Lokaratna 11 2

Lokaratna Vol.
XI (2), 2018 ISSN: 2347-6427
Lokaratna Vol. XI (2), 2018 ISSN: 2347-6427
FOLKLORE FOUNDATION, INDIA

LOKARATNA, Vol. XI (2) 2018

UGC Journal Number: 47781
Lokaratna is the e-journal of the Folklore Foundation, Bhubaneswar. Lokaratna; a peer-

reviewed International journal with ISSN: 2347-6427. Lokaratna is approved by UGC.
(UGC Journal Number: 47781).The purpose of the journal is to explore the rich cultural
tradition of India for a wider readership. Any scholar across the globe interested to contribute
on any aspect of folklore is welcome. This volume represents the articles on culture, folklore,
education, and language pedagogy.
Cover Design: by Amit Kumar
Folklore Foundation
President: Sri Sukant Mishra
Managing Trustee and Director: Dr M K Mishra
Trustee: Sri Sapan K Prusty
Trustee: Sri Durga Prasanna Layak
Lokaratna is the official journal of the Folklore Foundation, located in
Bhubaneswar, Orissa. Lokaratna is a peer-reviewed academic journal in English.
The objectives of the journal are:

 To invite scholars to contribute research papers on any aspect of folklore, literature,
socio-political issues, linguistics and language teaching in English. They should be
based on the theory and research methodologies widely adopted in the areas
concerned, and on empirical studies with substantial field work.
 To publish seminal articles written by senior scholars on Folklores, making them
available from the original sources. It would help present lives of folklorists, outlining
their substantial contribution to existing resources.
 To publish book reviews, field work reports, descriptions of research projects and
announcements for seminars and workshops.
 To present interviews with eminent folklorists and scholarsfrom India and abroad.
 Book Review is made by Folklore Foundation. So new books may be sent to the
following address:
Dr Mahendra K Mishra
Request for online/manuscript submissions should be addressed to Mahendra Kumar Mishra,
Editor in Chief, Lokaratna, Folklore Foundation, Bhubaneswar, Odisha- 751010 ,
E mail: <lokaratnaindia@gmail.com>
Editor in Chief: Dr Mahendra K Mishra
Editorial Board –
Prof. Anand Mahanand, EFLU, Hyderabad, Executive Editor
Prof. Ranjan K. Panda, IIT, Bombay
Dr. Amitendu Bhattacharya, Asst. Professor, BITS Pilani (Goa)
Subhasis Nanda, PhD scholar, EFLU, Hyderabad
Dr. Indranil Acharya, Vidyasagar Univesity, Medinipur, West Bengal
Dr. Shubhendu Mund, Writer
Dr. Harekrushna Meher, Sanskrit Scholar
Akshay K. Rath, NIT, Rourkela.
Dr. C. Vijaykumar, Imam Abdulrahman Bin Faisal University, Dammam, Soudi Arabia
Board of Advisors
Prof. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Ex Director, CIILMysore, India

Prof Mark Turin, Anthropologist, British Columbia University, Canada
Prof. Anvita Abbi, ExpProfessor, Linguisics, JNU, New Delhi
Prof. Ganesh. N. Devy, Chair, People’s Linguistic Survey of India
Prof Joyce Fulckieger Burkhalter, Imory University, US
Prof. Molly Kaushal, Head, Janapada Sampada, IGNCA, New Delhi
Prof. Nirupama Modwel, Intangible Heritage, INTAC, New Delhi
Prof. Tatyana Fedosova, Altai University, Russia
Prof. Irina Samarina, Senior Linguist, NIversity of Moscow, Russia
FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF
It is a matter of great satisfaction that Folklore Foundation has been able to publish
the annual e- journal Lokaratna to promote the diverse cultural knowledge of India and
abroad.
I am thankful to the editorial board of this journal, especially Prof.Anand Mahanand,
Executive Editor and Associate Editor Shubasis Nanda, for their endless labour to make
this volume successful one. The articles capture the multifaceted aspects of culture,
language and literature in the light of folklore.
Till now about 500 scholars across the globe have contributed their articles in the
journal. This jjournal has also got an academic recognition in the global folklore scholarship.
This journal has been accopted and placed me more than 70 digital libraries across the globe
in addition to many folklore institutes.
I am thankful to Prof Mark Turin, Anthropologist and a Himalayan Scholar from
Department of Anthropology, British Columbia University , Canada who has always been
kind enough to provide support to Folklore Foundation in publishing the journal online.
I thank all the contributors of this volume to make this publication a successful one.
Mahendra Kumar Mishra
Editor in Chief
Lokaratna
FROM THE DESK OF THE EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Towards an Interdisciplinary Dialogue
From the beginnings of literature, poets and writers have based their narratives
on crossing borders, on wandering, on exile, on encounters beyond the familiar.
The stranger is an archetype in epic poetry, in novels. The tension between
alienation and assimilation has always been a basic theme. Jhumpa Lahiri,
Writer
In today’s academic scenario, there has been emphasis on inter-disciplinary study.

Researchers are encouraged to cross disciplinary boundaries and integrate ideas, insights and
methodology from several disciplines, connecting different schools of thoughts. Disciplines are
required to gain from one another. If a discipline does not do that and tries o maintain isolation,
its survival is uncertain. However, if a discipline invites inputs from other disciplines and
enriches itself, it will thrive and prosper. We have examples such integration in the fields of
Psychology, Philosophy, and Education and so on. The journal Lokaratna beautifully blends
folklore, literature, language and pedagogy. Articles that find place here usually integrate ideas
and insights from anthropology, sociology, philosophy, psychology, education and so on. All
these disciplines are related to human society. So they revolve around human issues. Some
times some people ask: “Why are ELT papers put together with folklore papers? The response is
whetherit is folklore, literature, or pedagogy; all deal with human society. All contributefor
exchange of ideas and interaction concerning different aspects of human life. So no subject is
superior and no subject is inferior. We believe in multidisciplinary approach and hold that all
disciplines can contribute to a particular theme. For instance, let us consider Environment as a
theme. All disciplines including philosophy, literature, sociology, folklore, life sciences,
economics can share ideas on the subject and enrich it.
We are happy to share that most articles in this volume are of interdisciplinary nature.
One can note the integration of politics with literature, culture with language, history with
folklore, aesthetics with culture, gender with cultural anthropology, caste, politics, sociology
with culture, psychology with education : all are connected on different themes and topics.
Mark Turin in his article “Thangmi Cosmogony and Ethnogenesis” explores the
cosmogony of the Thangmi community of Nepal who speak Thangmi; a Tibeto-Burman
language. Amrita Banerjee’s article “It’s a new country! Folklore and nationalism in early
children’s literature in Bengal” is an attempt to study response of writers of children’s
literature to the colonial strategy of the British who tried to create a hierarchy among
the natives. Avijit Kumar Dutta in his article “Fishermen’s Origin Narratives in Assam”
studies folktales that trace the history of the fisher folks. In her article “Voices from the
Mountain : Folklore of the Dongruia Kondh”, Dr. Priyadarshini Mishra gives and emic
perspective on the various aspects of culture and life of Donguria Kondh tribe of Odisha.
Balram Uprety’s article “How You Dare Defy Me, I Shall See: the Contours of Hierarchical
Conjugality in Nepali Teej Songs” explores the role of folklore in reclaiming the past
through folk songs particularly through Teej songs. Pradip Kumar Panda in his article
“Cultural Alienation: A House for Mr. Biswas” foregrounds how the protagonist is
haunted by a sense of cultural alienation. Gouri Mandapaka’s article “Transition in the
Narrative Techniques of Chindu Bhagavatam: An Oral Folklore Technique” studies how
the narrative technique has changed over the time to suit the contemporary taste.
Abhijit Das in his article titled “Play and Games Among the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh: A
Plea for Tribal Development” presents the folk forms such as play and game and
emphasizes on inclusion and interpretation of indigenus cultural practices in tribal
contexts.Shyam Babu’s article “Experiment with Folktales: A Critical perspective in
Karnad’s Naga- Mandala” deals with Karnad’s attempt to re-make a folktale and situate
it in contemporary context. Jaya Pal’s article “Things Fall Apart the Paraja Cannot Hold:
A Comparative Study of the Selected Fiction of Chinua Achebe and Gopinath Mohanty”
compares Mohanty’s Paraja with Achebe’s Things Fall Apart and demonstrate how the
indigeneous cultures in both the novels are disturbed by outside invasion and the
manner in which indigenous people respond aggressively to such cultural and
economic invasions. Ann Mathew’s article “The Vocal Memoir of Black Girlhood” deals
with African womens’s intersectionalities of race, class and gender. V. Ranjani’s article
“ Reclamation of Memory: A Study of Michael Ondaatje’s Running the Family and
Romesh Gunashekhar’s Reef” highlights the role of memory that helps in connecting the
diasporic people to their homeland. Bidyut Bhushan Jena’s article “ After the Rain: A
Evening With Poet Ramakant Rath” narrates the creative endeavour of the prominent
modernist poet Sri Ramakant Rath. Sikha Das’s article “ Construction of Gender and
Patriarchy: A Critical Reading of the film Kothanodi” is an attempt to understand

gender, marginalization and possession in an Assamese film called Kothanodi produced
in 2015 which is based on folktales. Kanki Hazarika’s article “ Reinforcing Gendered
Subjects: Analysing the Folk Songs of the Bodos of Assam” analyses the gender
perspectives in Bodo folksongs and highlights how the gender plays an important role
in rituals and social practices of the Bodos of Assam. The article “Social Inclusion of
Tribal Women” by Jharana Mishra and Saswat C.Pujari discusses how women take part
in all aspects of social life unlike the upper-caste women. The researchers have
collected data from Juang community in Odisha and have drawn their conclusion by
analysing the data. Pooja Chetry’s article “The Socio-Cultural Practices during
Menstruation Among Nepali Women in North-Eastern India” deals with the beliefs and
customs that are followed during the menstruation period. Priya Soman’s article “A
Socio-economic Analysis of Malai Pantarams of Attathodu” deals with socio-economic
aspects of a tribe called Malai Pantarams. Surya Pratap Bharati in his article “Bandit
Queen: A Testimony of Dalit Women” foregrounds issues of dalit woman as depicted in
the film the Bandit Queen. Anupama Priyadarshi’sarticle “Performance in the Time of
Displacement” looks into the issue of displacement in relation to rituals and cultural
practices of the Santhal tribes of Jharkhand. Pdmini Rangarajan in her article
“Significance of Rural Folk Deities: Rituals, Culture, Belief System and Celebrations in
Tamilnadu” studies the collective beliefs of people on female folk deities and rituals
associated to them.
As mentioned above, almost all disciplines are concerned with different aspects
of human society. Pedagogy is an important aspect of it. The next section has a number
of articles dealing with pedagogy particularly with English language education. In their
article Nilam Singh and hemanga Dutta “Pronouns of Power and Solidarity in Nepali: A
Socio-lingustic Study” explore the pronominal system in Nepali Language in relation to
the discourse of power and solidarity. Nittala Noel Anurag Prashanth’s article “Impactof
Teachers Academic Experience and Training on Classroom Dynamics: An Exploration”;
discusses what kind of impact teachers’ academic experience and training has on
classroom transaction. P. Sunama Patro’s article “Reading and Accidental Vocabulary
Acquisition” explores how these two are related and how they can enrich each other.
Rukulu Kejo and Barkha Chhetri’s article “Linking Writing Development with Emotions:
Towards a Person Centred Framework of Teaching Writing” shows ways of instilling
emotional confidence among learners and making writing an interactive classroom

activity. The article “Children Learning the Ways of life in the Juang Community: A Case
Study of Two Juang Dominated Villages of Keonjhar, Odisha” by S.C.Pujari and J. Mishra
studies the games played by Juanga children and highlights their educational values.
Suraj Nandkumar Dhumal’s article “Exploring ESL Learners Language Speaking Anxiety:
An Exploratory Study” studies the reasons behind learners’ anxiety in speaking in a
second language classroom and possible remedies to overcome them. B. Sudha Sai and
K. Aruna Kumari’s article “Importance of English language Proficiency among
Professionals in Andhra Pradesh: A Statistical Approach” discusses measures to enable
professional skills by developing proficiency. Subhashini Rajasekharan and Rajesh
Kumar in their article “Challenges and Strategies for Multilingual Education in India”
reflect on the practical hindrances in imparticng language education in rural and
multilingual classrooms in Indian context. They also discuss the possible strategies that
could be used to overcome such issues.
In this issue we have an interview with the prominent ELT expert Professor Alan
Maley, who has made significant contribution in integrating language and literature in
many creative ways setting examples for all teachers and researchers. Sharoon Sunny
has done a commendable job in making us available the ideas and insights of Professor
Maley through the interview. In book review section Dr. Mahendra Kumar Mishra
reviews the book “Parijata Harana” by Basavaraj Naikar.
Here we take the opportunity to thank all our contributors, reviewers of articles
and Editorial Board members for their help and support. We hopethat our readers will
enjoy reading the articles.
Anand Mahanand
Executive Editor,Lokaratna
CONTENTS
Sl Title andAuthor(s) Page
no. no.
FOLKLORE,LITERATURE AND
CULTURAL STUDIES
1 1
THANGMI COSMOGONY & ETHNOGENESIS
Dr. Mark Turin
2 IT’S A NEW COUNTRY! FOLKLORE AND NATIONALISM IN EARLY 9

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN BENGAL
Amrita Banerjee
3 FISHERMEN’S ORIGIN NARRATIVES IN ASSAM: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY 20
Dr. Avijit Kumar Dutta

4. “HOW YOU DARE DEFY ME, I SHALL SEE”: THE CONTOURS OF 28
HIERARCHICAL CONJUGALITY IN NEPALI TEEJ SONGS
Balram Uprety
5 VOICES FROM THE MOUNTAIN: FOLKLORE OF THE DONGRUIA KONDH 44
Dr. Priyadarshini Mishra
6 CULTURAL ALIENATION: A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS 55
Dr. Pradip Kumar Panda
7 TRANSITION IN THE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE OF ‘CHINDU BHAGWATAM’: 76
AN ORAL FOLKLORE OF TELANGANA
Gouri Mandapaka
8 PLAY AND GAMES AMONG THE BAIGAS OF MADHYA PRADESH: A PLEA FOR 84
TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT
Dr. Abhijit Das

9 EXPERIMENT WITH FOLKTALES: A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE IN KARNAD’S 96
NAGA-MANDALA
Dr. Shyam Babu

10 ‘THINGS FALL APART, PARAJA CANNOT HOLD’: A COMPARATIVE STUDY OF 107
THE SELECTED FICTION OF CHINUA ACHEBE AND
GOPINATH MOHANTY
Jaya Pal
11 THE VOCAL MEMOIR OF BLACK GIRLHOOD 113
Ann Mathew
12 RECLAMATION OF MEMORY: A STUDY OF MICHAEL ONDAATJE’S RUNNING 127
IN THE FAMILY AND ROMESH GUNESEKERA’S REEF
V. Ranjani
13 AFTER THE RAIN: AN EVENING WITH POET RAMAKANTA RATH 137
Bidyut Bhusan Jena

14 CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER AND PATRIARCHY: A CRITICAL READING OF 142
THE FILM KOTHANODI
Sikha Das
15 REINFORCING GENDERED SUBJECTS: ANALYSING THE FOLK SONGS OF THE 152
BODOS OF ASSAM
Kanki Hazarika
16 168
SOCIAL INCLUSION OF TRIBAL WOMEN :(Data from a few Juang dominated
villages of Keonjhar, Orissa.)
Jharana Mishra
Saswat Pujari
17 THE SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES DURING MENSTRUATION AMONG 177
NEPALI WOMEN IN NORTH-EASTERN INDIA
Pooja Chetry
18 A SOCIO – ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF MALAI PANTARAMS AT ATTATHODU 188
Priya Soman
19 BANDIT QUEEN: A TESTIMONY OF DALIT WOMAN 198
Surya Pratap Bharati

20 PERFORMANCE IN THE TIME OF DISPLACEMENT 205
Anupama Priyadarshi
19 SIGNIFICANCE OF RURAL FEMALE FOLK DEITIES- 214
RITUALS, CULTURE, BELIEF SYSTEM AND CELEBRATIONS IN TAMIL NADU
Padmini Rangarajan
Language in Practice
20 PRONOUNS OF POWER AND SOLIDARITY IN NEPALI: A SOCIOLINGUISTIC 222
STUDY
Dr. Neelam Singh

Dr. Hemanga Dutta
21 IMPACT OF TEACHER’S ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING ON 234
CLASSROOM DYNAMICS: AN EXPLORATION
Nittala Noel Anurag Prashanth

22 READING AND INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY ACQUISITION 243

Dr. P. Sunama Patro
23 LINKING WRITING DEVELOPMENT WITH EMOTIONS: TOWARDS A PERSON- 257
CENTRED FRAMEWORK OF TEACHING WRITING
Dr Rukulu Kezo
Dr Barkha Chhetry
24 264
CHILDREN LEARNING THE WAYS OF LIFE IN THE JUANG COMMUNITY: A
CASE STUDY OF TWO JUANG DOMINATED VILLAGES OF KEONJHAR,
ODISHA
Saswat Pujari
Jharana Mishra
EXPLORING ESL LEARNERS LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY: AN 280
25 EXPLORATORY STUDY
Dr Suraj Nandkumar Dhumal

26 IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AMONG 293
PROFESSIONALS IN ANDHRA PRADESH: A STATISTICAL APPROACH
Dr. B. Sudha Sai

Dr. K. Aruna Kumari
27 CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES FOR MULTILINGUAL EDUCATION IN INDIA 311
Subhashini Rajasekaran
Rajesh Kumar
28 INTERVIEW WITH ALAN MALEY ON PRACTICAL APPROACHES FOR 318
TEACHING WRITING
Sharoon Sunny
Contributors
Call for Papers
Lokaratna Vol. XII, 2019
We invite original and un-published research articles in the fields of Folklore, Literature,
Culture, Pedagogy and English Language Teaching for the second issue of XIIthvolume of
Lokaratna; a peer-reviewedInternational journal with ISSN: 2347-6427. Lokaratna is
approved by UGC. (UGC Journal Number: 47781). The next issue will be out in June, 2019.
It is mandatory for all contributors to adopt the following guidelines to write their papers:
 Font - Times New Roman with 12 font size

