of Karukku, marking a quarter-century of its influence on the Indian literary landscape.
"Our village is very beautiful" is the most ironic opening line from the novel. The realist image painted by Bama just tore off the romanticised image laid over villages, alarming casteist normalcy prevailing in every rural livelihood. Upon it's release, Karukku underwent great turmoil in the Tamil literary arena, delivering a cultural shock. Most Tamil intellectuals dismissed the work for its formlessness and its 'flawed' language. However, the novel recieved significant praise as well. For instance, Sahitya Akademi Award-winning author Prapanchan exclaimed Karukku as a guileless conversation from heart to heart.
The 1990s witnessed a transformative shift in Indian literature which marks a distinct Dalit turn that gained momentum from various socio-cultural movements across the nation. Particularly, in Tamil Nadu, Dalit intellectuals initially anticipated that their literature might adopt experimental forms similar to Latin American magical realism to challenge the traditional realism. However, contrary to these expectations, Dalit literature in Tamil developed unique narrative styles and aesthetic approaches withing the realm of realism in articulating the Dalit experience.
Following the tradition of autobiographical writing - from Urmila Pawar's Aaydan (insert year), Sharankumar Limbale's Akkarmashi, Om Prakash Valmiki's Joothan, Bama wrote Karukku which turns out to be a classic in Tamil literature. While expressing the reason for the makeshift, Bama noted "Memoirs, autobiographies play a major role in writing back. Karukku is not a typical autobiography; it is like an oscillation of my psyche. It doesn't have a chronology. It starts somewhere else and ends somewhere else. Caste- a cruel and disgusting thing is making unreal things real, unthinkable things real, like peeing on a fellow being, casteist hegemony, Vengaivayal, can you imagine how disgusting it is to drink shit-mixed-water?"
The teamwork of the literary trio Bama (Author), Mini Krishnan (Editor) and Lakshmi Holmstrom (Translator) made Karukku win the Crossword Award for translation in 2001.
Speaking with Mini Krishnan regarding the challenges in publishing, she noted, "By the time I read Lakshmi's first draft in 1999, I entered the experience of a young woman's bitter disappointment concerning her religion, which promised the equality Indian society had relentlessly denied. It also took a deep look at village schools and society and the role the Church played in the formation of the psyche and personality of a child. As a publisher, I admire Bama for her personal loyalty. There was a gap of ten years between its publication through Macmillan (2000) and OUP ( 2010). Throughout that decade, Bama received numerous inquiries from other publishers about signing up with them, but she declined them all politely and said, "I have other plans," never once revealing the tangle there was between OUP wanting a second edition". Currently, Mini Krishnan is the managing editor at TNTESC.
Bama praises Lakshmi Holmstrom for using vernacular English in many places and proclaims that the English translation is done extraordinarily. She also won the Hutch-crossword book award for translating Ambai's Short stories.
Dalit writings in translation paved the way for multiple scopes of research and reach. After the enormous success of Karukku in English, we see a surge in the translation of Dalit writings. Translation slowly becomes a commercial phenomenon. Consequently, Dalit texts attain mainstream consciousness. Further, a conscious choice of retaining the Tamil original title by the literary trio helped in the glocalisation of the translation market. Bama is firm that there are no title choices except Karukku; the trio is amicable in retaining the original title.
'Karukku', denoting the Palmyra leaves having sharp edges on both sides, becomes an allegorical address. The sharp edges resemble a double-edged sword-the plight of the Dalit people and the vehement protest of Dalit people. Bama explains, "There is a thirst for identity in dalit lives. The absence of I and We in mainstream narrative forced me to write. Moreover, most of the Dalit histories are being erased and hidden."
Bama is a teacher by profession, and Karukku becomes a social pedagogy with which it is unfolded as a testimony of a kid. Her teaching methodology aligns with her ideology. "The vision of children is unadulterated and innocent, but the adults adulterate their vision with their casteist foregrounds, which restricts their humaneness. Reforms need to be done at the grassroots." Bama adds.
Sadly, the commercialisation of Dalit literature happened simultaneously with its rise to prominence. Dalit texts are often viewed reductively through the lens of self-pity and a savior attitude. "There is this branding of Dalit writing existing. I don't see Brahmin, Naicker, chettiar, or vellalar writing. But, the branding needs to be denounced." Bama notes. This results in subaltern studies being taught for a namesake. Mini Krishnan also criticised, "Dalit writing in translation has remained the publishing industry's golden goose, but it is yet to bring about any real change in society's attitudes."
Only a few texts manage to break free from such rigid categorization and achieve universal significance. Bama's Karukku is unquestionably one among them, transcending labels to speak profound truths that resonate across all barriers of caste, language, and geography.
(Thalamuthukumar T | freelance Journalist, Literary agent-CIBF, Writer- Good City Artist Residency.)