 Line spacing - 1.5
 The paper must have an abstract of 150 -200 words.
 The abstract should be followed by about 5 key words.
 For citation and references please follow the APA style (6th Edition).
Deadline for the submission of the manuscript is 31.06.2019 and could be sent to the
following mail ID: lokaratnaindia@gmail.com
Note- if any paper doesn’t comply with the aforementioned guidelines, it would
be sent back to the contributor(s). The corrected version of the manuscript is to
be submitted within 10 days of receiving the paper back.
THANGMI COSMOGONY & ETHNOGENESIS
Dr. Mark Turin
Abstract
This paper re-examines the cosmogony of the Thangmi community, an ethnic group in
current-day Nepal who speak a Tibeto-Burman language of the same name. The Thangmi
(Nepali Thāmī) number around 30,000 and inhabit the central eastern hills of Nepal. The
Thangmi are autochthonous to the upper reaches of Dolakhā district as well as to the eastern
valleys of Sindhupālcok district, and their hitherto undocumented Tibeto-Burman language
has two distinctly recognisable and mutually unintelligible dialects. While the Thangmi have
been described by anthropologists and folklorists—both Nepali and foreign—as having no
recognisable folklore or ethnohistory, the existence of a specifically Thangmi cosmogony and
ethnic origin story suggests otherwise.
Keywords
Thami, Thangmi, Cosmogony, Origin, Oral Literature, Folklore
1. The Thangmi Mythological World
Although the Thangmi account of the world’s origin includes identifiably Hindu deities such as Viṣṇu
and Mahādev, and pan-Asian themes such as the lotus flower, these are mixed in with uniquely
Thangmi elements. The following account is a distillation of the various stories that I have heard in
the villages where Thangmi are either autochthonous or dominant, and where their language is still
spoken. The stories were narrated to me in the Thangmi language with some reliance on Nepali. Each
telling was different, even by the same narrator, and it is extremely difficult to determine which
details are central to the story and which should remain peripheral. What I present here is a careful
reconstruction that includes as many of the salient details as possible but few of the personal
embellishments of the narrators. In brief, then, with the episodes clearly borrowed wholesale from
Hindu mythology removed, the story is as follows.
2. Genesis
In the beginning, there was only water, and the gods held a meeting to decide how to develop this vast
expanse of ocean. They first created a species of small insect, known in Thangmi as korsani (Nepali
kumālkoṭi), but these insects could find no solid land on which to live on account of the water
everywhere. Consequently, the gods created a species of fish, known in ritual Thangmi as koŋorsa,
which could live in water. The korsani took to living on the fins of the fish, which protruded far
enough out of the water to allow the insects to breathe. The korsani collected a species of river grass,
Saccharum spontaneum (Nepali kās) which they mixed with mudin order to build dwellings on the
1
fins of the fish. The insects then built houses in each of the four directions: south, west, north and
east.
One day, a lotus flower arose spontaneously out of the water with the god Viṣṇu seated in the
middle. From the four corners of the lotus flower came armies of ants, known in Thangmi as ṭiku
(Nepali kamilā). From the south came blue ants, from the west red ants, from the north black ants,
and from the east white ants. These ants then killed all the korsani and destroyed their houses. The
ants left, taking all the mud that the korsani had used for their dwellings, and collecting another
species of grass, Cynodon dactylon (Nepali dubo), as they went. The ants then mixed this grass with
the stolen mud to construct new houses.
Eventually the gods came together and decided to create people. Mahādev first tried to make a man
out of gold, then one out of silver, then iron, and finally out of copper. However, none of these metal
men could speak. Viṣṇu then joined Mahādev in the endeavour, and tried his hand at making humans.
After constructing 108 piles of wood, he burnt each pile down to ash. He subsequently proceeded to
mix each pile of ash together with chicken shit, and Mahādev and Viṣṇu used this mixture to make a
new person. Viṣṇu built the person from the head down to the waist, while Mahādev built the human
from the feet up. The two halves were thus made separately and joined together at the navel on
completion. The human was now ready. The gods called out to him, and he responded, unlike the
earlier men who had been made of metal and consequently had been unable to speak. On hearing his
voice, the gods commanded the man to go and die. This he promptly did.
A thousand years passed. During this time, the man’s spirit roamed the earth alone and in vain, and
no other people were created. Eventually, the man’s spirit ended up near Mount Kailāś, where it
entered the womb of a giant sacred cow (Nepali gauri gāi) in the hope of being reborn. Having been
inseminated by the man’s wandering spirit, the sacred cow gave birth to three sons. These three men
are the forefathers of all human beings.
3. Thangmi Ethnogenesis: Narrative
At this point in the story, the protagonists shift from amorphous pre-social beings to more human,
ethnically defined members of a nascent society. The three brothers born to the giant sacred cow
come to represent three identifiable segments of contemporary Nepali, and perhaps even South Asian,
society. The first group are practitioners of religious traditions based on texts, i.e. both high-caste
Hindus and Tibetan Buddhists. The second group are low caste Hindus and the occupational castes,
who provide the foundational labour of their society, such as the Damāi and Kāmī. The third and final
group represented by the three brothers are the hill peoples who speak Tibeto-Burman languages
(including the Thangmi), who belong to neither of the former groups. The following sections of the
narrative document the splintering of the hill ethnic groups, and I have chosen not to include the
2
details here. Instead, I fast-forward to the moment at which the Thangmi break off from their ethnic
brethren and begin to order their own social world.
The forefather of the Thangmi, known as Yaʔapa or Yaʔapati Chuku, was the eldest of five
brothers. These five brothers were sons of the proto-human deity Narosetu, the third son of the giant
sacred cow and the progenitor of all ethnic groups speaking Tibeto-Burman languages in the hills of
Nepal. Each of the five brothers is identified as the forefather of a different Himalayan subgroup.
After residing for some years in the town of Ṭhimī, known as Thebe in Thangmi, Yaʔapa and his four
brothers were forced to leave the town due to a conflict with local rulers. Yaʔapa went east with his
youngest brother, Kancapa, while the other three brothers went west. After many days of wandering,
Yaʔapa and Kancapa met two sisters who were the daughters of a snake spirit (Nepali nāg). The four
travellers continued together, by way of Simraungaḍh or Simaṅghāṭ, until they reached the
confluence of the Sunkośī and Indravatī rivers. There they met a boatman (Nepali mājhī) who ferried
them across the river. They then continued to the confluence of the Tāmākośī, but only the two
brothers and the younger of the two sisters could fit in the boat to cross the river, and the eldest sister,
known variously as Sunari Ama ‘golden mother’ or Sunari Aji ‘golden mother-in-law’, was left on
the other side by herself. They all continued up the Tāmākośī, with Sunari Ama walking alone on the
near side of the river.
At the next confluence, the brothers split up. Kancapa and the younger sister walked up the
tributary, while Yaʔapa and Sunari Ama continued along the Tāmākośī. From this point on, Kancapa
is identified as the forefather of the Rai peoples living to the east of the Thangmi. Finally, after
walking on opposite sides of the river for many days, Sunari Ama and Yaʔapa came to a place called
Nāgdaha. While walking, Sunari Ama had been spinning a thread of the Himalayan nettle Girardinia
diversifolia (Thangmi naŋăi, Nepaliallo sisnu) on her spindle, and by the time they reached Nāgdaha
it was long enough to plait into a coarse rope. She threw one end of the rope across the river to
Yaʔapa, and he threw a length back to double it up and make a secure, if simple, bridge. In this
manner, Sunari Ama finally succeeded in crossing the river to join Yaʔapa. So relieved were they to
be reunited, that they decided to settle nearby in an area known to this day as Raŋathali or Raŋ Raŋ
Thali. Having made a home, they then cleared parts of the jungle to make fields.1
From this point in the narrative, there are two slightly different versions. The first version suggests
that Sunari Ama gave birth to seven sons and seven daughters, while the second account tells of seven
sons and eight daughters, of which the youngest daughter does not marry, choosing rather to become a
1
In Thangmi, raŋ means ‘dry or unirrigated field, land’, and Raŋ Raŋ Thali would indicate a place with
many fields..
3
nun.2 Both stories concur that when the children were of marriageable age, the Thangmi parents had
little choice but to marry their children off to one another because there were no other suitable
partners. The children were paired off by age, the eldest son marrying the eldest daughter, the second-
eldest son marrying the second-eldest daughter, and so on. Having witnessed and orchestrated the
marriages, the Thangmi couple then assigned all of their children separate clans, both sons and
daughters, thus making their shameful incestuous marriages more socially acceptable. The parents
organised an archery contest to determine their sons’ clan names, and assigned clan names to their
daughters according to the kind of domestic work in which they were engaged. After naming the
clans, the Thangmi parents pronounced a strict injunction against any further incestuous marriages.
When they came of age, the next generation of Thangmi children were obliged to find potential
spouses from one of the other clans rather than from their own parents’ clans.
Nearby lived a wealthy and powerful king of what is the present-day Dolakhā region. He had a
court fisherman in his service who was responsible for catching fresh fish for the palace every day.
One morning, the fisherman returned to court with disturbing news: He had found small pieces of
bamboo and wood chippings in his nets, obviously chopped by a human hand. No humans were
known to live in the jungle surrounding the palace, and the king, being the de facto owner of all the
land, immediately ordered a reconnaissance mission of his best guards to follow the source of the
river and find the man or beast who had been using his wood without royal permission.
After returning empty-handed from many exploratory trips, the king’s guards finally came across a
small hut deep in the forest inhabited by a wild-looking man and woman: Yaʔapa and Sunari Ama.
The guards surrounded the couple, apprehended Yaʔapa and escorted him to the king’s palace.
Fearing for his life, Yaʔapa brought with him a wild pheasant he had killed as an offering to appease
the angry king. Once in court, the king interrogated Yaʔapa and charged him with living on royal land
and killing royal game without permission. The king was angry, and sent the offender away under
heavy supervision, fixing a date for him to return and receive punishment. On that day, Yaʔapa
dutifully returned, but this time with a deer in tow as a present for the angry king. The king was now
furious at what he saw as the wanton destruction of his regal fauna, and sent Yaʔapa away again,
having fixed a date for their next meeting. Keeping his word, Yaʔapa arrived on the appointed day,
this time with a mountain goat as a present for the king. The king could now hold back his rage no
longer and informed Yaʔapa that he would be executed the following day. Understandably dejected,
Yaʔapa returned home to Sunari Ama for the last time, and told her of the king’s pronouncement.
2
More information on quite what kind of ‘nun’ this youngest daughter became has not been forthcoming. For
most narrators of this tale, she is out of sight and out of mind. It should be noted that in Thangmi society,
women who choose not to marry are often jokingly referred to as ‘nuns’ even though there is little expectation
that they remain celibate, and they do not resemble the celibate Buddhist religious practitioners which spring to
mind when one speaks of a ‘nun’ in a Himalayan cultural context.
4
While she had not travelled with him to the king’s court on his previous visits, preferring to remain at
home in the forest, she promised to accompany him the following day, and do what she could to
prevent his execution.
Arriving at the palace the next morning, Yaʔapa was immediately incarcerated and it became clear
that preparations for his execution were well underway. The couple were granted their final audience
with the king, and Sunari Ama pleaded for the release of her husband, but nothing that she offered the
king would change his mind. After much weeping, howling and bargaining, she offered to present the
king with something that he couldn’t already have in his palace: a golden deer. This she miraculously
did, and also produced a beautiful golden plate from within the long, tangled braids of her hair. The
king was greatly impressed and immediately released Yaʔapa from captivity and granted the couple
leave to settle on his land. As a token of his gratitude for the exotic presents, he asked them how much
land they wanted, to which the couple replied, ‘no more than the size of a buffalo skin’. The king
urged them to accept more, but they refused, requesting only that a buffalo skin be brought so that
they could show the king exactly how much they desired. This was duly done, and Yaʔapa proceeded
to cut the dried skin into extremely long, thin strips, which he then laid out in the shape of a huge
square, encircling much of the kingdom, and promptly demanded that the ruler honour his offer and
let them have a piece of land that size.3 So impressed was the king with the wit and ingenuity of the
Thangmi couple that he honoured his pledge and granted them their request. Confident in the king’s
promise, Yaʔapa and Sunari Ama returned to their previous habitation as the rightful owners of land
stretching from the Thangmi village of Ālampu in the north to the Sunkośī river in the west.4
Delighted by this unexpected resolution to their predicament, Yaʔapa and Sunari Ama returned to
their family. Yaʔapa instructed his seven sons, married to the seven daughters, to migrate to and settle
in far-lying parts of the area that they had been given by the king. In order to determine where each
son would settle, a second archery contest was organised. Together the seven brothers climbed to the
top of Kālincok ridge and shot their arrows as far as they could in diverse directions. Each brother
then tracked his arrow and settled where it had landed. The contemporary names of these original
seven settlements, most of which still have Thangmi inhabitants, organised by descending order of
the age of the sons who settled there are: Surkhe, Suspā, Dumkoṭ, Lāpilāṅ, Kusāti, Ālampu and
Kuthisyāṅ.
3
Readers familiar with the Tibetan origin story of Bodhnāth Stūpa will note a striking resemblance in these
details. The story of Bodhnāth tells of a female Tibetan trader who petitioned the local ruler to grant her a piece
of land the size of a buffaloskin to build a stupa for Buddhist merit. The ruler agreed and she proceeded to cut
the hide into thin strips which she laid out in what is the present-day arrangement of the Bodhnāth Stūpa. The
use of buffalo hide to demarcate the limits of land is clearly a common motif.
4
The southern and eastern borders of their land are not defined in this version of the story.
5
In all of these places, the Thangmi were granted exclusive hereditary rights to the land and maintained
them until comparatively recently through the kipaṭ system.5
4. Thangmi Ethnogenesis: Analysis
The account of the provenance of the Thangmi ethnic group narrated above is interesting for a number
of reasons, but in this short section I shall concentrate on only one of the many issues it raises: incest.
Incest involves sexual relations with people who are close relatives, or perhaps more correctly,
with individuals who are believed to be close relatives. While the incest taboo is as close as one can
get to a human universal, since all known cultures have some form of prohibition against it, quite who
qualifies for inclusion in the taboo and how the taboo is constructed is specific to each cultural
grouping. Even within Nepal there are significant variations. Some members of the Thakali
community, for example, still practise preferential cross cousin marriage by which a young man will
be encouraged to marry his mother’s brother’s daughter, and a young woman may be foresworn to her
father’s sister’s son. In Thakali society, however, the relationship between parallel cousins is akin to
that of siblings and thus fundamentally contravenes the incest taboo. By Thakali reckoning then, sex
between cross cousins is not incest because they are not considered to be relatives of the same order
as parallel cousins.
According to the rules of Thangmi descent, both cross cousin and parallel cousin marriage fall
within the domain of incest. The union of the seven brothers with their seven sisters described above
is still taken quite literally by many in the community, and the incestuous nature of the origin story
continues to cause many Thangmi consternation and shame. Being beef-eaters in a Hindu nation
which prohibits cow slaughter, and further being situated towards the lower end of the socio-
economic hierarchy, not to mention being largely unknown in the context of Nepal’s many ethnic
groups, the Thangmi community as a whole has particularly low self-esteem. This situation is
exacerbated by what is seen to be a shameful origin story. There are, of course, plenty of young
Thangmi men and women who do not interpret the origin story literally, whether it be the incestuous
section or the account of the golden deer, and prefer to view the whole narrative as allegory.
However exotic and distasteful these incestuous unions may be to contemporary Thangmi
sensibilities, the group is not alone in having an oral history which talks of sibling unions whence
lineages or clans derive. In fact, the very prevalence of such stories all over the world led the French
anthropologist Claude Lévi-Strauss to posit that the practice of incest, and then a subsequent taboo on
it, were fundamental patterns or ‘structural’ parts of what he called ‘mythologies’.6 One of the best
5
See Caplan (1970) and Regmi (1976) for detailed discussions of different forms of land ownership inNepal.
6
The classic publication on this topic is Lévi-Strauss (1958).
6
explanations of the incest taboo is that it may have arisen to ensure clan exogamy by forcing people to
marry outside of their direct family and close kin, thereby extending their network of social relations.
To conclude, since there were no other suitable mates for the children of the original Thangmi
couple, the incestuous unions, the subsequent dispersal of the married children and finally their
fragmentation into different clans, provide an archetypal explanation for the provenance of a small
ethnic group. One can imagine how, from the highly symbolic and symmetrical unions of the paired
children, a Thangmi incest taboo might have emerged.
The Thangmi are a distinct ethno-linguistic group indigenous to eastern Nepal but with important
migrant communities in southern Tibet and in India’s Darjeeling district. They speak an endangered
Tibeto-Burman language known as Thangmi or Thami, and are known for their elaborate oral
traditions and intricate oral literature. When performed, such orature resembles what we in the West
would call poetry which is why it is included in this collection.
The existence of a specifically Thangmi cosmogony and ethnic origin story narrated by
shamans, locally known as guru, is a defining marker of cultural identity for the group as a whole.
Although the Thangmi account of the world’s origin includes identifiably Hindu deities such as
Vishnu and Mahadev, and pan-Asian themes such as the lotus flower, these are mixed in with
uniquely Thangmi elements.
7
References
Caplan, Lionel. 1970. Land and Social Change in East Nepal: A Study of Hindu-Tribal
Relations. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul.
Central Bureau of Statistics. 2012. National Population and Housing Census 2011.
Kathmandu, Nepal: National Planning Commission Secretariat.
Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 1958. Anthropologie Structurale. Paris: Plon.
Regmi, Mahesh Chandra. 1976. Landownership in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California

Press.
Turin, Mark. 2012. Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the

Speakers and their Culture. 2 Volumes.Brill’s Tibetan Studies Library, Languages of the
Greater Himalayan Region, 5/6. Leiden: Brill.
8
IT’S A NEW COUNTRY! FOLKLORE AND NATIONALISM IN EARLY

CHILDREN’S LITERATURE IN BENGAL
Amrita Banerjee
Abstract
Children’s literature in Bengal was introduced along colonial lines that attempted to inculcate
colonial hierarchies between their native subjects and the colonial masters. However a
growing nationalist politics addressed this fertile sphere of influence by legitimizing the
forgotten and marginalized native imaginative literature. Anti-colonial politics of the
Swadeshi era, in its oppositional stance to colonial modernity, gave further push to a cultural
revival of indigenous literature and folklores. By the end of nineteenth century literature for
children in Bengali had moved from its initial simplistic didactic roots to contentious zone of
identity politics. In their search for authenticity the folk culture revisited as a site for cultural
reinvigoration. My paper attempts to read Abanindranath Tagore’s Khirer Putul (1986) as
crucial tract of the growing national consciousness and its strategic positioning of the ‘child’
within it.
Key Words: Children’s Literature, Nationalism, Folklore, Colonial education, identity.
The Anglicist phase of educational reforms riding on Macaulay’s famous minutes

attempted to instill a colonial supremacy and belligerent subject-hood with the clever
introduction of English literary productions in the colony. Marked as culturally superior
English Literature, and by extension English education, was introduced as a touchstone of
cultural ascendency. Gauri Viswanathan in her essay “Beginnings of English Education in
India” (1987) contends that as an ideological tool English literature almost substituted a
‘surrogate Englishman’ in all his glory and perfection (p.23). The first bunch of children’s
books circulated in the native markets was the translated versions of popular children’s
classics from the west. Although these translations were quiet popular the thrust in these early
years of children’s literature in Bengal were in producing proper textbooks for the newly
established colonial schools across the region. Instilled in the Macaulian virtues the early
children’s literature introduced in India by the missionary sahibs aimed at spreading the ‘wise
teachableness’ to her colonial subjects. In Bengal, print culture brought with it the early
School Book society Age of children’s literature that attempted through its simplistic
9
publications like Digdarshan (1818)to flood the native market with textbooks, “the perusal of
which may be the means of advance in the scale of civilization of all the inhabitants of the
British territories in India” (Gopal, p.118).
When concerned native scholars like Madanmohan Tarkalankar and Ischwarchandra

Vidyasar joined the campaign in reclaiming this fertile territory; their texts nevertheless
betrayed what Sibaji Bandyopadhy termed as the “Gopal-Rakhal dialectic”, a veiled follow-
up on the incomplete mission of colonial modernity in its utilitarian and empiricist pedagogy.
First conceived by Vidyasagar in his educational primer Barna Parichay, ‘Gopal’ in his
abiding servility becomes the emblemic image of the ‘good’ child and disciplined subject-
hood, while the abrasive child, “Rakhal’s” riotous individuality warned of rebellion and
chaos. This dyadic narrative of ideal childhood marks the early literary productions and
premiers on childhood in Bengal. As Bandhopadhay points out, according to Vidyasagar, the
essential relation that the adult shared with the child is that of a provider and provided and
therefore demanded a level of servility from the child. However these mutually exclusive
boundaries, so well entrenched by colonial education, had constantly been flouted in the
realm of alternative literary production particularly in realm of the indigenous folklores and
other non-canonical art forms.1 It is in the unfettered domain of indigenous mass culture,
away from the formal bhadralok educational pedagogy, that our early nationalist crusaders
located any possibility of cultural revival. Thus by the second half of the nineteenth century a
formidable range of native literary productions had come up that stressed the importance of
these ‘lost’ lores and captivated its young audience with an alternative romance of cultural
resurgence.2
By the late century oppressive political maneuvers, like Lord Curzon’s diplomatic
decision to partition Bengal in 1905, further fuelled an outburst of rebellion both in the
material and cultural productions of the era. The Swadeshi movement in its oppositional
stance to the colonial modernity located possibility in a cultural revival of indigenous
literature and folklores. By the end of nineteenth century literature for children in Bengali had
moved from its initial didactic roots to more patriotic productions that aimed at addressing
the idea of ‘desh’ or country. Children’s magazines and other leisure-reads no longer
bracketed their productions in classic mixing of instruction and delight but tried to politically
awaken its young audience by publishing a variety of snippets on science, geography and
world politics (Goswami, 2012, p. 140). Stalwarts of Bengali literary nationalism like
Pramadacharan Sen, Trailakyanath Mukhopadhyay, Upendrakishore Raychaudhury,
10
Rabindranath Tagore and Abanindranath Tagore veered their attention to etching out a
pleasurable and original literature for children as an alternative to the existing pedantic
textbook compilations. The revival of Bengali folklore in the children’s literature of the time
became a potent force to hail native traditions that unlocked an imaginative domain of the
enchanted and extraordinary. In his preface to Dakshinaranjan Mitra Majumdar's Thakumar
Jhuli (1907)Rabindranath equipped that the folk narratives are “extremely feminine”, replete
with the “maternal love of entire Bengal”. Therefore
when the youth of Bengal hears the tales he is not only happy to listen to the stories
related – the melody of Bengal’s eternal love for the young enters his imagination,
enriching him with appropriate emotion. That original and pristine emotion of eternal
Bengal is now hard to find. Even the girls have forgotten their natural language,
thanks to so-called education. (qtd in Bandhyopadhyay, p.71)
As a counter-point to the institutionalized colonial education that bound the child in

its pedantry and clock time, Tagore calls for a return to interactive pathshalas of our
‘modern grandmas” – to unloosen the imaginative wealth of our native culture. As Supriya
Goswami writes a common cultural antiquity is located in the untainted rusticity of Bengali
countryside for both the adult reader and child listener based on common folk culture. She
writes “Rabindranath Tagore’s validation of folklore – echoing the romantic nationalism of
the British Romantic Poets who glorified children and common folk as embodiments of
purity and innocence – ignited an interest in compiling Bengali folk tales and rhymes (p.141).
In the wake of this revivalist tendencies Abanindranath Tagore, nephew of

Rabindranath Tagore wrote Khirer Putul (1896) based on a compilation of local folklores by
Rabindranath’s wife, Mrinalini Devi. It is interesting that it is the ‘urbane’ western educated
Rabindranath’s ‘country’ wife, Mrinalini Devi, who took up his challenge to record these
untainted folklores of Bengal countryside in her dairy. This incomplete tract later found by
Abanindranath becomes the Khirer Putul as we know.3
Khirer Putul4 replays the essentialist nationalist narrative of regeneration and

reinvigoration of the fallen nation. The Raja who has displaced his devoted first wife for the
fancies of the younger one is the quintessential nation blinded by the onslaught of colonial
modernity. Within this dynamics the narrative reinforces the nationalist myth of the ‘ideal
woman’ by deliberately codifying her space in opposition to what is denunciated as her
inauthentic self. So the neglected Duo Rani fades away in obscurity stressed by her repetitive
11
“lone” privileges in opposition to the fabled “seven” glories of the other. Soon into the story
the blinded Raja takes a momentous pleasure trip that brings in the pivotal crisis in the drama.
Before embarking on his journey across the ‘seven seas’, the Raja had asked his wives
for their wishes. The materialistic Suo Rani catalogs an array of worldly ornaments – pearls,
stones and dresses. The childless duo Rani wants nothing but a domesticated monkey,
drawing attention to her miserable lot. The raja returns with the choicest jewels yet nothing
seems to fit/satisfy the worldly queen. The Duo rani however showers the anthropomorphic
monkey with instant love and devotion of an ideal mother. It is this monkey “son” that
becomes the purveyor of change. He first concocts a tale of false pregnancy and manages to
restore some of the lost glory of his ousted mother. The gullible raja enthusiastically falls for
the bait. The tension builds up in the story when the Raja demands his to see his child- the
future of his kingdom. Tagore ventures into folksy fertility myths of the Shashthi to
miraculous reinvent this fictional child. The story ends in scene of celebration culminating in
marriage, bliss and restoration of a more just order.
My paper attempts to read this iconic children’s fiction as a crucial document of the
growing nationalist paradigm that shifted its attention from the public sphere to the inner
domain to counter the onslaughts of a colonial modernity. Partha Chatterjee’s (1993) “Whose
imagined community?” makes the crucial claim that Third World nationalism was not
necessarily a mimetic consumption of a European model. The career of nationalism in India
proceeded in creating an autonomous cultural ‘inner’ domain in opposition to the material
‘outer’ domain. The outer domain remained a world of deprivations and compromises that
the native was at a loss to encounter. Without the possibility of political autonomy the
nationalists jealously strived to carve out an area of limited private autonomy in its spiritual
sphere. According to Chatterjee is in this inner domain that nationalism refashions itself as
“modern” national culture that is original and creative yet distinctly non-Western.
It is in this vein that the domain of the ‘family’ emerged as a private sphere of
intervention in forging the nationalist aspirations. The family unit has always served as a
brilliant model for the nation because of its conceived protective and governing nature. The
family as a constitutive unit, like the nation, could be seen as “naturally given” and imagined
along primordial lines. As Pradip Kumar Bose writes:
Thus central to the creation of the new private life was the idea of the nation
conceived as an ideological force, where the male child was to play a crucial role in
12
the construction of the future national culture and identity. The family was conceived
as the repository of civilizational values and the spiritual essence of the national
culture, and the child became part of what was desired or asserted (Bose, p.124).
Recovery of the nation was directly linked to regeneration in the private premises of
the home and family. The family as a proto-nation required increased supervision and
regulation in order to deliver modern and advanced future denizens of the conceived nation.
By the middle of the nineteenth century this understanding had already produced an array of
advisory and cautionary tracts on questions of home management, child education, dietary
regulations, health and hygiene. The role the women / mother is harped upon as the key
interventionist in this model. Critics bemoaned the growing fatality of the sick and
malnourished childhood plaguing the Bengal. By its complicated logic a negligent mother
ruins the child and by implication the family which in turns pollutes the society or the nation.
Therefore training and care is required in building the national character. As a tract on
domestic science emphasized “Well-trained children are the pride of the country” with bad
training and corrupt morals, they only bring disgrace to the family and become the scum of
the nation”. (Bose, p.123). A direct link is forged between national regeneration and
restructuring childhood.
As Bose assets it meets Anderson’s conception of “a halo of disinterestedness” which

calls for sacrifices. However the burden of sacrifices now falls upon the parents – as
supervisors of national character building to nurture future generations along the principals of
austerity and self-deprivation. It is important that the governing principals of childrearing
operate as a constant reminder of the subjugated and improvised state of the colonized nation.
Cautionary notes are made regarding overindulgence and luxurious lifestyle as being inimical
to national character formation. In conceiving the ideal along ascetic renunciation over a
European styled self-directed personality childhood is re-imagined along “modern”
nationalist principals.
It is curious that the nationalists conceived ‘childhood’ as important zone of

intervention because as Ashis Nandy writes in Reconstructing Childhood(1984-85) the idea
of childhood had acted as important narrative of colonial and disciplinary control. Childhood
as a particular stage in maturation is a particularly modern concept that saw adulthood as
synonymous with maturity, rationality and completeness while childhood was seen as “an
inferior version of an adult- as a lovable, spontaneous, delicate being who is simultaneously
13
dependent, unreliable, willful and succourant and, therefore, someone who needs to be
guided, protected and educated as a ward (Nandy, p.159). Colluding with of idea of
progresses and modernity, this binary and transitional conception of adulthood/ childhood
acted in reinstating the colonial narrative of “white man’s burden” that necessitates the adult
European intervention.
Much of the contemporary readings on nationalist phase have researched on the

glorification of the mother image as the ‘ultimate identity’ of the women in its equation with
the nation. As Jasodhara Bagchi points out in Representing Nationalism (1990) by
conceiving the nation in the dual image of the “unselfish, all-suffering, ever forgiving
mother” that provides refuge to her “neglected son” and also the powerful Shakti who
avenges all wrong, the nationalists fraught the mother image with revolutionary potential.
Abanindranath Tagore’s Swadeshi iconography conceived a Bharat Mata endowed with the
familiarity of the everyday Bengali mother mythicized by a spiritual halo that provoked both
awe and adoration4. However this glorification of motherhood acted as a consolatory and
constrictive instrument in the hands of the nationalist patriarchy:
The internalisation of this so-called ideal that nationalism put up for women simply
reinforced the traditional notion that fruitation of women’s lives lay in producing
heroic sons….Numerous women died, trying to produce yet another son. Numerous
women were deserted for their failure to produce a male child (Bagchi, p. WS 70)
Khirer Putul positions itself crucially within this nationalist narrative where Duo rani
becomes the quintessential image of nationalist motherhood - haloed and deified as all-giving
mother, yet exiled and dethroned not only by the colonial regime but by the lack of
legitimacy of her claim as the bearer of the future “Sons of the nation”. From the onset the
author sharply etches this narrative of entitlement and privilege that is validated by women’s
reproductive function. Duo Rani’s sad plight then becomes a metaphor of national
humiliation in the hands of the materialistic West (here the new queen or Suo Rani)
sanctioned by the patriarchal Raja whose desire for an heir initiates the process. This theme
of fall from former glory because of the colonial machinery is reinstated in various nationalist
narratives of the era – from Bamkinchandra’s three images of the mother to Aurobindo’s
mythical mother in his early nationalist text. Yet what is curious about Khirer Putul is how
overtly it comes to play in an apparently children’s book. By sharply redrawing the
boundaries between privilege and lack based on the fruitation of the womb the text betrays
14
some of the patriarchal anxieties and biases of the emerging nationalism. Thus initially we
come to know that the villainous second rani is responsible for Duo Rani’s fallen state.
That demoness used black magic on my Raja and took away my seven storied palace,
seven hundred maids, and seven locks of treasure. Now she resides in abundance on
her flowery bed in her golden temple. She took away my Raja who was everything to
me and made a pauper. (Tagore, my trans, p. 22)
It is interesting to note that what is lamented includes an array of material loss that
accompanies this displacement from power. However a little further in the narration the
relationship between fertility and privilege becomes apparent:
I had everything, but by some ill omen I could not deliver ason to the Raja. Alas! I
wonder how I must have sinned in my previous birth…that I must lose my family, my
womb, my husband to another….(Tagore, my trans, p. 22).
It is interesting that this lopsided situation is overhauled not by any change in the
governing principals of validation but by the privileged positioning of the child- albeit not a
natural one. It is Duo rani surrogate son – the anthropomorphic monkey who pledges to
avenge the wrong that his mother witnesses. As Sumit Sarcar writes about the Swadeshi
uprising a change could be seen in the national imagination at the wake of the political
turmoil. “The old habits of slightly effeminate weeping over the present and casting nostalgic
glances back towards a very largely imaginary past were gradually giving place to this new
mood of confidence and optimism”(295) In almost a mimetic reinstatement of revolutionary
patriotism we hear him pledge:
I shall avenge your sorrow, my mother. I shall return to you, your golden palace, your
princely abode, and your seven hundred attendants. I shall reinstate you and your
golden child in your rightful place, in the golden temple, beside the Raja. Only then
shall I be true to my name. (p.22)
Tagore delves into the realm fancy and romance, suspending disbelief to aid this
transformation. As the monkey cooks a tall tale of potential pregnancy the Raja is jubilant at
the possibility: “What say you monkey? Is it true? The eldest queen will have a child?”(p.26)
Butclose to this triumphant exaltation always lurks the threat of death penalty: “Know that if
this news is proved false I will kill both you and your mother!” Duo rani is skeptical being
once dispossessed for failing to meet this key criterion; but the Raja already dreams of a
15
glorious future. “If it’s a son I shall make him the king. If a daughter, then I shall give my
kingdom to my son-in law. I was deeply troubled about the future; now all my troubles are
gone.” (p.28)
The gendered bifurcation of this conceived future betrays the differential expectations
at revolutionary dawn of new nation. In her new found status, Dou Rani’s plight undergoes
an amazing transformation – dietary, sartorial and material. But Sou Rani like the colonial
west doesn’t accept this switch ungrudgingly. She challenges the new order by attacking the
source of disarrangement – sabotaging the possibility of a better future but poisoning the
womb. Yet once again the Duo rani’s pet monkey like mythical Hanuman of Ramayana
brings the magic portion that can rescue the situation. Duo Rani survives and the monkey
spreads the word that a son is born. The raja is elated and wants to see his heir, but the
monkey prevents catastrophe with yet another lie – see thy son before he marries and you fall
dead. The raja agrees to wait till the marriageable age arrives. Ten years pass the date for
marriage arrives. Duo rani knows she is now in a tight spot. But her monkey son confidently
asks her to mould a condensed milk doll, dresses him like a prince and carries him in his
marital palanquin to the bride’s village. On the way he deliberately devises it to be left
unattended and provokes Shashti, the folk goddess of fertility, to seek her daily offering in
the milk made doll.
It is interesting that Shashthi is almost duped and blackmailed to replace the doll with
a real child. With Shashthi’s help the monkey steps into the realm of the fairyland to choose a
child. Tagore draws on the folk narratives of everyday Bengali mothers - of the fabled sleep
inducing sisters, Shashthi myths and popular lullabies to recreate an alternative world. It is
crucial that this alternative universe is drawn in sharp contrast to the anxieties and lack of the
colonial present. As the monkey describes it, “This is a new country, a dreamland. Here there
are no schools, no schoolmasters, no canes. Here children run around and play…” (p.51)
Sanjay Sircar in Shashthi’s Land (1998) points out that there is a deliberate removal
of landscape from the urban commercial space of the “bazaar-lands” or the domestic disputes
of the two queens in the first part of the story, to a more rural setting in the later half:
So Dignagar, outside Shashthi’s Land, and Shashthi Land itself, at a time wh

ethnic cultural nationalism was a strong reaction to British colonialism, constitute a
celebration of the Bengal countrypeople, and their customs of bathing, making
sweetmeats, celebrating marriages, and fishing. Both are also a celebration of the
16
Bengal countryside with its fields, groves, river-banks, trees, and animals. (Sircar, pp.
33-34).
The monkey abducts one of these happy children from the fairyland and brings him to
the king. The story ends like most fairy tales with a happy ever after - marriage and
celebration. The king leaves his kingdom in the care of his newfound son, makes the brilliant
monkey his mister while Suo Rani dies of heartbreak. In the end the unnamed territory is
retrieved and peace and bounty befalls the land/ desh. Thus by giving the child/ monkey the
pivotal role in the story Tagore implicitly puts the burden of action and change on his young
and juvenile readers.
Seeped in indigenous folklore and myths, Khirer Putul, published at the turn of the
twentieth century, remains a crucial document of the growing anxiety with the colonial
situation and campaign for national rejuvenation. The colonial school based curriculum with
its implicit didacticism finds its adversary in the uncharted domain of these native
imaginative cultural productions. Written for the future ‘sons of the nation’ it marks the
moment when the extraordinary complicates the prosaic binaries of colonial justifications and
paves the way for an alternative identity.
Notes:
1. Rimi B. Chatterjee and Nilanjana Gupta New Delhi (2009) Reading Children: Essays On
Children's Literature draws discusses the western influences on early children’s writings in
Bengal “Perhaps it was because the interaction of Bengalis with Britishers and Britishness
was particularly close and personal that the idea of children’s literature took root very early in
Bengal.” But goes on to elaborate how the “Bengali version, as with much else that was
successfully naturalized, soon departed strongly from its European models” (Chatterjee and
Gupta, Intro, p. 10-11)
2. Gargi Gangopadhay’s (2013) essay “"Our Motherland" Mapping an Identity in Bengali

Children's Literature that appeared inKit Kelen and Björn Sundmark eds. The nation in
Children’s Literature: Nations of Childhoodprovides detailed analysis of the rise of folklore
and imaginative writings of this era. While discussing the growing nationalist trend in
childhood writing she says: “Determined efforts to construct a deshbodh [a sense of
nationhood] can be seen in the persistent ways through which the late-nineteenth-century
17
children's writers sought to recover the popular oral literature of their forgotten childhoods.
Not only did they repeatedly relive and recollect the nostalgia of those "ideal" childhoods in
their memoirs, autobiographies, and other non- fictional writings, they also consciously
absorbed folk motifs and plot variants in their original writings for children” (p. 143).
3. Monideepa Sahu (2013) in Rabindranath Tagore: Puffin Lives discusses how Mrinalini
Devi was inducted to the “ingabanga” (Bengalis exposed to English culture) after being
married to the Tagore family. She not only goes through a name change but was formally
schooled in the Loreto convent to accustom herself to the urbane and progressive Tagores.
4. For this paper I have translated a later day publication of Abanindrantha Tagore’s Bengali
text of Khirer Putul that appeared in 1986. The original was published in 1896. Gargi
Gangopadhay is her digital archive of Bengali children’s literature notes:Ksheerer Putul was
written as part of the Balyagranthabali or a children’s books series. Conceived by
Rabindranath Tagore around 1895, Balyagranthabali was at that time a novel venture.
Aiming to produce a set of entertaining books for children the idea of such a series as well as
the titles under its banner like Nadi and Shankuntala, signal an important turning point in the
history of Bengali children’s books. (http://bengalichildrensbooks.in/Ksheerer_Putul.php)
18
References
Viswanathan, Gauri. (1987). The Beginnings of English Literary Study in British

India.Oxford Literary Review. 9(1/2), 2-26.
Bandhyopadhyay, Sibaji. (2015). The Gopal Rakhal Dialectic: Colonialism and Children’s
Literature in Bengal. Trans by Rani Ray and Nivedita Sen. New Delhi: Tulika Books.
Goswami, Supriya. (2012). Colonial India in Children’s Literature. New York: Routledge.
Tagore. Abanindranath.(1986). Khirer Putul. Calcutta: Ananda Publishers.
Chatterjee, Partha. (1993). Whose Imagined Community? In Nation and its Fragments:
Colonial and Postcolonial Histories. (pp. 3-13). New Jersey: Princeton University
Press.
Bose, Pradip Kumar. (1995). Sons of the Nation. In Partha Chatterjee (Eds.) Texts of Power:
Emerging Disciplines in Colonial India. (pp.118-144). Minneapolis: University of
Minnesota Press.
Sircar, Sanjay. (1998). Shashthi's Land: Folk Nursery Rhyme in Abanindranath Tagore's
"The Condensed-Milk Doll" Asian Folklore Studies, 57(1), 25-49.
Bagchi, Jasodhara. (Oct. 20-27, 1990). Representing Nationalism: Ideology of Motherhood in

Colonial Bengal, Economic and Political Weekly, 25 (42/43), WS65-WS71.
Sumit Sarkar. (1973). The Swadeshi Movement In Bengal 1903-1908. New Delhi. People’s
Publishing House.
Nandy, Ashis. (1984-85). Reconstructing Childhood: A Critique of the Ideology of

Adulthood Alternatives X, 359-375.
19
FISHERMEN’S ORIGIN NARRATIVES IN ASSAM: A DESCRIPTIVE

STUDY
Dr. Avijit Kumar Dutta
Abstract
This research paper intends to discuss some origin narratives of fishing communities in order
to observe how these narratives explore their beliefs in divinity and legends. Fishing
communities in Assam nourish and cherish these narratives which reveal their faith in divine
and legendary figures. Moreover, origin narratives of this occupational community also
express their submission to divine powers. This research paper is an attempt to describe
some of these narratives that represent belief patterns of fishing communities, living in
Assam.
( Key Words:Fishing Communities, Origin Narratives, Divinity, Legends )
Introduction
Origin myths may be defined as the accounts of the ways in which the supernatural
agents formed the earth, the creatures and such other original elements by a series of creative
acts. Human beings are always inquisitive of the origins of everything. They raise questions
about the appearance of human species, the creation of the earth, the twinkling of the stars and
so on and so forth. The answers to these questions deal with their fancy and imagination and
from time immemorial, they believe that human beings, the world and all the natural and
celestial objects were brought into being by a series of creative activities. This process of
creation or the series of such creative activities are accepted as the work of some supernatural
forces or supernatural agents. On the basis of these interpretations, there are numerous
accounts of how these supernatural agents formed the earth and its people. These
interpretations are generally considered as origin myths, which deal with the concept of
originality, associated with the creation of the things and events.
Fishing communities in Assam enrich and practice various narratives that reflect their
beliefs about their creation and the origin of them. These narratives express their faith and
20
beliefs about some divine and supernatural powers in the form of deities. Fishing, being a
caste based occupation, is considered by them as a sacred practice and the acceptance of this
occupation is also identified with some divine and legendary characters, glorifying their
occupation and reflecting their beliefs in mythical characters.
Objectives of the Study:
This study tries to focus on:
 Fishermen’s Origin Narratives, defining and glorifying Occupation
 Fishermen’s Origin Narratives, associated with Divinity
 Fishermen’s Origin Narratives, associated with Legends
Review of Related Studies:
Authors and scholars have already discussed belief patterns of the fishing
communities. While some of them have narrated their narratives, myths and legends, some
others have narrated their society and culture, based on their folk life. Some of such books are
as follows:
In Japanese Religions, edited by Martin Repp, Johannes H. Wilhelm narrates some

folk beliefs of the fishermen of Japan in ‘Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Beliefs of
Japanese Fishing Villages: With Special Reference to Yoriiso (Miyagi) and the Sanriku
Region’. In it, Wilhelm discusses the concept of yama (an empirical observable feature of
topography and specific knowledge about the environment) which, he finds present in beliefs
and customs of the Japanese fishermen.
In Malay Fishermen: Their Peasant Economy, Raymond Firth makes numerous

references to Malay Customs and beliefs which prevail in the occupational society of the
Malyan fishermen. Apart from the social and economic conditions of this fishing peasentry,
beliefs in spirits like the spirit of the sea (hantu laut), the rice spirit etc. are also narrated in
this book.
Craig T. Palmer explains ritual taboos of fishermen in his work, titled The Ritual
Taboos of Fishermen. In it, the author narrates the ‘anxiety-ritual theory’ with reference to the
ideas, developed by Bronislaw Malinowski. Based on his questionnaire survey of lobstermen
21
in a port in Southern Maine, the author also discusses the apparent correlation between
amount of ritual behavior and extended trip fishing.
Devendra Kumar Bezbaruah narrates some folk beliefs and traditions and culture of
the fishermen of the Brahmaputra valley of Assam in his book Brohmoputro Uppotyokar
Koivarta Jatir Ruprekha. The author narrates some common beliefs, prevalent among
fishermen and analyses these beliefs in the context of Assamese society.
Methodology:
This study relies on primary and secondary sources and brings out a descriptive
analysis of collected resources.
A. Primary Sources:
In order to collect data systematically and scientifically, certain research

methodology has been adopted during the field work in the villages of Assam, inhabited by
fishing communities. During field survey, data have been collected systematically which
have been processed and analysed in due course in order to achieve the scope and the
objectives of this research work.
During the field work, observation methods and interview methods have been
adopted to collect the relevant information. Directive and non-directive interview methods
have also been adopted during the field study along with the survey method. Moreover,
questionnaire method has been applied to get the relevant data. Similarly, the audio-visual
techniques have been applied while recording the interviews of the informants.
B. Secondary Sources:
Library work has been undertaken in some libraries like Krishnakanta Handique
Library, Gauhati University, State Library, Assam, District Library, Guwahati, Assam,
Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute, Guwahati, Assam and Sivasagar District Library,
Sivasagar, Assam. Some local libraries, situated at the villages, inhabited by fishing
communities have also been visited while going to the villages for collecting information.
22
Analysis
A. Fishermen’s Origin Narratives, defining and glorifying Occupation:
Fishing communities in Assam have some narratives to express their originality in the
earth. The tendency behind these origin narratives refer to their incessant effort to equalize
themselves with other castes and to uplift their identity in a society in which they are
humiliated and becomethe victims of some barbarous customs that bring their position to the
lower orders. While some of these original narratives deal with some folk deities, narrating
their miraculous activities and association with fishing, some other narratives refer to the
heroic deeds of some legendary figures like noble sages and kings who directly or indirectly
had some impact on the folk life of fishing communities. Two of such narratives are as
follows:
Soubiri was a sage. He gave up everything for the sake of a noble and virtuous life. He
was in meditation to realize the power of the soul. One day, he felt the urge for sexual
gratification. With the help of meditation, he sent his sperm to his wife through air. The
sperm, on its way fell into the sea. A fish swallowed the sperm. After some days, the fish
gave birth to a girl child. Her name was Satyabati, who later married and gave birth to
thousand sons who became fishermen and the forefathers of fishing communities.
Different classes and castes may be compared to the limbs of Lord Brahma, as
described in the scripture, the Adi Jamal. This scripture narrates that the Brahmin appears
from the forehead of Lord Brahma. The Kshatriyas appear from the shoulders of Brahma.
The Koivartas, commonly known as fishermen, appear from the feet of Lord Brahma. This
analysis of the limbs of Lord Brahma is accepted by the fishermen that reveal their beliefs in
the power of this divine spirit.
B. Fishermen’s Origin Narratives, associated with Divinity:
The Hindus believe in and worship Vishnu, Shiva, Brahma and some other folk
deities. These folk gods and goddesses are depicted in our epics with their divine power and
valour. These folk gods and goddesses have different names and manifestations at the folk
level. Fishing communities in Assam accept these folk deities as the creator of their
community. Beliefs in the divinity of these folk deities can be noticed in their folk society.
Some of these origin myths of fishing communities, collected from field studies, undertaken
in various parts of Assam are discussed in the following lines to see how these origin
narratives explore the beliefs of the fishermen in divinity. Hence, their sense of imagining
23
deities as their kith and kin are also noticed in these narratives wherein rests the concept of
some interesting stories.
Fish is the incarnation of lord Vishnu. Fishermen believe that Lord Vishnu helped
them by becoming fish. Fishermen are the kith and kin of this folk god. Since fishing
communities catch fish, they are associated with the fish incarnation of Vishnu.
Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswar are the three brothers. Brahma created the heaven, the
earth and water. Being the eldest brother, he ordered Vishnu to rule over Devalok (dwelling
place of gods and goddesses) and asked Maheswar to become the chief of Koilash (dwelling
place of Lord Shiva). Brahma started living in water and created fish in it. He also created
fishermen to catch fishes from the waterbeds, his dwelling place.
C. Origin Narratives, associated with Legends:
Fishermen often identify themselves with some legends, associated with the
mysterious lives of some ancient kings and sages. As legends are set in a period, considered
less remote, when the world was much as it is today, fishermen believe in the narratives,
associated with these legendary figures with whom they find the association of their lives.
These legendary characters and the narratives, based on their activities, commonly known as
legends support their origin in this world from time immemorial. The following are some
original narratives of fishing communities, associated with some noble kings and sages which
reflect their beliefs in legends, associated with these ancient and historic figures.
King Sagar was the king of the world. During his reign, the world was full of water.
Sagar was accustomed to fishing in the water beds. One day, he found ornaments, jewellery
and many valuable metals in his net while fishing. Being a man free from instincts, he threw
all those into deep water. Narayana, the Almighty was impressed with what the king did and
appeared before him. The Almighty declared that the king must be an honest person as he did
not have any greed for valuables. Narayana blessed him saying that the valuable metals
would feed him and his future generation. Those ornaments and jewellery became the fishes
and the king and his kith and kin took to catching fishes for earning money.
Dhivar was an ancient king. His tribe was engaged in fishing. The king was the forefather
of fishing communities and the people of his country gave birth to all the fishermen and
fisherwomen of the world.
24
Conclusion
Fishermen’s narratives and beliefs in Assam reflect their tendency to assimilate

themselves with various deities, commonly worshipped by the people of Assam. Their
occupation of catching fish is linked with these narratives as these narratives somehow refer
to the habit of catching fish. Moreover, they are generally considered to be the outcastes and
they are deprived of opportunities enjoyed by others. Under such circumstances, they
incessantly try to equalize their position in society and to react against some barbarous
customs that lower their social position. By sharing these narratives, fishing communities in
Assam try to glorify their occupational identity by relating themselves with divinity and
legends. By doing so, they try to prove that they are by no means inferior to other upper
castes and social classes andhave the same root and origin like any other folk people.
25
References
Bascom, W.R. “The Forms of Folklore: Prose Narratives.” The Journal of American
Folklore 1965: 3-20.
Bezbaruah, Devendra Kumar. Brohmoputra Upotyakar koivarta Jatir Ruprekha (in

Assamese) (A Chronological History of the Kaivartas of Brahmaputra Valley) 1997.
Datta, Birendranath (ed) A Handbook of Folklore Material of North-East India. Guwahati:

Anundoram Borooah Institute of Language, Art & Culture, 1994.
Dorson, Richard M (ed) Folklore and Folklife An Introduction. Chicago and London: The
University of Chicago Press, 1972.
Frazer, Sir James George. The Golden Bough. London: Macmillan and Co. 1959.
Firth, Raymond. Malay Fishermen: Their Peasant Economy: W. W. Norton and Company,
Inc. 1975.
Georges Robert A. & Jones, Michael Owen. Folkloristics An Introduction. Bloomington:

Indiana University Press, 1995.
Leach, Maria(ed) Standard Dictionary of Folklore Mythology and Legend. Newyork:Funk

and Wagnalls Ltd.1949.
Palmer, Craig T. “The Ritual Taboos of Fishermen An Alternative Explanation. Maritime

Anthropological Studies (MAST), 1989
Wilhelm, Johannes H. “Traditional Ecological Knowledge in the Beliefs of Japanese Fishing

Villages: With Special Reference to Yoriiso (Miyagi) and the Sanriku Region” Japanese
Religions (ed.) Martin Repp. Vol. 30. Issue 1& 2, 2005.
26
Appendix I
Names and addresses of the informants:
1. Bholanath Das 82 years Azra, Kamrup, Assam
2. Harobala Das 65 years Azra, Kamrup, Assam
3. Mano Das 58 years Rangia, Kamrup, Assam
4. Shyama Das 65 years Rajabari, Kamrup, Assam
5. Probhat Das 65 years Solmara, Nalbari, Assam
6. Protap Keot 70 years Solmara, Nalbari, Assam
7. Bishu Das 48 years Tukrapara, Barpeta, Assam
8. Pachananda Das 70 years Tukrapara, Barpeta, Assam
9. Saran Das 57 years Alamgonjo, Dhuburi, Assam
10. Manik Das 85 years Kakripara, Dhuburi, Assam
11. Subho Keot 33 years Ajar Guri, Sivasagar, Assam
12. Arun Ch. Das 93 years Boka Bill, Sivasagar, Assam
Appendix II
Questionnaire- Pattern of the investigation:
1. Name of the Informant
2. Origin Narratives, defining Occupation of catching fish
3. Origin Narratives related to Divinity
4. Origin Narratives related to Legends
5. Origin Narratives and Folk Life
27
“HOW YOU DARE DEFY ME, I SHALL SEE”: THE CONTOURS OF

HIERARCHICAL CONJUGALITY IN NEPALI TEEJ SONGS
Balram Uprety
Abstract
If present cannot be constructed and understood without past, the oral corpus remains
invaluable for understanding our history as well as our present: who/what we are is intimately
related to what and how we have been. One of the most important archives of our past is
preserved in the corpus of folk literature.7 However, in the study of gender in Southeast Asia,
the use of oral literature remains curiously peripheral. It would be fairly safe to assume that
the construction of the historiography of gender would remain incomplete without oral
literature. Using the corpus of Nepali Teej songs, this paper seeks to show how the folk
corpus can be used to understand the articulation of gender power politics in the conjugal
domain of domesticity. Foucault says that the discourse of desire is also the discourse of
power.8In other words, power is the matrix of all relations, including the conjugal one.
Through a careful investigation of the Nepali Teej songs, this paper seeks to show the
essential phallocentricity of the upper-caste conjugality. It would be wrong to assume that
such phallocentricity has gone uncontested. The chauvinistic silencing and the attempted
patriarchal erasure of Nepali women’s resistance and protest underline the essential
patriarchal violence that defines Brahminical Nepali conjugality.
Keywords: oral literature, gender, alternative historiography, hierarchical conjugality.
Understanding Tīj: Contexts and Concepts

Before analyzing the conjugal power politics in the upper-caste Nepali conjugality, it
is important to define and contextualize Tij. Tij is considered one of the most significant folk
festivals of Nepal.9 The Tīj in Nepal celebrates female agency as well as more quotidian
7
Birendranath Datta, Affinities between Folkloristics and Historiography: Some Theoretical Implications in the
Context of Medieval and Modern History of North-East India. (Chennai: National Folklore Support Centre,
2002), 23-24.
8
Michel Foucault, The History of Sexuality: An Introduction, vol. 2, The Use of Pleasure, trans. Robert Hurley
(New York: Vintage Books, 1990), 20-32.
9
The Indian festival that most closely approximates the nuances and gender paradigm of Tij is karuva chouth.
The patriarchal metaphor of fasting—fasting for the long life of one’s husband—underlines the similarity
between these two festivals. What separates, however, the NepaliTij from karuva chouth is the presence of
songs. Tij songs cannot be separated from the ritual complex of Tij. More importantly, karuva chouth as well
the Indian avatar of Tij in Punjab, Rajasthan, Utter Pradesh and Uttarakhand has remained largely archetypal
and patriarchal. In the Nepali context, Tij songs have become, especially in the early 1980s and 1990s, the most
28
aspects of women’s lives. Most importantly, Tīj is associated with songs, dancing and
singing. In the eastern part of Nepal, the song that accompanies the celebration of Tīj is
known as Sangini; in other parts of Nepal, it is simply called Tījé gīt.
Ajayabhadra Khanal states that in the social history of Nepal, especially in the hilly
region, Tīj has played the most central role in the emancipation of women.10In the politically
charged writing of leading Nepali editorial columns, Tīj becomes Nepali women and vice
versa. It becomes an event that spans the lives of all Nepali women, not only the Hindu ones,
thus linking the festival with the nation-building project. In the Gorkhapatra Daily, the editor
writes that:
The ambience of the entire country has been carnivalized by the festivity ushered in
by the Haritālikā Tīj. Unforgettable is the ever-swelling confluence of literature,
music and art collectively created by women participating in Tīj. It must be the
uniqueness of Tīj that it is not confined amongst Hindu women alone. Today, Tīj has
become intimate and indispensable for non-Hindu as well as for the Hindu women
who would not celebrate it traditionally. Therefore, to describe this festival of pan-
Nepali women as a festival of Hindu women would be a distortion.11
The metonymic identification of Tīj with Nepali women underscores the way in
which women-centric events are made out to have become the ‘face’ of the modern-yet-
traditional nation. On the festival of Tīj, women expect to be taken to their māita12 for
celebration no matter how far away their māita is. If women are denied this, their anguish and
agony leads to poignant lamentation reflected in the songs.Amongst Hindu women Tīj is
almost an affirmation of certain aspects of what patriarchy has conditioned them into thinking
of as ‘essential’ aspects of their selfhood, such as their role as daughter, wife and mother.
Celebrated annually from bhādra, śukla dwitiyā (mid-August to mid-September) to
panchami, the celebration of Tīj is associated with many mythological stories. On dwitiyā,
women feast on milk, curd, butter, sweets, fruits and numerous delicacies; it is an indulgent
powerful instrument of feminist protest and gender sensitization.It is therefore not surprising that Nepali women
today look at Tij as a metaphor of female and feminist liberation and carnival. This feminist transformation of
Tij from archetypal patriarchal to the feminist carnival is not the focus of this paper. This paper focuses more on
the patriarchal violence rather than its contestations in the songs produced during and after the politically
charged decades of the 1980s and 1990s.
10
Ajayabhadra Khanal, “Miss Nepal, Tīj Ani Saśaktikaraṇ: Pu͂jibādle Mahilā Unmukti Andolanlāi Bandhak
Banāuncha?” (Miss Nepal Tīj and empowerment: has the movement for women’s emancipation become a pawn
of capitalism?), Open Ed, Annapurna Post, September 1, 2011. My translation.
11
Editorial, Gorkhapatra Daily,September 12, 2010. My translation.
12
Their parental home.
29
preparation for the rigorous fasting to be undertaken on the next day. The gastronomical
indulgence is known as dar khāne that is, ‘to feast on dar’. Thus the festival oscillates
between the sacred and the secular. On tritiyā, married women and unmarried girls who have
started menstruating go through rigorous fasting, mostly without water. From the early
morning, the fasting women go to a river or any water body to bathe and worship Shiva-
Parvati and sing bhajans. On panchami, women worship saptarṣi, the seven mythological
riṣis. The seven riṣis are considered in Brahminical culture to be the sources of male spiritual
pedigree. The riṣi pujā is, according to traditional accounts, supposed to ‘rescue’ women
from the sin of touching men when they become ‘untouchable’ during menstruation.
The folk festival of Teej has two components: the ritual and the lyrical. The ritual of
Teej—fasting for the longevity of the life of one’s husband and the purificatory ritual bating
on Panchami constitute the patriarchal ritual complex of Teej. The genre of Teej is, however,
incomplete without Teej Geet or Sangini songs. In Teej songs are a living testimony to
patriarchal script of gender in Nepali Parbatiya Brahminical society. It would, however, be
wrong to say that women have not contested and resisted their patriarchal oppression. The
Teej songs show the simultaneous unfolding of oppression and resistance, hegemony and
counter-hegemony, the official and the subversive carnival.
Contextualising Brahminical Conjugality
The dread of female sexuality haunts the Brahminical scriptural corpus, from the
Bhagavadgītā to the Manusmṛti, from Chanakya to Shankaracharya. According to Michel
Foucault, the Grecian anxiety about the destructive potential of sexuality was predicated upon
an aesthetics of self that valorized moderation, self-mastery and self-control.13 The
Brahminical conceptualization of sexuality, especially female sexuality, was predicated upon
the numenal ethics of transcendence and mukti. In the Brahminical ‘spiritual’ telos, female
sexuality became an obstacle that needed constant surveillance and subordination.14 The
13
Ibid.
14
The Bhagavadgītā grapples with the vision of dystopia: the dystopian Kaliyuga occurs when
women get wicked, breed indiscriminately leading to varṇaśankara - the mixing of varṇas.
For details, see Bhagavadgītā, 1:41; TheCaṇakyanīti, always an unproblematized source of
aphorisms and wisdom for the patriarchal Parbatiya imagination, consistently emphasizes the
need to regulate, domesticate and police the wanton wildness and the insatiable diabolical
appetite of female sexuality. See Caṇakyanīti, 1: 4,5,11,15,17; 2:1,2,3,15,20; 3: 9; 4:
13,16,17; 5: 1,15; 6: 3,12; 7: 1,11; 8: 8,9; 9: 13; 16:13. The characteristic suspicion of female
sexuality in Manusmṛti is only too well known. Oscillating between two extreme poles of
30
maintenance of ‘purity’ in all its diverse and complex forms was, for a householder, a poor
‘spiritual’ substitute for the ascetic’s renunciation. The divine economy of mukti as well as
the secular economy of succession was, to a large extent, predicated upon the regulation
achieved through the systematic control of potentially transgressive female sexuality.15
Simone de Beauvoir’s analysis of the Hegelian master-slave dialectic helps us better

appreciate the hierarchical relationship between husband and wife in the upper caste Nepali
household. The relationship has been documented widely by anthropologists such as
Cameron.16The anxiety of patriarchy about an essentially transgressive female sexuality17
seems to have set the cultural agenda documented in the following song, where the woman is
forbidden from going too far away from her husband’s home in the fear that control over the
woman will diminish:18
Wife: On the other side of the globe,

They say, lives my bābā.
O to meet my bābā, shall I go swāmi rājai?
Husband: Your heartless father loves you not,
Do not go, O Grihalaksmi, to meet your bābā.
Wife: Even though he loves me not,

My love for him is intact.
O to meet my bābā, shall I go swāmi rājai?
Husband: I shall not allow this at any cost,
deification and vilification, the Manusmṛti - a canonical rule book for Parbatiya patriarchy -
seeks to regulate female sexuality. See Manusmṛti 3:56, 57; 5: 147-151.
15
See Lynn Bennett, Dangerous Wives and Sacred Sisters: Social and Symbolic Roles of High-Caste Women in
Nepal (New York: Columbia University Press, 2002), 40-51; Michael Allen and S.N.Mukherjee, eds. Women in
India and Nepal, (New Delhi: Sterling Publishers Private Limited, 1990), 1-18; Uma Chakravarti, Gendering
Caste Through a Feminist Lens (Calcutta: Stree, 2006), 66-80.
16
Cameron, On the Edge of the Auspicious, 144-50.
17
Women’s limitless libidinal appetite is one of the central stereotypes in the canonical Sanskrit texts. ‘Women
eat twice as much as men; they are four times as intelligent as men; they are six times as daring as men; and
they are eight times as lustful as men’: Caṇakyanīti 1:17. The Sanskrit canonical texts acted as the ideological
bedrock of Parbatiya patriarchy.Allusions to the canonical historical texts are given to emphasize the ideological
continuity between the classical and the folk. The Sanskrit canonical text, many a times, seen by the cultural
elite as ‘scriptures’ or rule book, generally acted as the ideological bedrock of Parbatiya patriarchy. This does
not, however, mean that the folk is always a reflection of the canonical ideology. It would be equally wrong to
disregard the spatio-temporal and historical chasm between the canonical and the folk.
18
Sharma and Luitel, Lokvārtāvigyān ra loksāhitya, 121.My translation.
31
How you dare defy me, I shall see!19
The song describes a relationship between the master who commands and the slave
who is commanded. It is the language of authority and power: the wife uses the language of
entreaty and prayer, the language of the subordinate. The language does not give any hint of
equal companionship between the speakers. The language is the language of Manu’s second
ruler, as it were.20
The same hierarchy is seen in another song:
Wife: Bhaiyā, you go and wait for me in the cautāri21 there,

After convincing my swāmi I shall come to the māita.
Husband: A little drizzle cannot drench the topi22 on the head,
Woman, never shall you convince me.
Wife: The sirphūl of my head, I long to wear,
How would I wear it without your order!
Husband: When will you go and when will you come?
And when will you do devatā’s dhyān23?
Wife: I shall go at the sunrise and return at sunset,
Devatā’s dhyān shall I do at noon.24
The songs indicate a hierarchy with a strong divine sanction, invested with a strong
sense of dharma. To quote Mary Cameron, “The husband is believed to be and is ideally
treated as equivalent of a god by the wife.”25
In such a hierarchical relationship, the economically dependent woman is subject to

her husband’s notions of beauty and thrift. Even as the woman tries to reason with her
19
Ibid.
20
Manu wants a woman to be ruled by her father before marriage and by her husband after marriage: ‘In
childhood a woman should be under her father’s control, in her youth in her husband’s, and when her husband is
dead, under her son’s.’: Manusmṛti 5: 148.
21
A small shed made by the roadside for travellers to rest.
22
Cap.
23
Pray.
24
Sharma and Luitel, Lokvārtāvigyān ra loksāhitya, 120.My translation.
25
Amongst the Parbatiya Nepali, women’s subordination is seen in the ritual in which a wife washes her
husband’s feet and drinks that water by splashing some of it into her mouth. The drinking of caraṇāmṛt, the
elixir of feet ritually and symbolically enacts a woman’s position in Parbatiya society. See Bennett, Dangerous
Wives and Sacred Sisters, 175; Cameron, On the Edge of the Auspicious, 144-145.
32
husband, she is reprimanded for displaying the very rationality that is considered to be the
province of the male. Instead of discussing logically with his wife, the husband threatens to
marry again - since the ‘dark-skinned’ woman has lesser social capital in a colour-biased
society, she would be virtually socially abandoned if this were to happen:
Wife: People say that Tīj has brought happiness.

Please earn a sirphūl for me.
Husband: Woman you are too dark,
A sirphūl would not suit you.
Wife: The Veda script is black,
So don’t read the book (since it too is black).
Husband: Woman, have you spoken such thing?
I will have a second marriage.26
Skinner, Holland and Adhikari’s translation of this song, quoted above, is an example
of how translation can influence one’s interpretation of the song. They read this song merely
as an example of polygamy and miss many nuances. Their translation of jhhama jhhama Teej
āyo bhanchan/ kamāi deu rājai sirphūla as “people say that Tīj has brought happiness/Give
me a sirphūl (golden hairpiece),” fails on two accounts. The first line of their translation fails
to capture the carnivalesque ambience that Tīj brings to the life of this woman. The
translation of second line kamāi deu rājai sirphūl - misses the nuances of the word rājai. A
more accurate translation - “Beloved, earn a sirphūl for me” - underlines how the control of
patriarchy over the economic domain (for it is the husband who can earn money for the
sirphūl) translates into its control over the cultural domain: it determines what suits or does
not suit the ‘dark’ woman. The writers again chose to omit the word rājai from the next two
lines. The insertion of the word rājai would alter the meaning greatly. Rājai comes from the
word rājā which means a king, a lord or a master. However, the ‘Nepalization’ of the rājā as
rājai is loaded with the connotations of lord, master, as well as beloved. In Nepali folksongs,
it is always used by women to address men. With its multivocal resonance of love embedded
in power and the vice versa, it also shows that women can access the domain of conjugality
only through the acknowledgement of power and domination.
26
Skinner, Holland and Adhikari, “The Songs of Teej,” 276.
33
In a Parbatiya Nepali culture that normalizes silence as the ‘proper’ feminine stance,
the ‘loud’ woman or the woman ‘speaking back’ becomes a cultural anomaly and a threat.
The culture idealizes and romanticizes women who speak melodiously, sweetly, haltingly,
and musically. The collective condemnation of a mukhāle woman - ‘one who answers back’ -
as the bad woman - shows that women are expected to be ‘naturally’ silent. The female
speaker’s contestation of the patriarchal space of rationality is doubly subversive for the
Vedas are the forbidden fruit for women, and entering into this forbidden territory of the
Vedas and rationality makes her a threat that must be neutralized through re-marriage.
Indeed, the repeated threat of bringing home a co-wife is used by men to put vocal and
resisting women ‘in their place’.27
A remarkable contemporary Tīj song underscores women’s awareness of this

patriarchal strategy28:
High schools have opened near the village,

Why doesn’t my husband care to study?
We don’t want to wear terrylene saris anymore,
We won’t eat the drunkard husband’s leftovers.
What money he has, he takes to the bazār
He searches for a place to drink alcohol.
If he has five or ten rupees, he goes to the bazār.
27
In the world of Nepali proverbs, “pothi bāseko suhāu͂daina” means, “the crowing of a hen is rather
unbecoming.” Crowing, therefore, becomes an act of linguistic transgression. It de-feminizes and finally de-
womanizes. For detailed analysis of the proverbs, see Balram Uprety, “Ideological Underpinnings of Pervasive
Patriarchy in the Construction of Gender in Nepali Proverbs,” in Politics of Culture, Identity and Protest in
North-east India, (Vol.1) eds. Padam Nepal and Anup Shekhar Chakraborty (Authors Press: New Delhi, 2012),
129.
28
In a patrilocal and patrilineal culture, where the institution of marriage is predominantly
polygamous, there is a collective tendency to devalue women and such devaluation accounts
for the manifest ritual superiority of the bride takers over the bride givers. The relationship
between the bride-givers and the bride-takers points to a few, rare moments of profound
disquiet and irony as well as internal fault lines fissures and ruptures of an otherwise well
organized patriarchy. Unlike the North Indian culture in which the jamāi shows deference to
the sasur by touching the latter’s feet, the Parbatiya Nepali culture dramatizes the reversal of
this North Indian practice. The extreme deference shown to a jwā͂i almost borders on
sacralization. On the one hand, such deference can be seen as a political masterstroke of
patriarchy, on the other, the very need to be politically deferential and obsequiously
respectful shows the profound anxiety and insecurity experienced by the bride giver’s family.
Even when a married daughter is genuinely unhappy, such a hierarchical relationship
between the two families makes the intervention by the daughter’s māiti exceptionally
difficult.
34
He forgets his family and home and drinks alcohol.

Waiting in the kitchen, the rice becomes cold,
Waiting for the husband, the night is almost gone.
How much rotten alcohol is there in Thakali’s hotel!
The husband came with a stick at midnight.
If I say, “Don’t drink,” he threatens to bring a co-wife.
The new wife who will give [him liquor],
And who will give him pleasure, instead of me.
And she’ll give orders and bring water to wash his feet.29
Skinner, Holland and Adhikari translate and read this as an example of a song on the
theme of anti-alcoholism. However, the speaker seems also to think that education would
perhaps bring some sense and manners to her husband, thus falling into the logic of
modernity as progress. She mistakes his lack of education as the cause of his alcoholism,
unaware that modern education often only helps the oppressor reinvent himself in order to
perpetuate his hegemony. Interestingly, the woman does not seek education for herself, only
for a husband who might be cured of his boorishness through schooling.
The speaker’s ambivalent relationship with patriarchy merits some close analysis. She
says, “Eat shall I not from the drunkard husband’s leftover.” This line demands some
ethnographic background. The religio-cultural tendency of Brahminical patriarchy is to
associate women with impurity: the ‘śudrafication’ of women is a long historical tradition.30
The linchpin of the entire structure of Hindu binarism was the divide between purity and
impurity. This binary is used by the Parbatiya patriarchy to create a hierarchical relationship
between the husband and wife in two cultural contexts.
In the upper caste marriage, there is the custom of juṭho khāne in which the bride is
made to eat the sweets already tasted by the groom. Juṭho khāne means the eating of polluted
food i.e. food already eaten by someone else. Bennett reads this custom as an expression of
29
Skinner, Holland and Adhikari, “Songs of Teej”, 276.
30
Hinduism seems anxiously ambivalent towards women: on the one hand, women’s sacralization dates back to
Manu. He says, ‘The deities delight in places where women are revered but where women are not revered all
rites are fruitless’ Manusmṛti 3:56. On the other hand, women are indirectly equated with Śudras as they are
excluded from the Vedic education. According to Manusmṛti- ‘The ritual of marriage is traditionally known as
the Vedic transformative ritual for women; serving her husband is (the equivalent of) living with a guru, and
household chores are the rites of the fire.’ 2:66. The Bhagavad Gītā also equates women with Śudra - ‘O son of
Pṛtha, those who take shelter in Me, though they be of lower birth - women, Vaiśyas and Śudras - can attain the
supreme destination.’ 9:32. Women in the Parbatiya patriarchy occupied the liminal and ambivalent space
between the goddess and the Śudra.
35
“the bride’s subservient status and respect for her husband,”31 the pati parameśvara.32 In
another custom, women eat off the unwashed plate from which their husband has eaten and
the husband leaves some leftover food in the plate for his wife. The relationship parallels the
relationship between guru or god and devotee. The offering of bhog, i.e. food to a god
becomes prasād for devotees.33 Patriarchy enacts and enforces its own divinity through such
rituals and practices. What makes the speaker’s protest intriguing is that she will not eat his
leftovers as long as he is a drunkard and unworthy of respect. The divine has fallen off the
pedestal by indulging in alcoholism and the speaker seems to be more preoccupied with the
restoration of his divinity than negating the legitimacy of the practice itself. The threat of
polygamy operates even in this song as a weaponto silence the woman.
Caught within such complex layers of hierarchies, the voice of the wife in the
following song is submerged in the cacophony of other dominant voices.
Mother: Lo! The sound of cane-stick there,

Who has comenāni? Who has come out there?
Sister-in-law: ...A straw-mat does not befit his person,
Spread arāḍi34for him, o little one.
He has come to take kānchi nāni35 home,
And has come at an auspicious moment,
O we must send her. ...
Son-in-law: It is my brother’s wedding this year,
Send the maitālu,36 o mother, send the maitālu.
Mother: In front, the inauspiciousplanet śukra37
She should not be sent this year.
31
Bennett, Dangerous Wives and Sacred Sisters, 91.
32
Husband-as-god receives its prescriptive ideological sustenance from ‘scriptures’. ‘A virtuous wife should
constantly serve her husband like a god, even if he behaves badly, freely indulges his lust, and is devoid of any
good qualities.’ Manusmṛti 5:154, Caṇakyanīti 17:10.
33
To unpack how the hierarchical relationship between husband and wife is ritually and ‘religiously’ sanctioned,
see Gray’s notion of pujā-prasād paradigm in The Householder’s World: Purity Power and Dominance in a
Nepali Village, 62-69.
34
A black and white thick woolen mat that would be spread for revered guests.
35
Literally the youngest female. Here, it refers to the bride that the son-in-law has come to take away with him
for the occasion of his brother’s marriage. In old Parbatiya society, a girl would be married before she started
menstruating. After marriage, however, she would be kept at her father’s home till she attained puberty. Then
her husband would come to claim her. The idea behind marrying girls mostly at the age of six was to earn the
merit of gifting a virgin daughter in marriage in the marital ritual of kanyādān.
36
A woman who resides mostly at her māita.
37
A planetary position.
36
...This letter from samdhijī,38 place it on the ceiling,

This solidoli39 from samdhinijī,40 place it in the box.
With this sāmuśukra41 and this jwālā varṣā,42 we should not send her.
Son-in-law: If she is not sent this time,
Never shall I come again.
Mother: Can’t I resist the persistence of this
Young man? This time go celi43!
...Why do you feel bad celi?
I shall send for you.
Celi: No need to send for me, āmā,
I shall return no more.
Mother: Can’t I resist the persistence of this young man?
Go for but four days....
Celi: As I was going, my mother,
At Shitalpāti did we halt.
...The pati crushed me, my mother.
The ciuri44 khājā45 sent by you,
I could not eat, mother.
What ill-luck! What fate!
O my mother, the resting housecrushed me,
“Where is buhāri?”46they will say at home;
Give them this message from Shitalpāti...47
Astrology plays a central role in the Parbatiya Nepali culture: no work of any
significance is done without consulting almanacs or the interpreter Bahuns.48 In the song
38
Sons’/daughter’s father-in-law.
39
Soli is a container made by knitting thin strips of bamboo together. Here solidoli is a way of referring to the
gifts that had probably been sent in a soli.
40
Son’s/daughter’s mother-in-law.
41
In the Hindu astrological system, a time when the planet Venus in not in auspicious position.
42
The inauspicious position of the planet Śukra/Venus.
43
See note 11.
44
Pressed rice.
45
Snacksent by her mother to be eaten on the way.
46
See note 34.
47
Krishna Prasad Parajuli, Nepali lokgītko ālok, 323-327. My translation.
48
Cameron, On the Edge of the Auspicious, 207.
37
under analysis, both the son-in-law as well as the girl’s mother claim to have consulted the
astrologer to validate their different positions: the husband or jwā͂i, in order to take his wife
home for his brother’s marriage, and themother of the girl, his sāsu, in order to deny him on
the grounds of astrology. The sāsu is filled with a strong sense of foreboding: it would be
fatal if the daughter is sent away with the jwā͂i. The jwā͂i says that the letter sent by his father
to his sāsu must be respected at any cost. The jwā͂i, as the product of the culture that always
legitimizes his higher status and his sense of ownership over his wife finally takes the radical
stand, “If she is not sent this time, / Never shall I come again.” Though the wife too has an
ominous foreknowledge of her impending death, she must go with her husband. What the Tīj
song shows is that the daughter’s family has no legitimate claim on her once she is married:
marriage is the ritual and legal transferring of ownership.49
The celebration of conjugal love is rare in Tīj songs. The genre has become
synonymous with lamentation, anger, and protest. In the many songs that I have collected,
there is only one song about an intensely felt conjugal love.
To go to māita on the yearly Tīj...

The feet of my swāmi I touch with my head.
Yet I will not stay away too long.
Bhairavi looks majestic with a golden crown,
Bid me goodbye with a smile, I shall soon return.
Leave your handkerchief on the bed, O my Rādhā!
In your pocket shall I keep,
A thread from my hairband.
Feed me with your own hands
Give me too the tikā50of simrik51
The barley and sesame seed offered at the Pashupati mandir52are ever pure,
Bruise shall my heart remain till you return.
Your tears shall I wipe, O Krishna,
I shall return by the seventh day.53
49
In Parbatiya system, a woman is transferred from her father’s patriline to her husband’s patriline. Once the
transfer is ritualized in marriage through the ritual of kanyādān, she is ritually and symbolically dead for her
original family.
50
The vermilion, sandalwood, etc. dot worn on the forehead as a symbol of the third eye and also as a mark of
auspiciousness.
51
A red powder used by women as tikā.
52
Temple.
38
The sub-text of hierarchical power is endorsed even in such a song. The woman has
promised to return soon - she is not, like the girl in the earlier song, one who remains for long
periods of time in her mother’s home. The site of intense lyricism is also the site of gender
power politics. The wife touches with her “head” “the feet of my swāmi.” Patriarchy’s
fantasy of archetypal wifehood is embodied by the perpetually “teary-eyed” and eternally
suppliant wife’s body. There is an invocation of the trope of purity through the image of
consecrated food again, thus celebrating the chastity of the woman, even as she is seen as an
object of love. A contradictory tendency to sexualize and asexualize women is discernible in
many such songs. Here, the hierarchization of the conjugal relationship helps patriarchy to
banish, at least from the public domain, the erotic and the affective in the conjugal
relationship.54
Some Concluding Observations
In conclusion, I try to answer an important question: what is the role these songs in
the existing knowledge system? Can these songs that exist in the periphery of the margin play
any role in the production and dissemination of knowledge in today’s world? Teej songs, to
begin with, provide us with alternative archive for understanding the issues of gender in
Parbatiya patriarchal Nepali society. A close critical examination of these songs helps us map
an alternative ‘her-story’ of gender. For example, the songs discussed in this paper give us a
picture of hierarchical conjugality that defined and continue to define the conjugal
relationship within the institution of marriage in Nepali society. Secondly, the institution of
conjugal relation in Nepali society, as in the most Southeast Asian society, continues to
remain hierarchical and unequal in spite of the encounter with colonial modernity and the
forces of globalisation. Herein lies another significance of such folk archive. At present exists
in a symbiotic and dialogic relationship with past, a contemporary his/herstoriography of
gender cannot be constructed without a meaningful dialogue with the past. To elucidate this
argument from this paper, if we are to understand the contemporary manifestation of the
unequal conjugality in Nepali society, the folk archive can play undeniably important role.
The folk archive does not merely preserve the historical articulation of hierarchical
conjugality; it also helps us map out our distance from the past. Though the Brahminical
patriarchy continues to remain the bedrock of our contemporary conjugality, it would be
wrong to say that the forces of modernity, spread of mass education and forces of
53
Thapa, Mero Nepal bhramaṇ, 242.My translation.
54
See Bennett, Dangerous Wives and Sacred Sisters.
39
globalisation have not changed the contours of conjugality in our time. Since the
‘presentness’ of the present cannot be constructed without accessing the archive of past, the
folk archive such as this becomes one of the most reliable sources. This argument naturally
leads us to the fundamentally significant dimension of the orature. Going beyond the point
already discussed about the importance of orality, one can meaningfully ask: why should we
preserve past? Why should we the archive of the past? We should also preserve the past as an
historical testimony. We need the oral source to bear witness—a witness to the sanctified and
sanctioned tradition of phallocentric violence and incarceration. Britain today seems nearly
silent about its colonial brutality and horrendous exploitation in India. The same could
happen to patriarchy in Nepali society tomorrow. The Brahminical Parbatiya patriarchy could
easily be on the denial of its oppressive history as most colonial powers around the world are
on the denial of their colonial brutality. The hierarchical conjugality, the politics of violence,
the politics of subjugation and silencing, the examples of occlusion and erasure that we have
witnessed in the songs in this paper act are our irrefutable historical witness.
Bio-note: Balram Uprety teaches English literature at Department of English, St. Joseph’s
College, North Point, Darjeeling, and West Bengal. Dr. Uprety has worked on the
constructions of gender and sexuality in Nepali folklore for his doctoral research from
Jadavpur University, Kolkata. His areas of interest include folkloristics, Indology, the politics
of inclusion and exclusion, identity politics etc. Dr. Uprety can be contacted at
balauprety@gmail.com
40
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43
VOICES FROM THE MOUNTAIN- ORAL TRADITION AMONG THE

DONGARIA KONDH OF RAYAGADA, ODISHA
Dr Priyadarshini Mishra
Brief Description of Dongria Kondh in the Context of Tribes of Odisha
Scheduled tribes in India constitute about 10.38 % of the total country population constituting
461 scheduled tribes, which include 13 primitive tribal groups (PTG). In Odisha to the
country’s tribal population. The ST population in Odisha is 22.13% of the total state
population (Census 2001).
The districts largely dominated by ST are Malkangiri (58.51%), Mayurbhanj (57.87%),

Nawarangpur (55.26%), Rayagada (54.99%), Sundargarh (50.74%), Koraput (50.67%),
Phulbani (50.13%), Keonjhar (44.62%), Gajapati (47.88%) and Jharsuguda (33.31%).
The tribes of Odisha are divided into three language family. These are :
1.Austro- Asiatic language family, Dravidian Language family
2. Indo Aryan language family.
3. The Dravidian language family constitute of nine ethnic languages viz., Pengo, Gondi,
Kisan, Konda, Koya, Parji, Kui, Kuvi and Kurukh or Oraon. Each group has its distinct
language, culture, religion and social custom. They are grouped into hunter-gatherer-nomads,
hunter-gatherer and shifting cultivators, artisans, settled agriculturists, industrial and urban
unskilled and semi-skilled workers.
Dongrias Kondh is one of the sections of the South Odisha Kondh tribe. Since they stay in
Dongar, they are known as Dongria Kondh. They are the original inhabitants of Niyamgiri
mountain range which stretches away between Rayagada, Koraput and Kalahandi districts
constituting a cultural and linguistic zone. The Dongria population is confined to three
community development blocks namely Bisam Cuttack and Munuguda of Gunpur sub-
division and Kalyansinghpur Block of Rayagada District. The total population of the Dongria
Kondhs is about 10500 settled in 120 villages at an altitude of up to 5,000 feet above the
sea-level.
44
Dongria Kondh has belonged to Dravidian Language Family. Other than these, the Kutia
Kondh lives in Kotgarh and Tumudibahdh Block in Kondhmal district and Lanjigarh Block
of Kalahandi district. The language of the Kondhs of Rayagada is known as Kuvi, variations
of Kui of Kandhamãl. The Desia kondh of Kalahandi and Bolangir have assimilated to local
Odia language, and accordingly, they are known as Desia Kondh. The Dongria Kondh also
speaks local corrupt Odia after exposed to a market economy and other developmental
activities.
The Dongria Kondhs
The Dongria Kondh is one of the most ancient tribes mentioned in Hindu myths and classics,
notably the Puranas. The name signifies that a primitive community of hill-dwelling (dongar
means high hill land) people. The Dongria Kondh call themselves Jharnia meaning those who
live by the Jharana (streams) confined to Niyamgiri hill tracts covering the blocks of
Kalyansighpur, Bissamcuttack and Muniguda in Rayagada district. Besides Orissa, they
found distributed in Andhra Pradesh. The immediate two neighbours of Dongria Kondh are
Kutia and Desia Kondhs. Kutia Kondhs are hill dwellers live of Phulbani and Kalahandi
districts while Desia Kondh is plain dwellers.
According to the 2001 census, the sex ratio found low for the district of Rayagada (1028) and
the state (972). The sex ratio of DK stands significantly higher at 1318 and1352 females per
1000 male population respectively for DKDA areas of Parsali and Chattikona. The
Researchers’
My field work is based on two aspects:
1. Understanding the ethnography of Dongaria Kondh: Secondary Sources
Collection of Secondary Sources on Dongaria Kondh from the Academy of Tribal

Language and Culture, Tribal Dept., Bhubaneswar and Tribal Research Institute,
Bhubaneswar
11. Field Visit and Identification of Resource persons from Dongaria Kondh Community
Location Bisama Kataka Block of Rayagada District:
Gram Panchayat Chattikona: Village: Kurli, Khambesi, Khajuri and Mundbali
I visited the district of Rayagada. The Bisamkatak Block is the central point of the Dongaria
Kondh. There are two Gram Panchayat, One is Chattikona, and another is Parsali in which
the Dongaria Kondh has settled from time immemorial. Their biological foundation with their
45
religion-cultural construction is the outcome of their economic world they live in their
homeland. Land, language and life are interconnected in their everyday life as well as their
traditional life. The concept of time is closely connected to their walks of life. Every act of
their everyday life is connected to a particular time and work that is expressed in their oral
tradition.
My first visit was on to Chattikona, Kurli, Mundabali, and Khajuri - four villages in
Chattikona Gram Panchayat and met the Dongaria Kondh resource persons. They are Sinde
Wadaka, a resourceful woman of Kurli, Sri Laxman Hikaka, an educated teacher, and Siba
Kadrka from Mundabali village who were selflessly helped me to visit the villages and
conduct my preliminary research on their oral tradition.
My second visit was on December 5-14, 2018 I visited Kurli village on their annual festival
kedu parab when they worship the Earth mother goddess and sacrifice buffalo taking place s
was during December.
Resources of Dongria Kondh Oral Tradition:
The preliminary discussion about their oral tradition is classified based on their availability of
folklore. The old women of the village are the authority of oral tradition. The song is called
Paada in Dongria Kondh, and male singer is called Padambutaya, and female singer is called
Padambutaw. These singers are the mentors of their younger generation, irrespective of their
age and sex. The Dangdibasa- youth dormitory of the boys and girls. I found three
Dangdibasa where the youths stay there after they have and sing songs and tales about their
nature, and human conditions.
Besides the singers, the priests of the Dongria Kondh are the resources of exploring the
secrets of nature with the human religion. Dharni mata as the supreme goddess worshipped in
the central place of the village called Sadargudi-. Besides other demigods are also
worshipped. The mantra and the prayers are in Dongria Kondh language which is esoteric
and difficult to get meaning out of it. The priests and the singers have shown their
cooperation to provide me with their songs and tales and myths to document, and also to
translate them in Odia and English language with interpretation.
Based on the singer's information the songs of Dongria Kondh may be divided into the
following categories.
46
A. The songs of entertainment:
B Customary songs base on ‘Rites de passage': birth, marriage, death ritual,
C Ritual songs: Mantra on the worship of Dharni mata, mountain eulogy, songs of nature
D .Creation Myth:
E Songs nominated upon musical instrument: DHAPU geet
F.Oral Tales related to birds and animals, stars and sky, trees and creeperse II, Issue I, July-
HABITAT:
The Dongria Kondh inhabit exclusively in the forest-clad of Niyamgiri hill ranges stretches
from Theruvali of Rayagada district to Lanjigarh of Kalahandi district located over a high
plateau ranging 2000-4970 feet above the sea level. Each Dongria Kondh village is situated
in the center chain of hills of Niamgiri, which are inaccessible, hidden in the folds of
mountains majority devoid road and transport facilities (DKDA, 2001; 2004). Their
settlements are sparsely distributed on the hilltops and valleys situated in isolation often cut
off from the general mass of civilisation (Das, 1977). Their settlements are arranged as a
cluster of houses in two rows. In each row, the houses are contiguous in a linear fashion, and
the street is located between rows. Dongria settlements often lack permanency as the entire
settlements are abandoned if some deaths take place in the same neighborhood.
RELIGIOUS BELIEFS:
The Kondh sub-groups once infamous for their pernicious practice of human sacrifice
and femaleInfanticide (Tokri Parbo), which replaced by Meriah buffalo sacrifice (Kondru
Parbo) to appease theirGod/goddess to bring good luck, prosperity and land fertility (Boal
1982). The Dongria have a religion very close to animism. The gods and goddesses are
always attributed to various natural phenomena, objects, trees, animals, etc. They have a god
or deity for everything and anything. Their life is full of rituals, sacrifices and magico-
religious observances throughout the year to their benevolent and malevolent ancestors,
aimed at ensuring personal security and happiness, community well-being and group
solidarity.
The theological pantheon is the earth goddess (Dharani Penu) at the apex, and Niyam
penu (Niyamgiri Hill) is believed to be the creator of Dongrias. Also, a large number of
village deities, ancestral cults, household deities and spirits, for instance, in a house, there is a
deity for back and front street, kitchen, living room, implements and so forth (Pfeffer, 2005).
47
Breach of any religious conduct by any member of the society invites the wrath of spirits in
the form of lack of rainfall, soaking of streams, destruction of forest produce, and other
natural calamities. Hence, the customary law, norms, taboos, and values are significantly
adhered and enforced with high to heavy punishments, depending upon the seriousness of the
crimes committed. For social control in the village and at Muttha level (regional), there are
hereditary religious leaders like Jani (religious head), Mondal (secular head), Bejuni
(sorcerer), Barik (messenger) who coordinate to hold meetings, where the punishment is
awarded along with appeasement procedure, is followed with animal sacrifice. The
punishment may be in cash or kind and may lead to strict restrictions from the community if
not obeyed.
FAMILY AND MARRIAGE:
Dongria Kondh is an endogamous group, and within them, the clans are exogamous divided
into several patrilineal clans (kunda) forming socio-cultural regional organisations (mutha).
The Dongria family is often nuclear, although extended families exist. Female members are
considered assets because of their contribution inside and outside the household and women
are equated with the male members in constructing a house to cultivation. Women do all the
work for household ranging from fetching water from the distant streams, cooking, serving
food to each member of the household to cultivating, harvesting and marketing of produce in
the market. Due to this, the bride price is paid to her parents when a girl gets married which is
a striking feature of the Dongrias. However, the family is patrilineal and patrilocal. Extended
families are either mono- or polygynous (a group consisting of a man and two or more wives
and their children or group formed by remarriage of a widow or widower having children by
a former marriage), claimed to be social and economic prestige. By custom, marriage must
cross clan boundaries (a form of incest taboo). The clan is exogamous, which means
marriages are made outside the clan (yet still within the greater Dongoria population). The
Census data shows 23.54% of families are polygynous. The woman is treated as an economic
asset to the family, and for a reason, the girl child is preferred over boy child (Routray, 1987).
Further, the prevailing marriage practices go in favour of girls. The parents earn money
through bride price that is given by the groom's parent as part of the marriage deal. Girls
fetch high bride price to their parents whereas boy's parents have to pay bride price to get
them married.
48
PATTERN OF ECONOMIC LIFE
Dongria Kondh practice podu cultivation in their hill range, known as field forest rotation or
slash and burn agriculture. In Odisha, about 5298 km2 area is under podu cultivation and
depend on 1.5 lakh families of PTG annually (Dongaria Kondha, Kutia Kind, Lanjia Sara,
Paraja, Gadabā, Koya, Didayi, Bonda, and Paudi Bhuyan). They are called Dongria or
dweller of "donger” (a hill in Oriya) and settle in higher altitudes...Their economies center
round the dongar hill slopes for shifting cultivation, the abode of their Niyam Raja god.
Shifting cultivation is the most ancient agriculture system they cultivate jackfruits, orange
and mango trees which is suitable to grow in their environment. In the hill slope, they
cultivate pineapple, banana, sago-pam (salap), citrus fruits, guava, papaya etc.
Rice, maize, ganja and ragi are the main crop, besides various types of pulses (red
gram and black gram), and oilseeds (kandul, masur, mung, chana, alsi (naizer), castor,
mustard). The fruits of jamu, harida, bahada, amla, mahua, kusuma, kendu are of economic
importance. Gathering of forest produce like siali creepers, kendu leaf, sal leaf, seeds of
karanja (Pongnamia glatera) and mahua (Madhuaka latifolia) is made for daily domestic
requirements (Dash et al., 2008). They raise livestock like goats, pigs and hens for meeting
the demands of prostrations and for their use on ritual occasions.
DORMITORY AS THE SOURCE OF LOCAL ORAL KNOWLEDGE
The girl’s dormitory (adasbeta) is common practice for village exogamy. The girls
sleep at night in the dormitory (Daa Sala) and learn social taboos, myths, legends, stories,
riddles, proverbs amidst singing and dancing the whole night, thus learning everything that is
expected from a potential wife and mother. As regards the acquisition of brides for marriage
is the most widely prevalent practice through capture, in addition to other practices such as
negotiations, elopement, purchase and services. With the passage of time negotiated type of
marriage, which is considered prestigious, is being preferred more and payment of bride price
is an inseparable part of marriage.
THE REALM OF ORAL TRADITION
Based on the fieldwork observation it is found that the Dongria Kondh have a rich
oral tradition in their Kuvi language. They sing their life in all most all the occasion of their
life world. Their songs and tales are closely connected to their socio-religious life, as a part of
49
handing down tradition and customs in rituals and also in orality. The supernatural belief
regulates their whole lifeworld.
Th Dongria Kondh considers the Mountain NiyamGiri as their Supreme God. The myth
connected to their origin is attributed to the mountain as their father and Dharni mata as their
mother.
RESOURCES OF DONGRIA KONDH ORAL TRADITION:
The preliminary discussion about their oral tradition is classified based on their
availability of folklore. The old women of the village are the authority of oral tradition. The
song is called Paada in Dongria Kondh, and male singer is called Padambutaya, and female
singer is called Padambutawa. These singers are the mentors of their younger generation,
irrespective of their age and sex. The Dangdibasa- youth dormitory of the boys and girls. I
found three Dangdibasa where the youths stay there after they have and sing songs and tales
about their nature, and human conditions.
Besides the singers, the priests of the Dongria Kondh are the resources of exploring the
secrets of nature with the culture and human religion. Dharni mata as the supreme goddess is
worshipped in the central place of the village called Sadargudi- besides other demigods are
also worshipped. The mantra and the prayers are in Dongria Kondh language which is
esoteric and difficult to get meaning out of it. The priests and the singers have shown their
cooperation to provide me with their songs and tales and myths to document, and also to
translate them in Odia and English language with interpretation ased on the singer’s
information the songs of Dongria Kondh may be divided into the following categories'
A. The songs of entertainment:

B Customary songs base on ‘Rites De Passage’: birth, marriage, death ritual,
C Ritual songs: Mantra on the worship of Dharni mata, mountain eulogy, songs of nature
D Creation Myth:
E Songs nominated upon musical instrument: Dhapu geet
F.Oral Tales related to birds and animals, stars and sky, trees and creepers
The Creation Myth of Dongria Kondh
Jani - the priests of the Dongria Kondh have the following oral tradition
50
1. Kondh Creation Myth:Raniadu- the first supernatural goddess who created the universe.
Sapangada is the first origin place of the Kondhs. Women created man and all the
creatures. The human was like mixed seeds. Goddess came out of the earth (between
patala and sky) whole and created the universe.
2. Creation of the Earth: Deluge on earth, Origin of the Kondhs from brother -sister
incest. Kondh as the first progenitor and origin of other castes and tribes, distribution of
clan-based territories.
3. Bhima as Culture hero, A divine hero, descended from the heaven through the
golden string and silver string, despite his divine mother's interdiction, and became a
bride service (Gharjia) in the house of the
Kondh village headman to marry his daughter Dumerrani (Udumbara). His heroic deeds like
getting water, leveling the land by cutting the forest, invention of liquor etc. are narrated
in this epic.
The Kondhs origin myth chanted by the priests represents their worldview and epistemology.
This myth is not like a Hindu myth having a storyline, but it is a blend of thoughts arranged
to understand the knowledge of their origin and existence across time, space and activity. The
creation myth goes like this.
Long long ago, there was only Great Bura, the Supreme Being.
The Jani of the little village Khambesi started to tell the age-old story of how the world
and the Kandha people were created. It was now the second day of the Ritual for Harmful
Insects, and the Jani was telling and singing stories over and over again. For already one
day and one night he was not eating, nor sleeping, only drinking the liquor distilled from
the Mahua-flower. His audience was sometimes listening, sometimes repeating every
single word he was telling.
First Bura God decided to create a consort for him, Tari Penu, the Earth Goddess.
Afterwards, Bura God created the earth.
Bura God found Tari wanting in wifely attention and affection compliance, so
Bura God created man from the earth's substance, to give him a devoted service.
Bura God had intended first to create every variety of animals and vegetable life
necessary for man's existence, but Tari was so jealous that she tried to prevent him.
However, she only succeeded in changing the order of creation. So
Bura took the first handful of earth and threw it behind himself without looking. Tari
caught it, cast it aside, and it became the trees, herbs, flowers and vegetables of all kinds.
51
Bura took a second handful of earth and threw it behind himself without looking. Tari
caught it, cast it into the water, and it became fish and all water creatures.
Bura took the third handful of earth and threw it behind himself without looking. Tari
caught it, cast it aside, and it became all the animals, wild and tame.
Bura took the fourth handful of earth and threw it behind himself without looking. Tari
caught it and cast it up in the air, where it became all creatures that fly.
Bura looked behind him and saw.
Bura laid a firm hand on Tari’s head to prevent further interference.
Bura took the fifth handful of earth and placed it on the ground behind, where it became
the human race.
Tari said: Let these exist, but create no more!
However, Bura created sweat from his own body, collected it in his hand and threw it
around: To all that I have created!
Hence arose love, sex, and the continuation of the species.
This created world was free from all evil:
Men and the Creator were in free communication,
Men enjoyed everything in common,
Men lived in harmony and peace,
Men went unclothed,
Men could move freely on earth and in the air and water,
Moreover, all the animals were harmless.
Tari’s jealousy then led her to open rebellion against Bura.
Therefore she introduced every form of moral and physical evil.
Into Man she introduced moral evil, sowing seeds of sin into humanity as into a ploughed
field. Into the material creation, she introduced diseases, deadly poisons, every kind of
disorder…
A few individuals rejected evil and remained sinless.
Bura made them tutelary gods: Become gods and live forever, having power over man,
who is no longer my immediate care!
52
The others all yielded and fell into a state of disobedience to the deity and fierce strive
against each other. Moreover, Bura entirely withdrew his face and his guardianship from
humanity. Also because through Tari's interference, everyone was now sinning, they all
became subject to death. Moreover, throughout the natural world, some animals became
savage, the seasons could no longer be counted on with absolute regularity, and the earth
became a wilderness of jungle, rocks and unstable mud. At the same time, man lost his
power of moving through air and water, he knew suffering and degradation, and he went
clothed.
The songs sung by Kirpi Melaka are recorded in Audio recorder which will be transliterated
and translated in my subsequent visit. (Lokaratna )
DUMA SONG: THE SONG OF THE ANCESTOR SPIRIT
It is a common belief of the people of this locality that, the soul of the man after his death
never dies. It retakes rebirth. In some tribes, the soul or ‘Duma' of the deceased person is
invited to the house through a ritual, which is popularly known as Duma Utara—literally
meaning the invitation of the spirit from the unseen world. The relatives of the dead man
arrange this ritual by inviting the Duma into an earthen pot on the bank of a river or a water
source. At that time the whole clan and the kin of the dead man are invited, and the worship
of Old souls (Juna Duma) begins. Then the worship and invitation of new Duma (Soul) Is
carried through an invocation. The new soul is summoned with the old souls to the Kitchen of
the descendant of the dead man. The new soul (Nua-duma) is worshipped as a God or
ancestor spirit. It is a common belief that the ancestor spirits save their respective families
from diseases, unseen dangers and watch their fields. Even they predict the future
occurrences to them and save them from those difficulties. The people count their last five
ancestors as living spirit always watching over them. In all the rituals related to “rites de
passage" and "rites de intensification" the invitation and worship of the ancestor spirit are
inevitable. When one is blessed with a male child, then it is believed that some ancestor
‘Duma' has taken rebirth into his family. Through a divination process, they try to know the
particular ancestor who has taken rebirth as that male child. In all the agricultural festivals the
Duma is worshipped with due importance.
The two visits and the secondary data that I have encouraging to explore the oral tradition of
Dongria Kondh. I found that there is hardly or article on the folklore of Dongria Kondh.
Therefore the necessity of documentation of such intangible heritage is necessary for
language revitalisation and language maintenance.
53
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References:
1.Microproject Profile ( PGT Only ) SC/ST Research and Training Institute, Dept. of
SC/ST Development ,Government of Odisha 2004
2.
http://www.ipsnews.net/2015/07/tribalpriestessesbecomeguardiansofseedsineasternindia/
3. Published: January 2, 2015 01:42 IST | Updated: January 2, 2015 01:42 IST
Revisiting the legend of Niyamgiri
4. The sacred mountain: Confronting global capital at Niyamgiri
Kundan Kumar Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto (St. George Campus), 33

Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada,www.elsevier.com
5. The Niyamgiri Story Challenging the Idea of Growth without Limits? Meenal Tatpati,
Ashish Kothari, Rashi Mishra July 2016
5. www.folklorefoundation.org.in Article of Mr Bijaya Kumar Nath on Space epistemology

of Dongria Kondh of Odisha
6.Ornaments of Dongria Kondh G.N. MohantyT. Sahoo, Odisha Review, September –

October 2006
54
CULTURAL ALIENATION: A HOUSE FOR MR. BISWAS
Dr. Pradip Kumar Panda
Abstract
A man with an Indian origin is placed in a far – off land, Trinidad where he deliberately
attempts to get hold of a straw and construct a home fetching himself and his hostages to
fortune, his children and his wife, Shama a four – square home. The struggle of Biswas is
worthy enough as an experience building up tenacity of sustenance in other migrants of the
world. A House for Mr. Biswas draws the attention of all towards the plight of cultural
alienation, in a perverse state of isolation in Trinidadian islands. The Indian migrant, Biswas
endures displacement in the face of injustices and exploitation, his society being vulnerable
to be imbalanced, suppressed and marginalized. A stranger seeks a place that is often denied
to him. Despite all odds, Biswas quenches his thirst for settlement.
Key words - 1.Alienation 2.Sustenance 3.Migrants, 4.Dispossession 5. Diaspora
The theoretical framework goes as such that the personal life of Biswas is intertwined
with the historical and cultural factors of Trinidad; the novelist, Naipaul tries to achieve an
order through portrayal of Biswas in course of the socio-cultural change. Nandini
Bhattacharya, in her “Gendered Identities: A Reading of A House for Mr. Biswas” points at
emasculation of the protagonists who are purged of manliness while they strive to put up with
slavery, Poverty and dispossession. Vijay Mishra in his “Indo-Fijian Fiction and the Girmit
Ideology” points out the precarious existence of the Indian diaspora disentangled from India
and he observes Naipaul’s attempts to place and integrate the migrants with the schemes of
politics, history and culture. The Indian migrants’ involvement is with the external world of
Tninidad with a western appropriation of socio-economic strangles as the superstructure to
keep at the centre the myth of the native embedded in historical universalism. Ashish Nandy
in “The Intimate Enemy: Loss and Recovery of self under colonialism” puts forth self-
effacement, that is, the deepest social consciousness remains submerged and the protagonists
under topsy-turvy situations in a far-off place defy their own shelves. Naipaul presents his
protagonist as an empty self who loses his own identity to exist like a hanging straw enduring
a sway of storm. Naipaul’s method is to portray the struggle of Biswas that is rough and
tumble meeting the grudge of socio-economic impediments.
55
The novel presents an account of a process of hybridization and change. The Hindu
migrants adapts to new practices of Christianity in Trinidad. Besides, the protagonists tend to
become new transformed beings of a capitalist order, undoing hegemonic imprints of a feudal
set up. The new order replaces rural attachment with urban newness. Mr. Biswas, an exile
searches roots of Indian origin and falls flat before the socio-economic constraints with
merely a pyrrhic victory. A search for authentic selfhood and strive for a social identity come
to tussle with socio-ethnic history of the Trinidadian community. Further, it is a Dickensian
world full of labour, work and wages; Biswas remains engulfed in bondage and slavery. In a
picaroon society, the wage-earner fails to make a tie with the affluent and is often put to
confinements and limitations. Sustainability is indispensable and counted higher to social
esteem. Thus we observe a difference between fragmented society and organic community,
relegated individual placed in exploitative machination, and notion of sub-alternate, a migrant
Indian placed in the context of Eurocentric history. History appropriates a struggle as subject
position and memory though the protagonist possesses an anti-historical consciousness to
offer him emancipation from his plight.
The structure of the novel opens a scope for multiple historical discourses. The novel
is dialogical and contains histories being dependent at one time and antagonistic at the other.
The capitalist historiography makes explicit capitalistic suppression; Biswas being a
dispossessed labourer before the bigs and the rich, involving furthermore, another run of
history, though not specific, the personal life of Biswas. The critics call it a “fragmented
psyche” as the past and the present of the migrants remain not connected.
The house of Mr. Biswas is not merely an accommodation but a secured institution
revered socially, offering a cultural assimilation of oneself in to one’s society.
It is the pathetic account of Mohun Biswas, delineated by Naipaul so as to shed tears

by empathizing with his struggle each day, battered and shattered. Mohun Biswas, the tragic
protagonist, is alienated from his native background of the orient and is in search of a
permanent home in a far-off land in Trinidad. The novel is, thus, a legend on the plight of a
migrant worker persevering to accommodate himself in a settled home and is tussled hither
and thither in course of his struggle. The Tulsi-house, an abode of Hindu dwellers and an
epitome of Indian version of life in the foreign land keeps him at halt before his final
settlement. He is betrothed to the youngest of the daughters, Shama, as life-partner. Thus,
Shama, is bewitched to him so as to put him (Biswas) in trap for the Tulsi household. The
Tulsis have a tradition to keep their sons in law under their control to derive benefit from
56
them. Biswas struggles hard to out do the stringent hold in order to pay respect to his
Brahmin status and enjoys a freedom of accommodation undoing the subjugation of the
Tulsis. Mohun Biswas is apprehended to bring misfortune by having the sixth finger since
his birth. He has to face the sarcastic glances of the orthodox pundits of his society. He
begins his life as a pundit but not as successful as his grandfather, he works with Bhandat in
business such as selling of liquor, works as a sign painter and in port of Spain as a journalist.
He gains expected results, yet not till heart’s content in fulfilling his desire to establish in a
well-made home made by himself.
The novel indicates a transformation of culture, religion and social accessibility of the
migrant characters. The Hindus form a community and share relationship having Hanumana
house as the centre of social interaction and togetherness. The Tulsis’ way of life is typically
Hindu in its disposition. However, a process of hybridization creeps in. The younger son,
Ovad, though entangled in the rituals of Hinduism, yet wears a cross. Thus the repercussions
of Hinduism in the migrant Indians are intermingled with the Christian practices in Trinidad.
Thus they adapt to a religion that is possibly partly out of origin and partly out of the
prevailing religion in Trinidad, other than Hinduism. Hinduism, with its traditional rituals is
made to sing in consonance with the Trinidadian harmony. The image of “Hanuman” is, at
times, oblivious of them and is on the verge to be replaced by Christ. The foreign religion
encroaches into the migrants’ original religion. The absurdities of retention and the
economic backwardness make them leave their own and adapt more of others to access to a
reliable life with the inhabitants of Trinidad. The ritualistic trends coagulate with the modern
western culture that ruled the roost in Trinidad. The tradition of the Tulsis to keep their sons-
in-law in home always is to decry the sacred ceremony of marriage reducing it to an entity of
profit and gain for personal purposes. The long wide separation, i.e. the distances of Trinidad
from India creates a hiatus that differs their origin from their present religious approaches.
Besides, the modern tinge in Biswas makes him undo the subjugation of the Tulsis. His
liberal outlook resists against the Tulsis’ dominance as the colonial masters. Unfortunately,
Biswas’ efforts end in vain because of his destitution. Yet, he puts forth a voice unlike others
under the roof to choose an independent profession by himself. Thus, the originality of
culture and religion give in to a process of hybridization and change.
A capitalist order pervades the society gradually undoing the repercussions of the
feudalist set-up. The personal change in the individual and the social change in the
57
environment run parallel to each other putting forth the protagonists as the transformed
beings of the new capitalist order. Mr. Biswas, the newly emerging rebel of the new world is
blossoming out while the remains of the feudal society are drooping down. Mr. Biswas
struggles to emancipate himself from the outdated credos still prevalent in the then social
phenomenon. The feudal order is projected by the manners of the Tulsis, their hold over
others by virtue of their social upkeep. They have their say and subordinate a lot of the
community in the hierarchy created by the socio-economic gradations. They seem to
preserve the solidity that persisted in favour of the East Indian Community in Trinidad. Seth
acts as “the big boss” to subordinate the Tulsis. (Biswas-212) Biswas, the rebel, reacts
actively against the psychic emasculation by the Tulsis. Mr. Biswas does not succumb to his
fate as the other brothers-in-law, but undoes the sense of suppression imposed by them. It is
exhibited in his arrogant behaviour from moment to moment. He refuses to submit to the two
gods though he had uttered critical sentences against them. The bitter remarks against
Hanuman House express his wrath against the feudalistic set up symbolized by Hanuman
house. However, Mr. Biswas is a tiny creature to sustain the Himalayan burden gripping
over him. Biswas is susceptible to the inevitable moments of humiliations and repressions.
The economic set-back lacking both money and position hinders him back. Despite being
tenacious and ready to counter attack the assaults, he has to pick up the job of a sign-painter.
His independence is not under his own volition. His manhood is vitiated when he attempts to
disrespect his lovable belongingness to the Tulsi household.
The capitalist order gives vent to itself when the commitments of Biswas are
disenchanted about the rigours of the social set up. The feelings of revulsion are prominent
within him aspiring for a change and newness to fetch him the integrity of his own individual
and person. All attempts turn into a fiasco and he experiences the futility of his struggle. He
becomes a proselytizer on behalf of the tyrants. He helps the Hindu missionaries from India
and is a sincere worker advocating abortion of the institution of child brides, education of
girls and freedom in marrying one to the other. He partakes with the Aryans’ method of
converting people to Hinduism. Mr. Biswas emerges as a rebel forthcoming, prominent and
outstanding, about to smash the feudal world of the Tulsis. His reactions are direct and
challenging. Seth recognizes the efficacy of Biswas, apprehends the danger it poses to the
Tulsis’ world and exclaims, “This house is like a republic already”. (Biswas-123) He adds…
“The Black Age has come at last. Sister we have taken in a serpent.” (Biswas – 124) The
Contemplation about an independent existence is expressed in action when he shifts the
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abode of his family to the chase. Mr. Biswas’ rebellion is not a blessing rather a curse upon
him. The new capitalist order opens new avenues but not without the pain and difficulty of
struggle. He experiences nervous breakdown at Greenvale and he works for the Trinidad
sentinel in port of Spain just to do away with his anguish and depression. He is the cursed
being to tolerate uncertainty and gloom till the end.
The new order is fetched with a transition from the country to the town. The
countryside is the background for the feudal society giving way to the capitalist set up, the
urban upgrowth. Leaving Hanuman house to settle at the new estate at shorthills is a
manifestation of the shifting social order. The feudal setting is featured by the idyllic
landscape, the old colonial past, and the traditional world of the Tulsis household. The
capitalist culture is the colonisers’ culture imposed with imperialist values. The parasitic
activities feature the capitalist trend replacing hard work and honesty of the feudal days.
The East Indian world undergoes a transition. The loss of faith in the Tulsis is the
gradual dwindling down of the feudal aristocracy expressed by Mrs. Tulsi “The old days have
become old fashioned so quickly, Mohun.” (Biswas-527) Owad enters the capitalist world
by being betrothed to Dorothy’s cousin, a handsome young woman graduate from McGill
University. Biswas is a tragic protagonist – a product of the mythical world of Ramayana
knocking at the doors of the contemporary western world, asking for a place. Mrs. Tulsi is
seeking shelter in Roman Catholicism observing disintegration in her native religion of
Hinduism. Biswas is a frozen being vacillating between the tussling points of existence. His
alienation is created by his traumatic situation not letting a unity of the feudal aspect of the
past with the present capitalist order. The irreconciliation of Biswas’ personal history with
the past alienated heritage is the cause of the cultural alienation.
Mohun Biswas represents an exile helplessly seeking to strike roots and establish his
identity. Mr Biswas is to overcome a path where he is obsessed with both desires and
obligations. His desires come in conflict with the obligations imposed by the society. His
inner instincts to settle down in a self-made home are toppled down in course of facing the
topsy-turvy circumstances entangled around. His perpetual struggle is to acquiesce a social
identity. He is to gain an authentic selfhood. The novel portrays the socio-ethnic history that
partakes the community while on its march of getting unified with an alien society of
Trinidad. To establish oneself amidst one’s transition from rural to an urban and
59
industrialized society is nothing but a search for order in course of the socio-cultural change.
The recurrent slavery and the psychic encounter hinder him from finding oneself planted in a
foreign culture. It is a centreless society that makes the individual sustain a persistent state of
chaos and instability. Consequently, Biswas, the individual, experiences rootlessness. Mr.
Biswas is treated as a “no-where man,” (SP Swain) cursed with joblessness and landlessness.
There is a split in the personality of the protagonist – his own account of himself and
others’ account upon him. What he contemplates about himself is far-fetched. The personal
account of his own being is sublime and ideal. Further, it is not yet realized remaining
similar to a mirrage moving farther and farther. Though he is solemn about his dignity, yet
he is looked upon as an outsider, a destitute and a labourer. There outgrows a situation of
incompatibility of the expectations contained within and the manifestations of his actions as
appear to the outside. Thus a battered and scattered individual is trying to catch the mainway
of existence. The dreams of a being a dignified person are counted high but fall flat the
moment when they are yet to set on. His real-life accomplishments are miles ahead. He is
merely a day-dreamer to put up with the big lots. The moody rebel does not pay heed to what
others might opine upon him. The Tulsis are amazed at the way Biswas refuses to work
either in their store or in the sugar wine estate. Biswas embodies abhorrence to the Tulsis
because of the Tulsis’ caring three hooks to his Brahmin status and not counting him within
the category of the civilized and the refined persons.
He is considered a relegated individual marginalized from the mainstream of the rich
and the affluent. Biswas has a greed for respect and positions but is often thwarted by the
society of ranks and positions inhabited by the wealthy. On the one hand, Biswas is crazy
enough to be regarded as a Brahmin but on the other hand, he is a rebel against the class and
the caste system. Thus the conflict between the desires and the necessities within Biswas is
worth noting; it is a cog in the wheel that retards his progress. A wide hiatus runs parallel
between what he is and what he would like to be. Illusion and reality do not match for a
symbiotic existence but for a conflicting awkwardness. Biswas, the protagonist experiences
estrangement and alienation after leaving the Tulsis. Besides, the work of an agricultural
labourer as his ancestors no more interests him. The dreams of class and caste designations
and a house of his own purge him of the sauce of his life.
The Indianness of the Trinidad Hindus and the migrants’ construction of a psyche, a
mood and an ambience of superstitions, rituals and religious credos interplay to form the
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background of A House for Mr. Biswas. The tinge of the misfortune or evil shadows Mr.
Biswas taking chance of his economic inability. The curses on him are called down, the
irksome occurrences of the events synchronise with the dictations of his fragile fate. The
post-birth rituals of Mr. Biswas such as almanac, horoscope and prophecy etc. present an
ominous account of the child-Biswas in the traditional Hindu society. Biswas is believed to
be born with the evil cursed upon him because he possesses the sixth finger. According to
Hindu beliefs, it is inauspicious and believed to bring misfortune to the family and the
parents. The series of ill-luck is unfurled with the death of his father, dismissal from
priesthood caused by the orthodox Pt. Jairam, and defiling of the flower tree and hesitations
to work in the rum-shop of Ajodha due to cheating by Bhandat from time to time. He is
compelled to take to painting losing the confidence of his rum-shop master. He in order to
escape waywardness accompanies the Tulsis. He is not free from subjugation and relieves
him from them to settle at Greenvale. The skeleton of his house at Greenvale is burnt by the
annoyed workers to his further destitution. He ends his career as a journalist for Trinidad
Sentinel moving from rural India to the urban port of Spain.
The world of A House for Mr. Biswas is a Dickensian world where child labour,
work, wages, money, shelter and employment pour in to echo the predicament of the migrant
labourers in Trinidad. The touch of decrepitude is against time for the child is without the
hours of recreation, playfulness and mirth. He undergoes the iron-laws of life to eke out his
living each day. He becomes old before enjoying his childhood. Malnutrition, bondage and
slavery are the everyday facts of his life. A wage-earner is tussled hither and thither and
knocked down despite possession of the original pride of his castes and abilities. The
protagonist is bound to be struck by the absolute sense of fate. One is ordained before birth
the destination of his life. The destitute worker is a rolling stone to endure through out with
no significant outcome in his life. The social philosophy has a demonic force behind to crush
and mutilate the poor immigrant workers, making them dance to the tune of the exploitative
process of the society. They accept things of life without protest. Biswas’ grandfather
pronounces the inevitability of the dictation of fate. “Fate” he says…”there is nothing we can
do about it.” (Biswas-15) He utters much about fate through he is left to pass away in a
crumbling thatched hut at the termination of the sway of events in his life. A favour from
fate is a mere survival and not a playful existence with the gusto of living.
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The psycho-social account of the novel is indicated in Biswas’ behaviour with the
changing socio-economic situations. Biswas is tenacious, purposeful and up keeping despite
awkward situations on the verge to devour him with momentary frustrations. He endeavours
by fits and starts to pick up something else as occupation the moment he loses something. He
develops wings to put up with the awkwardness posed against the smooth passage of life. His
down to earth feelings for others makes him despise the surroundings and be far from the
near and dears, at the port city of Spain. Besides, he is quite personal and introspective. At
the same time, he has a mark of sentimentality in him tinged by his upper class belongingness
and a sentimental outlook poses the social situations as the Himalayan obstacles. His tenacity
is not capable enough to face the situations permanently and he takes up the cudgel only for a
short duration to vanish from there to engage himself at the other round of life-like situations.
The availability of comforts and luxuries is meagre enough to evoke in him playfulness and
gregarious participation with the neighbours. He loses the goody-goody moods in him to
become tough and challenging in the work of journalism in port of Spain, developing a career
and writing for the Trinidad Sentinel. The burning of the skeleton of the house at Green vale
by the initiated workers is to thrust him down but he reawakens again to make another at the
port city of Spain. Shama is made to traverse the path and attain consummation of life along
with Biswas and the children, Savi and Anand. The fantasy within Biswas and the high
esteem within himself are turned aside by the Tulsis in a facilitated status and with opulence.
Biswas own eyes beguile him for further sustenance. The Tulsis do not share his high hopes.
Thus the great expectations for himself end in painful humiliations. The dreams for a better
future seem somehow shattered by his lowly jobs as a store keeper or a plantation driver.
Thus the determination to keep going higher is vitiated by non-availability of income, jobs
and accommodation till his contentment. The desires and the results, fantasy and actuality
are at tug of war to image Biswas, a tottering individual sustaining despite odds, hoping for
his expected destination. He is the wage-earner unable to make a tie with the haves.
A House for Mr. Biswas is a delineation of a picaroon society where the downtrodden
stay within the limitation of social suppressions. Traditions and institutions mean
insignificant for them for they are busy in making their way out. Sustainability is wanted
prior to social esteem. Marginalisation puts them away from the sphere of power and
development. The underdogs or the downtrodden feel nothingness of their lives and futility
of their existence. It is a portrayal of an exile’s construct, a historical memoir of the
downtrodden in the migrant community in an urban atmosphere. The tragic story of the
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struggle of the destitute is the pen-picture of the slavery of the population of the mixed
communities and the colonized. The island reflects a scene of the picaroon world in Spain.
The poor would not access to the rich and were never approved, to be permanently
humiliated. It is a pathetic account of their march from indenture ship to the status of the free
and independent society of the middle class professionals. The pain and torture forms an
implacable picture of the intolerable struggle till they meet their doom. They keep calm with
meagre achievement and reap no corns throughout.
Biswas falls short to accomplish all the necessities for the house. The romantic
playfulness of his dreams ends in compromises. The disappointments in arranging materials
mock his dreams. His enchantment as that in a poem of Wordsworth ends in a sober
adjustment. The bitter actuality is quite painful and intolerable; the high-conceived hopes
remain unfulfilled and thwarted by the demonic circumstances. He has to forsake his house
and property after his father’s drowning. Biswas strains every nerve to regain the lost
security of his boyhood days. Biswas’ struggle for accommodation delineates a chronicle of
migrancy, torture and distance cursed by the then Trinidadian colonial society. His freedom
is curbed by his material dependence and search for money and belongings. Biswas is a
wonderer except for his periodical residencies at his self-constructed homes at Green vale,
short-hills and Sikkim street. The houses reflect the boredom of veracity. In other words, the
real is painful. The wooden pillars replace the concrete in his imagination settled calm only, a
cedar floor instead of pitch-pine, the space between the ceiling and the root is patched with
pitch-far instead of boards. As a consequence, the black snakes fall from the ceiling like
terrifying monsters. The floors and pillars are driven with nails by the estate workers’
children to his sad plight. Finally, it is turned to ashes by the enraged workers. The
difference is well indicated by discriminating his dreams and reality as the difference
between the beauty and dullness; beautiful world, jasmine and the insipid vegetation.
Biswas through thick and thin takes a second attempt at short hills to fetch back
contentment to his pastoral vision. But it is again purged of joy and elation; and the house is
“as wild and out of the way as he could have wished.”(Biswas-424) Its location is far from
the hubbub of the city and spoils the very charms of residence. Shama, has to cover a great
length in order to bring grocery items, vegetables and even at times to collect drinking water.
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Biswas’ ruptured house is symbolic of the fragmented society and a break in the
structure of the organic community. The purposes of Biswas have got into hot water. It is
indicative of the detachment cursed upon the cohesion and unity of the society, fetching forth
spiritual void in existence. Mr. Biswas is hoping against hope to make another one. Thus it
points to the dramas of a manufactured society in a colonial situation, remaking and renewing
itself out of a broken structure.
The colonized and the indentured migrants form a split self-one side of the bifurcation
arises out of individual in-authenticity and the other spitted side of the self is created out of
his struggle for selfhood. In authenticity is caused out of the political and socio-cultural
domination. The battle in life of the indentured protagonist is entangled within the realities of
the exploitative process causing slavery, poverty, migration and colonial suppression. The
conflicted self is created out when the individual is caught in the snares of colonial
domination. The colonized are cursed with a personality constructed out of an inward
experience mainly dogged by the colonial subordination and with that meekness of his
personality, he interacts with the political and social surroundings. Homi Bhabha says about
the colonial situation as “an apparatus of power which contains in both sense of the world ‘an
other knowledge – a knowledge that is arrested and fetishistic and circulated as through
colonial discourse as that limited form of difference... called the stereotype.” (Bhabha) The
colonial temper disseminates a feeling of otherness and a distance. The exploiters are purged
of any consideration of belongingness and oneness for them. Such awareness about the other
community becomes useful and is deeply felt. There is no love lost between the two
communities. The colonizers and the rich community throw cold water on every purpose and
scheme of the indentured community.
Biswas is a victim of poverty and arbitrariness of power. He has no say in undoing
the tyranny of power and mitigation of poverty. The relegated individual from the
marginalized section of the society cannot access to tussle with the big men of the
exploitative machination. He is a hack who is not capable to resist the advance of poverty
and torture. The newspapers serve the capitalist’s purpose and have no radical voice against
the inherent system causing destitution of the migrants. The liberation of the migrant
workers, emancipation from the subjugation of the rich and the facilitated, improvement of
the labourers’ community and downfall of the capitalists’ ways receive a neglected concern
by the hegemonic society. it is a portrayal of the broken social entity, the social structure
fragmented; slavery and racial division gaining ground on the dismal scene. It breeds a
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spiritual indecisiveness with break in the organic community typifying bourgeois notion of
progress closely resembling philistinism. Biswas does not endeavour to normalize his
relations with the society but desires to escape from the subjugating cultural and social
disadvantages. His consciousness forsakes the credibility in the existing society to crown an
alien existence. Biswas wins his laurels as the lone protagonist to triumph over a philistine
society.
The concern of the indentured is explained by referring to the notion of subalternity,

representing the migrant Indians in the context of history. The role of the migrants is
delineated in terms of their subject positions in the course of history that is Eurocentric. Both
the constructions of sociality-self and communality have reports of the struggle of the
indentured at times challenged and humiliated. In other words, history is entailed as subject
positions and memory. History, here, is a general reflection on an issue mainly appropriating
a struggle with the other foot-prints of memory. But the narratives of Naipaul speak of an
anti-historical consciousness urging for us a modern outlook, creating hopes for a better
existence with democratic participation and share for the downtrodden. The struggle of the
protagonist is ceaseless, picking up a rebelling awareness to uproot capitalist monopoly and
attain individual emancipation towards accommodation, existence, power, position and socio-
economic values. The recognition of the individual or self receives a western appropriation
involving the ideas of socio-economic development, changes or transformations in society
along with the myth of the natives integrated with historical universalism. Vijay Mishra hints
at Girmit ideology that establishes the relation of the members of the Indian diaspora
disentangled from India and integrated with the existential experiences of Naipaul’s texts
taking in its scheme politics, history, culture and chronology.
Biswas’ self is divided – the one public and the other private. The private one is
repulsive within, adjusting to queries, desires and is rebelling, for instance, his hesitations are
expressed against the imposition of constraints by the Tulsi order. The public one begs
recognition of his individuality with the western ideals of liberation pointing to the values of
dignity and freedom. The protagonist as the individual colonized subject is visualized on the
screen permeated by history.
The individual, the microcosmic unit of the society comes in unity with the
macrocosmic social body in Naipaul’s texts. He is portrayed in a social situation that has a
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historical context with significations and identifications. The individuals, Biswas and Ralph
Singh are often located personalities in the meaningful contexts of history.
A foreign community of India needs to be integrated end legitimized with the

Trinidadian ethos. Indians are a fragmented community represented with an imaginary belief
systems or falsification in a foreign scene of communities with cultural distances and ways of
life quite apart. A multiple system of beliefs projects the scene of acceptance and abhorrence
at racial differences. The present realities are embedded in a nostalgic past. It is a
constructed history as there was no specific history of the migrants and is made possible by
reflection of the “false consciousness” (Marx) of the girmit phantasgomaria. The critics call
it a ‘fragmented psyche’ as there is no continuity between their present and their past.
Besides, improper communication between them and the other community makes them
psychologically segregated. The dislocated Indian diaspora ensnares itself in the absurdities
of disenfranchisement and deracination. Their struggle for identification in a foreign land is
the curse of Naipaul’s texts. They need to bear the palm where they have no accounts of
themselves.
The struggle of the poor migrants amidst a decaying culture is a dismal film of the life
at a far-off place. The struggle for self-hood is delusive; related with the detached past are
the present adverse and incongruous traditions. Thus the Girmit ideology is appropriate in A
House of Mr. Biswas to point at decay and disintegration. The traditional Tulsi order
crumbles down. Modern values crop up as in Biswas’ march to Port of Spain undoing the
subjugation of colonial restraints and social limitations. In other words, a modern tinge
affects the psycho-social order of the day. His emancipation is conspicuous when the
traditional social structure is getting off easy. Mr. Biswas is identified as the migrant
prototype who strains his every nerve to liberate himself in a foreign hybrid culture.
The real in A House for Mr. Biswas is so bitter and realistic that the protagonist
Biswas is out of spirits to conceive of the natural beauty or the romantic landscape. Neither
does it evoke his aesthetic sensibilities. He remains dogged by the experiences that have
painfully affected him. In short, suppressed are the softer ways of playful living. A jarring
contrast is observed between the lively colours of objects and nature, and the sterile, the
inactive and the deadening being of Biswas. His identification with the benevolent world of
sweetness and romance seems illusory when the real occupies the reader’s mind with his pale
66
existence. “The imaginary scenes : snow-covered mountains and fir trees, red-butted yachts
in a blue sea below a clear sky, roads winding between well-kept forests to green mountains
in the distance”(Biswas – 279) seem as a forced juxtaposition of the fanciful with the sordid.
The household implements appear as the items of pain and torture. He is misrecognised and
the very impression remains incorrigible. The vitiating experiences are disappointments,
thwarts offered by the refusing socio-economic order and his capabilities remaining
devalued. He is known to Seth and the labourers as an overseer. His mental deterioration
occurs because he is never free, his identity remains undermined and the house of his dreams
is a far-fetched metaphor. He dares not have a finger in the pie of the rich and the big.
Individual freedom is thwarted by a socio-economic order that denies him a place in

the society; his capabilities are not marked and celebrated. Biswas, the marginalized, is not
pointed out by the socialists in the higher pedestal of the society. He is relegated to a low-
stratum. The house is a metaphor and the disappointments are real. The personal world of
Biswas is not recognized only to offer him a distance and separation from the social set-up.
The pregnant Shama is kicked and he expresses abhorrence to her sexual advances. He
refuses investment of the body being entangled in the matrix of domination, psychologically
detesting sex. Being innerved more about the society and less about his personal
belongingness and care, he is hesitant to the joyfulness of life. The historical discourse is not
healthy to the description of Biswas. The discourse is merely an exploitative account of
Biswas. There is no detailed explanation of the completeness of his life. He is under a
romantic quest and there is only redoubling of the incidents. A history is created when the
incidents are not of similar order but they are organic and expressive of social factors both
sound and unhealthy in alternation. But Biswas’ is a tragic story accountable to the
mistreatment of the society throughout. It is on a whole, delineation of an exploitative order.
The historical discourse is purged of the instances of Biswas bearing a charmed life.
The novel is dialogical and contains histories that are at times, antagonistic and at
times, dependent on one another. The capitalist historiography shows the occurrences of the
capitalist suppression including Biswas in the scene of the dispossessed labourers and the big
men, Seth and the others. Simultaneously, the state of the personal life of Biswas as a
colonized, a subjugated individual is another run of history. One discourse pre-conditions the
other. There is scope for the readers to conceive of the multiple historical discourses. Some
historical discourses are just cited but the narrative of the novel does not pick out those paths
67
of histories. Pankaj Rai’s Hindu Reformist group exemplifies the progressive ideals of
western communism in the Indian scene. Another paralleled recourse, the communist ideals
of owad features serving to mitigate the plight of the inhabitants of the under-developed
world. Another new history is marked in Biswas’ adventure to short hills where the
traditional values of the countryside are restored in the face of alternation of a socio-
economic structure. Nature compensates the awkwardness of socio-economic distortion and
a relief from the wrath, frustration and alienation. Biswas wants to rest on his oars.
“The land itself was a wonder. The Saman trees had lianas so strong and supple that
one could swing on them. All day the immortelle trees dropped their red and yellow bird-
shaped flowers through which one could whistle like a bird. Cocoa trees grew in the shade of
the immortelles coffee in the shade of the cocoa and the hills were covered with tonka bean.
Fruit trees, mango, orange, avocado pear etc was so plentiful as to seem wild…. The sisters
spoke of the hills, the sweet springs and hidden waterfalls with all the excitement of people
who had known only the hot, open plain, the flat acres of sugarcane and the muddy rice
lands. Even if one did not have a way with land, as they did, even if one did nothing, life
could be rich at short hills.” (P. 391)
The characters’ attempt to play back their past is never attained. Mrs. Tulsi, longing
for the persistence of a civilization at short-hills is a kind of affiliation with her native
community and the practice of her orthodox Hinduism drags her towards her own people.
Mrs. Tulsi hopes to return to the same state of a domineering gregarious life at short-hills.
Thus the characters return back to the same state of a nostalgic past; the history they want to
return is never reached and it spoils the harmony, the tranquility and the serenity of their
temper. History is not under control and their wish-fulfillment is never appeased. Such an
instance leads Biswas towards disorganization of his mind. Social sanction does not add to
the characters’ positive impulses, rather it causes failure to the aspiring individuals within
them.
The urge for recognition within Biswas causes Biswas to exchange words with the
Tulsis. His witty attacks on the Tulsis are a kind of expression suggesting familiar
attachment and undoing the isolation of his own person from the society in proximity with
him. After his mental breakdown at Green-vale, he takes to writing to voice against the
hindrances posing before him the circumstantial and personal limitations in his weeklies, and
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his journals. The absurdities cause the characters to be in false colours and they are never
genuine in their dispositions as they are the frustrated beings of the past.
In A House for Mr. Biswas, as in an epic, the theme is known before hand. The story
is forecasted in advance and with the juxtaposition of occurrences both of past and future, the
meaning always foregrounds on the cultural alienation of the protagonists.
The meaning is elaborated through condensations and expansions. Incidents are

clutched together and narrated in length gradually, the meaning pervading our minds
surreptitiously. At moments, meaning becomes over determined. The narrator, at such
instances adapts to a metonymic strain, thereby overemphasizing the multiple effects of
meanings; the concrete and the universal coalesce. The narrative achieves congruency in his
communication by keeping eyes on the limitation of meanings conveyed by words, phrases
and connotations. The words are in paradoxical relation to each other. A reliable meaning
seems an impossibility, when the narrator refers to sensations that are obvious at the time of
Raghu and Biswas is unable to catch through. Biswas is made to face an unapproachable
gust of sensations that seem to strike the racial unconscious, the collective myth of his past
hinted at from his fathers’ senses. Naipaul says the words “come from a far” and “some
immeasurable depth within.” Biswas (P. 116) This universal expression becomes concrete
touching both the deeper and the exterior universe as that in a metonymic expression.
Language, at times, can not reflect the reality desired. The usurpation of meaning
occurs during the interplay of the signifiers and the signified. Biswas, while is made to write,
“I AM AN ASS” does not understand the cynicism (Biswas-47) in the teaching-learning
context but draws and beautifies the letters. So, there is a deferral of meaning of the content
of the narrative. Thus, in a cultural context with variation in instances of history, cultural
alienation takes a meandering course of its path keeping the flow persistent as the recurrence
of exploitation is of the same strain till the end. History in the context is a series of changes
entangled with the prominent theme of exploitation unchanged. Language is enthroned to
beautify the texture. The agents of exploitation stick to their guns despite Biswas being
susceptible to the changing recourse of history.
The novel is univocal, saying much about Biswas and the other characters are just
attached in the journey of the life of the main protagonist, Biswas. Biswas attains a
deplorable state of disintegration of his equipoise and mental tranquility. He almost touches
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insanity after the passing away of his mother. By virtue of Biswas’ engagement with sign
writing, reading the novels of Dickens and making peace with the bygone days, Biswas
recovers from madness. He attains his wholesome being again after his insanity gripping him
at Greenvale. Language negotiates the real with the imaginary contradictions merging into
meaninglessness and incoherence. Language acts as a means of deferral to point out the
brink of insanity and again makes us reach the pacified state of sanity, a recovery from the
hold of mental disintegration, which the novelist points out as violation of self-consciousness.
Biswas rationalizes in his heart-felt piece of writing to his dead mother, about his inabilities
of mental equilibrium, “He wrote of a journey he had made a long time before. He was
hungry; she gave him food. He had nowhere to go; she welcomed him; the writing excited,
relieved him.” (Biswas – 484) He further continues “The poem written, his self-
consciousness violated, he was whole again.” (Biswas – 484) Biswas, the aesthetic being
with in him is able to come over even when he is standing on his last legs.
The house of Mr. Biswas is the central metaphor related to the other incidents
connected with it. The various other details are within the parameters of the novel. Each
detailed account points at a separate signification and together with others produces a
multiplicity of understanding. There may be divergences in the context of the novel carrying
us into multiple arenas of reserved insight but the master-impulse propels with a prominent
march of its own. So the prominent theme of the novel lying in Biswas’ making a house of
his own is entangled with the summons from several regions of culture, history and
ideologies. The play of meanings never receives a termination. The social factors involving
the discarded and the rejected section of the society under turbulence contain within the
alleviation of poverty of Biswas. The circumstances are autonomous with Biswas’ persistent
struggle quite personal. They form the purification, the penumbra to the umbra symbolizing
Biswas’ struggle. The crux lies in Biswas’ fulfilling his ambition of a house. Biswas is
caught into a mire of poverty, where poor people dwell. Biswas wants to rise above them by
making things for himself prior to all. He wants to escape the turbulent state of life
experienced by others by reaping faster than others. But the actuality is resistance caused on
the ways. Fredric Jameson says “The wish fulfilling imagination does its preparatory work
so well that the wish and desire itself, are confounded by the unanswerable resistance of the
Real.”(Jameson) The values of the society are unreal and false to the self-designed ambition
of the protagonist till it is attained. The critics especially Reed Way Dasenbrock say
comparing Daniel Deronda and Dorothea Brooke with Biswas “All of these protagonists
70
move from a set of false values imposed by the community of a false family to their own
freely chosen self-hood which finds expression in a new family, community and place of
dwelling.”(Dasenbrock-1985) Thus Biswas has an eye on the main chance. He is after
loaves and fishes and does not like to be left in the lurch.
It is a mythical design that forms the superstructure of the novel and embodies with in
as base, the exploitative plight of the migrants. The banishment of Rama into the deep dense
forest removed far from his kith and kin, his own kingdom and people is a parallel
delineation to Biswas, the migrant Indian placed in a foreign surrounding trying helplessly to
make his pros and cons. The forests of Panchabati and the abode of Ravana, Lanka are
places connecting two new social situations to construct a harmony of social representation
eliminating evils and injustice. Here, Biswas is setting a similar connection through his
personality and actions along with his people between India and Trinidad, the two widely
apart ways of life. The heinous social strangeness of Trinidad and Tobago is a parallel
substitute for evil occurrences faced by Rama near Kiskindha and the events extending
beyond the sea till Lanka inhabited by demons, gifted with evil forces. They are colonial
beings removed far from homeland and are subjected to the rigours of a foreign land. The
stage interplays exile and alienation involving history, myth and social situations. The
tragedies of pain, torture and displacement are parallel narratives. They illustrate the
predicament of the tragic alienation. George Steiner, in his introduction to Walter
Benjamin’s text The Origin of German Tragic Drama has brought out a keen comparison
between The Ramayana and A House for Mr. Biswas. The protagonists are in a quandary of
situations. Both Rama and Biswas, are in the queer streets of society as abandoned beings
endeavouring tooth and nail for a just social serenity.
Ambiguity in poly-ethnic society offers a doubtful personality and an insignificant

identity to the protagonists. A complex relationship is built between the white upper class
and the natives formed by the coloured middle class. A conspicuous distinction is between
the Kinky hair and light brown coloured people in one community and straight hair and olive
skin in the other community. The local ethnic labels are referred to in the texts as white,
black either Afro-Trinidadian or African, coloured either as brown or red, East Indian and
Chinese. The East Indians are of Indian origin. The word “creole” refers to Trinidadian but
is different from East Indian origin. There is no religious diversity but there is social
classification based on ethnicity, class, gender and locality. Biswas, before making a home
71
for himself, recognized among Trinidadian way farers, with all his fears and anxieties as an
alienated Indian in a non-Indian community is frustrated enough for his ambition is thwarted.
Thus A House for Mr. Biswas is a portrayal of a sensitive account of ethnography and
historicity. The protagonist faces many setbacks and disappointments taking on the
challenges of modernization and urbanity. The traditional and original language and custom
tolerate a pressure and threat while the East Indians are struggling to put up with the urban
creoles. A strive towards modernization is cursed with a loss of originality. The novel
depicts a scene of rural-urban liaison, a change and continuity of lives in Indo-Trinidadian
villages and a perpetual tension between Indian and non-Indian communities. The phrase -
cultural and ethnic tapestry- is used to describe the intermingled lives and realities in
Naipaul’s literature. The protagonists in Naipaul’s narratives represent the chief individuals
of the picaresque novels undergoing a series of ups and downs to cut the Gordian knot. He is
to take French leave from the exploiters and the subjugating society.
In the end, Biswas reaches his halcyon days. He emancipates from the bondage of his
society and the strangles of the past. It is a freedom and release from a long sustained
subjugation. Naipaul paints the picture of Biswas with a Victorian largeness. He undoes the
constraints as David Copperfield or Oliver Twist. Naipaul has Eliot’s morality and Dickens’
sympathy while portraying the protagonist. The previous values for the protagonist are
vicarious and false. The community and the society create such mental turbulence that he
seeks a release from them. He makes a new family, a community and an independent house
of his own. It is emancipation from the spiritual and cultural bondage captivating him for
long and long years. Biswas comes out with a separate identity and could pull through the
challenge. He is able to offer his hostages to fortune; his son, Anand, his daughter, Savi and
his wife, Shama a comfortable abode. Biswas has broken the ice as a member of the exodus.
The coast is clear. The saga of the indenture or Girmit has reached its consummation as a
legend and a history.
The issue of conflicts in A House for Mr. Biswas receives varied interpretations. The
conflict sets off when Mohan is betrothed to Shama. His persistent look out for a way out to
manifest his own identity tussles with the conservative credos cultivated by the Tulsis. A
conflict has its roots in a relationship and the ideologies valued both by the single individuals
and the classes in wholeness come into debates and contradictions against one another. The
ideological opinions contrast against one another to enter into the conflicts. Althusser opines,
72
that “Ideology is a representation of the imaginary relationship of the individuals to their real
conditions of existence.” He further adds, “What is represented in ideology is therefore not
the system of the real relations which govern the existence of individuals but the imaginary
relations of these individuals in which they live.” (Althusser)
Bakhtin rightly argues that literature’s relation to reading is both positive and
coherent: Literature and reality are of the same order which is ideological. However, the
special qualities of literature have a distancing effect on the ideologies that it represents.
(Jefferson – 43)
In A House for Mr. Biswas, the conflict is between the aristocratic class and the
working class; the landed aristocracy exerting the workers with their dominant strategy of
exploitation. Similar conflict ensues from The Mystic Masseur between the feudalistic
tendencies and the capitalistic mottoes. Each party of the conflict has a bone to pick with the
other.
Biswas, the immigrant labourer belongs to the fragile world purged of manliness that
is castrated. Slavery, poverty and dispossession for long have made the world lack its vigour
and strength. Nandini Bhattacharya discusses with us the emasculation of the world by the
beings that mock heroism and masculinity. She says, “it is a world that moves between the
poles of futile emasculation, and vicious, brute aggression that is only a parody of true and
heroic manliness.” (Bhattacharya)
The social dominance is defined in terms of aggression of males over females,

masculinity over femininity. The persistent humiliation and the constant poverty take the
lively sauce out of the inhabitants. From castration, they are subjected to death, diseases and
extinction. The author gives evidences. For instance, Bipti’s father is suffering from asthma
whom “Fate had brought him from India to the sugar estate, aged him quickly and left him to
die in a crumbling mud hut on the swamplands.”(Biswas-15) The protagonist cuts a poor
figure to fetch the society only disenchantment about itself. However, the attempts of the
protagonist to catch up with the masculine strain are a far cry as he is already vitiated and
mutilated in the struggle. He attains a state of mimicry or a ridiculous imitation of the
colonial rhetoric. It appears as if produced out of effort and not spontaneous to his natural
style. The protagonist is put to task to disorient the natural order of verbosity and eloquence.
73
Nandini Bhattacharya sums up, “Mohun’s internalization of the colonial rhetoric of

masculinity and his paradoxical struggle to construct a heroic persona constitutes the crux of
the novel.” (Bhattacharya)
The characters of Naipaul disown and hide their real persona. They are forced to
despise their own individuals. The self is defied. Ashish Nandy says about Naipual, N.C.
Chaudhury and Kipling on their styles of self-effacement that they fetch “secondary
elaboration of a culture designed to hide the real self – the deepest social consciousness of the
victims from the outsiders.” [Nandy, Ashish]
The strains of criticism on self-defiance by Naipaul continue. Manjit Inder Singh

writes, “None of the [novelist’s] figures are allowed authenticity or a place in the landscape
he inhabits, indeed Naipaul sees a necessarily fleeting and absurd wish in them to cross
barriers, erected by the limitations of colonial culture that in the end can only lead to a falsity
of purpose, supplemented or aggravated by a consciousness of unimportance.” (Singh,
Manjit Inder)
Naipaul elaborates upon the building up of national identities arising out of ethnic
particularities. In the making of nations, the ethnic specificities are obliterated. The
communities both compete and share mutually on a stage of ethnic diversities. The members
of the Indian diaspora inhabiting the Caribbean territories as immigrants are pervaded
throughout by a new nationalistic creed other than theirs. The Indian mingles with the
Caribbean to express itself not as a harmonic but as a rootless and decayed Indian culture
perversed by the inevitable juncture of two wide-apart cultures. Languages and religions are
now mixed versions affecting the heritage of the immigrants, not personal but mostly
collective, communicated and expressed among all members of the immigrants’ community.
The pre-existing strains of language, culture and religion merge with the new, synchronizing
with the rising of the new nations in the making.
The traces of the native are erased to put forth new tulips fetched by the waters of a
distant land. Naipaul paints a panoramic account of the cultural visions pertaining to the
indentured that is world-wide. The ways of life of several communities receive a fresh
treatment but they are mixed, coagulated and hybrid. William Walsh writes, “His vision is
his own, un-enervated by contemporary social clichés or political routines with the mixture in
74
him of creeds, culture and continents.” (Walsh) Further, the characters of Naipaul break off
from their original strain of culture and language; it indicates their acceptance and
assimilation into a larger stage constructed by societies and nations. The new hybrid one
seems gall and warm wood and the old native one does not stand its ground.
The title of the topic in the novel is justified in Biswas’s attempt to make a house for
him. It is to gain social assimilation and offer value and worthiness to the youngsters after he
passes away. His idea is big and Herculean, strengthened and determined. The meaning
transcends beyond its physical structure of four walls. A house is not simply an
accommodation for one but, is esteemed as the socio-cultural institution. William Walsh
opines that it is “a shelter, a fortress, a declaration of independence, a shaping of the
impersonal in the service of the personal.” (Walsh)
His struggle manifests itself in making the house with repeated attempts from place to
place. Meenakshi Mukherjee says that the central concern of the novel is about “the un-
accommodated man’s repeated attempts to find a stable location in a ramshackle and random
world . . .” (Mukherjee)
A House for Mr. Biswas is compared with the Ayemenem house in Arundhoti’s Roy’s
The God of Small Things and Wuthering Heights of Emile Bronte.
A lone man’s struggle is portrayed as a panacea for all kinds of depravity in the face
of destitution. The indomitable Biswas comes out with flying colours having a four-walled
house. Blessed are the joys of eternity, blessed is his struggle and blessed is his emancipation
from the social bondage.
75
References
Althusser, Louis, “Ideology and Ideological State Apparatus” 1970.Contemporary Critical

Theory.Ed. Dan Lartimer. Harcourt Brace Javanvich, 1989, 60-102.
Bhabha, Homi K. (1985) “The Other Question”, Screen, NO. 24, P-30.
Bhattacharya, Nandini, “Gendered Identities: A Reading of a House for Mr. Biswas” V.S.
Naipaul : Critical Essays. Ed. Mohit Kumar Roy.
Jefferson, Ann and David Robey (Ed.). Modern Literary Theory: A Comparative
Introduction. 1982 London : BT Batsford Ltd. 1986
Mishra, Vijay (1977) “Indo-Fijian Fiction and the Girmit Ideology”, reprinted in Chris
Tiffin, ed (1978), South Pacific Images, Brisbane : South Pacific Association for
Commonwealth Literature and Language Studies, PP-53-67; (1990)
“Little India”, Meanjin Vol. 49, No-4, PP 607-618.
Mukherjee, Menakshi, “A House for Mr. Naipaul”, Frontline, 18:22 (Oct. 27 – Nov. 09)
2001,
http://www.flonnet.com/611822/18220520.htm
Nandy, Ashish. The Intimate Enemy : Loss and Recovery of Self under Colonialism. (1983;
rpt. Delhi: OUP, 1998) 70, 84-85.
Singh, Manjit Inder. Writers of the Indian Diaspora: V.S. Naipaul, Jaipur and New Delhi:
Rawat Publications, 1998, 236.
V.S. Naipaul. A House for Mr. Biswas (Penguin, 1992)
Walsh, William: V.S. Naipaul (Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd, 1973) 39.
Text
Naipaul, V.S: A House for Mr. Biswas, Penguin, 1992.
76
TRANSITION IN THE NARRATIVE TECHNIQUE OF ‘CHINDU

BHAGWATAM’: AN ORAL FOLKLORE OF TELANGANA
Gouri Mandapaka
Abstract
‘Chindu Bhagwatham’ is a folklore performed by Chindu artists of Nizamabad district in

Telangana. The artists belong to the Madiga (lower) caste.Their traditional style of narrating
mythological stories had gained popularity during its early years and later it faded and lost its
popularity in the contemporary times. (The Hindu, Aug 30, 2012). In an effort to preserve
and popularize their traditional art form the ‘Chindu’ artists bring variations in theme and
narrative technique to suit the contemporary stage and audience. This shift in their style of
narrating (changing the form) the content has made a great impact in the acceptability of this
oral art form. The Russian Formalist Victor Shklovsky says that the technique of art is to
make objects ‘unfamiliar,' to make forms difficult to increase the difficulty and length of
perception because the process of perception is an aesthetic end in itself and must be
prolonged. (Shklovsky 16) and therefore it is the de familiarization of the form/ narrative
technique, which becomes the key feature in deciding the effect it will have on its audience.
Therefore, the study of the changes in the style of narration is essential and integral in
identifying the cause of decline of this traditional oral art form. It is in this context that this
paper attempts to study the changes that the art form ‘Chindu Bhagwatam’ has undergone
with an emphasis on the transition of the narrative technique and its aesthetic appeal from the
time of its origin till the present times.
Key words: Narrative Technique, De familiarization, Oral folklore, contemporary stage,

Chindu Bhagwatam, aesthetic appeal
Introduction
Folk Literature finds its meaning and purpose in the traditional, cultural, ethnographic and
geographic structures of a place. ‘Chindu Bhagvatam’ is one such folklore of Telangana
which projects and depicts theircultural background and also speaks in volumes, the different
social levels at which this art form was practised and received by its audiences.
The Chindu artists of Nizamabad district in Telangana belong to the Madiga caste. Their
traditional style of narrating mythological stories had gained popularity during its early years
and later it faded and lost its popularity in the contemporary times. (The Hindu, Aug 30,
2012)
77
In an effort to preserve and popularize their traditional art form, the ‘Chindu’ artists
bring variations in theme and narrative technique to suit the contemporary stage and
audience. This shift in their style of narrating (changing the form) the content has made a
great impact in the acceptability of this oral art form. It is in this context that this paper
attempts to study the changes that the art form, ‘Chindu Bhagvatam’ has undergone with an
emphasis on the transition of the narrative technique and its aesthetic appeal from the time of
its origin to the present times.
This paper aims to study the narrative techniques of ‘Chndu Bhagvatam’, mark the
transition in the narrative style and then decipher the reasons for the decline of the art
form.Every folk literature is written in a certain context (Erich L. Montenyohl) and therefore
it is vital to revisit the historical origins of the art form to understand the transition in the
narrative style. In its early years, when the Bhagvatam was recited, only the upper caste
Brahmins had the authority over it. The Brahmins recited it and performed it and since they
were educated, they could read, understand and interpret the ‘Bhagvatam’ well. In the later
years this oral art form was practiced by Madigas, a sub caste in Telangana region,whichwere
authorised to practice and perform the ‘Bhagvatam’ much later. Bhagvatam was now
performed under the patronage of the Madiga caste which gave shelter and training to other
sub-castes like ‘Chindu Madigas’. There are many mythological stories where the artists
narrate stories of the origin of their performances and inclusion in the Madiga caste. Most of
the performances were in Sanskrit. They are now performed in Telugu, keeping in view the
need of the region to which the audience belonged.
It is essential to note that most of the Chindu artists were not educated and therefore
they could barely manage toread and understand the ‘Bhagvatam’. The text had been handed
over to them from one generation to the other. The richness of the language used by the
present day artists has declined significantly. It does not have the same impact as it had when
the artists had used Sanskrit words in the earlier times. In this context, the Russian formalist
Shklovsky, says-
‘The technique of art is to make objects ‘unfamiliar,' to make forms difficult to

increase the difficulty and length of perception because the process of perception is
an aesthetic end in itself and must be prolonged. (Shklovsky 16)
Therefore, it is essential to retain the richness of the language and the form/narrative
style which gives a unique distinction to the art form. It is the de-familiarization of the artistic
78
form that becomes the key feature in deciding the effect it will have on its audience. The
distortion in the form of narration also has had a great impact in the acceptability of the art
form.
During the early years, the artists of the Bhagvatam followed the Yakshagana style of
narration. The Yakshagana follows the scroll narrative style which has a story sequence. It is
the most flexible form of narrative style, as it gives the artist compete freedom to experiment
with the story line and the background. Therefore, most of the performances in the earlier
times were based on the Yakshagana style of narration, which is the ‘purana pravachana’
tradition of narration. ‘Yakshagana’is a story telling format, where one artist performing a
character from the Mahabharata or Ramayana would enact the episode by reciting it, a
commentary of the Bhagvatam.In the present times, the source of the stories has changed
from legendary mythological stories to social issues of the modern times.The change in
source has diluted the effect and resulted in the decline of the art form.
Another important marker of transition in the narrative technique is the story

sequence. The Bhagvatam in its early form was recited as depicted in the main text with no
variations by the artists. When the Madigas became the patrons of this art form, they included
a new story sequence where they ended the bhagvatam with a ‘samvad’ (dialogue) between
Jambu Mahamuni and the ‘Brahmin sage’. Since then the artists have been trying to add new
episodes and texts to create more interest in the audience. In the process of doing so they
have changed the purity and originality of the main text.
The change may not have appealed to the audiences of the present times because; a) It
distorts the story sequence b) This new form does not have the essence of the original, which
was a much more celebrated and accepted model c) The transition in the form from the old to
the new does not have a synchronic flow. d) The replacement of the language from Sanskrit
with regional dialects and slangs dilutes the aesthetic value.
Caste has been a major subject of contention and debate in Indian Literature. The
history of the origin of this art form; ‘Chindu Bhagvatam’ also finds a vital place in the caste
debates. Chinnaiah Jangam, in his research paper on ‘Caste from below: Memory and
subversion of caste in Chindu Yakshaganam’ makes an important observation-
79
‘Chindu performers invert the Hindu Brahmanical worldview by narrating and performing Puranic
stories upside down to present the phenomenon of caste and its origin myths from a Dalit
perspective.’
In this context, ‘Chindu Bhagvatam’ brings a story sequence of ‘Jambu Puranam’

(mentioned above)which is a dialogue between Jambu Mahamuni and the Brahmin sage.This
dialogue is also an anti thesis subverting the social order, where Jambu Mahamuni
representing the Madiga cast, (suppose to be at the bottom of the social order) gets the power
and privilege to stand at power with the superior (Brahmin) class. In this dialogue
JambuMahamuni shows his superiority by placing himself at a superior position, where he
claims to be older than the sky and earth and to have been born before the holy trinity of the
Hindu religious order: Brahma, Vishnu and Mahesh. It further belittles the upper caste by
foregrounding the double standards of the Brahmins who propagate their purity and
superiority and changing the worldview in their favour. Jambu Mahamuni proves his
superiority with reason and tact and defeats the Brahmin priests in his arguments. This
dialogue has a great significance even now in subverting the caste equations for Chindu
artists in the society. This played a very important role in the lives of Madigas in securing a
secure position in the society.
Gender has always remained one of the essential features of all critical debates and
analysis of narrative, which essentially plays a vital role in the performance and acceptability
of the art form. Bhagvatam was performed only by men in the beginning. Men would play
the role of women. The Madigas and the chindus followed a very patriarchal system where
women were confined to the house hold work. This scenario changed when a Madiga
performer in the early twentieth century introduced his little child to the stage and named her
Yellama. She played Balakrisha and lord Krishna as a child artist which made her very
popular amongst not only the Madiga caste but also the upper castes who appreciated her
work. The art form gained popularity with her performances as she was successful in
bringing a case for gender equality. She displayed courage and the confidence to potray male
and female roles with aplong.In the times when ‘Chindu’ women were treated inferior to not
only men in general but even to men of their own community. Yellama became an iconic
figure and a very integral part of ‘Chindu’ performance.
Later on the women could not participate due to family constrains and poor economic
conditions. As a consequence, women were not seen as main performers. This had a great
80
impact in the acceptability as the men who played the female characters could not justify the
roles and as a result it lost its charm and impact.
The Chindu artist brought variation in the stage and costumes to suit the
contemporary demands and interests. Earlier they performed in an allotted place in the village
at a particular time. Later they started performing at places where they could find more
people as explained bySri Gaddam Sammaiah (Chindu artist) in an interview.
He says they now perform at places where they can attract more people. They do not
have a proper allocated stage, which they decorated with leaves and flowers. In order to suit
the time and convenience of the people they even perform the entire night. In his interview he
mentioned that the clothes and costumes which were made earlier looked very natural as they
were made out of leaves and natural colours of trees, flowers and herbs, but the artist of the
present times use various kinds of artificial colours which do not give the same effect and
essence to the character they perform. This could be another reason for the decline of this art
form.
The artists confess that they have very few people, who appreciate and promote their
art now.This has affected their lives in a significant way. Earlier, when their fathers and
grandfathers performed they would have the entire village for their performance, now they
are forced to make changes in the script, stage and costumes to suit the popular demands of
the present times.
As a result of this change in the popularity of the art form, Madigas who gave shelter
to the Chindu artists and patronised this art form are unable to support them financially. The
artist of the older generation are unable to pass on this oral folklore to their children, The
younger artists are migrating to other states to seek better jobs, as a result they have very few
artists who can perform and carry on this tradition in the present times.
Conclusion
In this rapidly changing social, political and cultural milieu, institutions like the film
industry and the social media have had a greater demand and impact. Bollywood and social
media have a complete monopoly over the viewership in the present times. Most of our
audience, who belong to the younger generation, have better access to technology and less
time for revisiting the rich cultural heritage of the past. The ever growing demand of modern
life has resulted in a strong disconnect with their traditions and cultures.
This has eventually led to the decline of folklore and oral art forms in our country.
The government has taken initiatives to preserve this oral folk tradition. The Telangana
government has allocated areas in the state, where these artists perform to promote various
81
social awareness programmes such as family planning, environment, literacy and health care
measures to the villages. (The Hindu). They have also tried to support these artists financially
by helping them by sponsoring their performance and giving them some incentives to
preserve this oral folklore from getting completely extinct.
82
References
1. Introduction to Indian theatre and folk literature of Andra Pradesh,
shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/25303/6/06_chapter%201.pdf.
2. Dr. Darla Venkateswara Rao, Life Reflections of Madigas in Telugu Literature,
https://vrdarla.blogspot.in/2008/07/life-reflections-of-madigas-in-telugu.html
3. Janggam Chinnaih, ‘Caste from below: Memory and subversion of caste in
Chindu Yakshaganam’, South Asian Research, Sage Publications; Los
Angeles, 2016.
4. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8v7EKGO5fY
5. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wcf-RYVBlE&spfreload=5
6. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uywm1XqEWxA&t=617s
83
PLAY AND GAMES AMONG THE BAIGAS OF MADRYA PRADESH: A PLEA

FOR TRIBAL DEVELOPMENT –A SOCIAL CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGICAL
FOCUS
Dr. Abhijit Das*
Abstract
Play and indigenous folk games are the integral aspects of tribal culture in India which have
always been overlooked till date mostly by the social scientists as well as anthropologists.
The recreational games and allied playful activities are found in different tribal groups in
Central India. The text and context of such play and games vary from economic categories
and their ecological settings of the age-old habitats of the communities.It has been observed
that among most of the tribal communities in India, variegated indigenous play forms and
folk games still exist with some borrowed urban based modem popular games due to
acculturating with mainstream culture, The Baigas of Madhya Pradesh try to patronize their
indigenous knowledge and ideology around their cultural traditions through play and
games.Few games are purely playful but in most cases the physical skill, fitness and
strategies are required to perform successfully in order to achieve the goal as per the game
texts and hence, individual performer should have to possess good health for playing
successfully.Therefore, the present study, basically ethnographic in nature, deserves urgent
attention of the planners, policy makers and physical educators as well as sports educators. It
can also interpret to protect these indigenous games through the increasing consciousness of
physical culture in regular basis through awareness and competition practices along with
institutionalizations like those of modem sports. It may be one of the vital aspects of tribal
development programme, keeping the basic appeal of sustainable development intact.
Keywords:Play, Games, Institutionalization Development, Ethnography.
84
Preamble
Recreation is an aspect of culture. Pattern of recreation varies from one culture to the other. It
plays a refreshing role to each culture. Through recreation the toils of different human
activities are removed and it leaves the dynamics of culture afresh. In most cultures, play and
games represent one of the patterns of recreation (like music, dance, song, art etc.). The
pattern of games and allied playful activities may be individual or group as well as team
based. There are traditional as well as folk games are existing in many pre-industrial societies
like tribals of India. Some games are borrowed. Such borrowed games and play patterns are
selected and incorporated by the mental aptitude of the traditional culture. At the present
level of developed system communication and urbanization, many modern games and
sporting activities are directly borrowed to the recreational milieu of a given culture by the
interested people in it. Leisure time recreation through games often vitalized the activities,
capacity of action and thinking of people.
Play and games have always been of interest to anthropologists. They tried to distinguish
‘play’ and ‘game’ though both are basically considered as recreational activities. Play is free
and spontaneous activities; one is engaged in it with his/her free volition. And thus it is not
for any specific objectives or ends. Therefore, play may be assumed to be a behavior which is
an exercise of voluntary control systems. From a cultural point of view, it is normal to
emphasize that play is unique and individual, but ephemeral; whereas a game is sufficiently
systematic and may be repeated by others in other places. Games are repeatable because of
their systematic pattern and predictable outcomes. Play on the other hand is less systematic
and is open ended with regard to an ultimate outcome. For an activity to be classified as a
game, it must be “characterized by: (1) organized play, (2) completion, (3) two or more sides,
(4) criteria for determining the winner, and (5) agreed upon rules” (Roberts, Arth, & Bush,
1959: 597) . Games can be classified into three basic types delineated by such nineteenth
century anthropologists as Morgan (1962), Tylor (1879), Roberts and Sutton-Smith (1962):
(1) Games of Physical skill, (2) Games of Strategy,(3) Games of Chance.
All these types can be broadly categorized into Indoor and Outdoor games. Games scholars
often classified as individual as well as group game and so on. All these categories and sub
categories express the fact that aspects of physical and socio-cultural environment often can
be interpreted through the play and games as exist in a society. Therefore, since the games of
strategy (e.g. chess, playing cards etc.) simulate comparatively complex social systems, those
85
systems should be complex enough to generate such needs for expression. Simple societies
may not possess games of strategy and should resist borrowing them from other cultures.
That is why in almost all the tribal societies this category is more or less absent.
Aim and Objectives of the present Study
The present study basically ethnographic and qualitative in nature has been carried out with
the following aim and objectives–
 To know the different texts and contexts of indigenous folk games of Baigas in the
wider gamut of their traditional folk culture.
 To evaluate the position of play and games in their leisure time recreation as one of
the vital aspects of culture.
 To interpret the games as adaptive strategy of the ecological settings of the
community under study.
 To give a profile of the play and games as interrelated system of their day to day
interaction in socio-cultural system.
 To highlight the urgent attention of the planners, policy makers as well as
anthropologists to those play and game elements in order to protect these from
decaying day by day, like other indigenous elements of culture, and lastly-
 To interpret to protect these games through the increasing awareness of physical

culture in regular basis by institution based competitions as these are played with
minimum equipment available in their surroundings.
Venues of Observation
Central India covers part of Gujrat and Maharashtra (this would be Western Central India)
and parts of Bihar and Orissa (which would form Eastern-Central India). Madhya Pradesh
lies at the heart of India. Most of the state is a high plateau, historically known as Malwa
Region, the home land to many Pre-Aryan tribes. A number of tribes occupy Madhya
Pradesh, including the Gond, Bhil, Baiga, Korku, Kamar, Kol, and Maria. Many of the tribal
traditions are still vital and strong, although they have been exposed to outside cultural
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influences, hence significant and relevant to anthropologists till date. It is also justifiable to
mention here at the same time, that, a great deal of tribal mythology as well as folklore is also
well preserved regarding their myths, legends, songs, dances together with folktales, riddles,
proverbs, folk games and playful activities illustrating their ecological, techno-economic and
mainly socio-religious spheres of cultural heritage. Away from the tribal stock of Madhya
Pradesh, the rest of the population consists of Hindu communities. They
Include Rajput landholders, traditional merchant classes and established agriculturists. The
industries and factories in the urban areas have drawn labour from all the classes (Mohanty
2006; Mishra 2009, Jain Sharma 2009).
From the foregoing discussion, it is clear that the Baigas are one of the important primitive
tribal groups (PTGs)1 of Central India. The largest number of Baigas is found in Baiga-
Chawk in Mandla district and Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh. Their population as of
census 1981 was 2,48,949, (Singh, 2010) they practice shifting cultivation (Bewar) in forest
areas. Until fairly recently the Baigas practiced “dahiya” cultivation that is slash and burn.
Thousands of square miles of sal forests have been Clean and destroyed by them in the
progress of their dahiya cultivation, the ground being afterwards occupied by dense scrub of
low Sal pieces springing from the stumps. The Baigas are courageous woodsman and hunters,
now-a-days.
Therefore the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh are to be considered here for the main focus of
observation as per the aim and objectives of the present study.
Texts & Contexts of Play & Games: An Ethnographic Profile
While leading such labourious bread earning jobs the Baigas, mainly children and boys and
girls of age group (10-15) years practice their plays and games which are part and parcel of
their life and culture. All these playful activities and games keep them fresh and give them
joy because most of these are recreational in nature.
The play and games as practiced by them can be classified as playful activities without goal
or predictable outcome, indigenous folk games, and games with physical prowess or sporting
activities. The first and second categories are more in number which are played in almost
pure oral traditions with few rhymes and riddles, hence, have a significant role in maintaining
their age old folklore as well as folk culture of the territory under study. The rules of such
games are flexible andsubject to amendments of the will of the players. The third category is
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few in number and mainly played by the senior boys because the Baigas of the forest and
hilly areas have to possess tremendous amount of physical strength for their daily sustenance
in their habitat. These categories are better to call as physical contests. Here in these contests
they are showing individual physical prowess and skill. These patterns are mainly found to be
played during the ceremonies and festivals. It is also worth mentioning that very few modern
urban based gamer are borrowed now-a-days and getting popularity, but these have been
exempted from the present study.
Now, we shall pass on the variegated texts and contexts of the play and games as played by
the Baiga children, and boys and girls of different age groups.
The Primitive Tribal Groups (PTGs) embrace such tribal people who are characteristically
benighted in the different dimensions of their way of life. Economically they still indicate
their specific trend of continuation of the archaic pattern of existence. Living very close to
nature and their utter dependence on the bountiful natural resources, their way of life and
basic philosophy have been moulded accordingly and thus any sort of severance form this
deep-rooted matrix results in an unbalancing situation.
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Regarding spontaneous play forms like everybody else, what the Baiga children like most is
jumping off things and rolling about. They can spend a happy morning and afternoon
climbing onto a fallen tree and leaping down to the ground. Sometimes they abore rolling
over and over in the soft worm send of the river bed. Other forms are as follows:
Bazar-Bazar (Market game): Like the. Bazar-bazar game of rural areas of West Bengal the
children often like to perform miracles of imaginary bargaining of amerceable items like
leaves, stones and bits of stick etc. some of them act as ‘soller’ and other purchase the items
as displayed in the ‘market’. The junior boys and girls of age group (6-10) years prefer this
game.
Rehcchi-khel (Rolling a log): It is also a spontaneous play rather than a game. It in played by
placing one log of wood (gundi) across another. Two boys sit on it and the others spin them
round. The sitting players try to balance on the log very skillfully.
Gai-gai (Cow game): The Boys and girls of age group (6-10) years are generally play this
game with pleasure. In this game a boy gives a realistic imitation of a cow along with making
sound also. The other girls and boys scream with delight, resist the ‘cow’s onslaughts but not
for ever.
The games like Ghore-gatlti, (Horse and More), Chag-khel (Goat game), Morga-Murgi (Cock
Hen Game) etc. are also under the same texts and interactions between players. Similarly,
more innocent animal games like Kukur-Bilai (Dog and Cat game) and Hati-khel (Elephant
game) are also taking popularly among the school going children.
Dhulai-Putari (Family game): It gives Baiga children a lot of pleasure because of the extra
ordinary interest which they, in common with their elders, “take in family relationships. It
one observe this spontaneous play it is found that it depicts the socialization as well as
enculturation process of Baiga society as adult roles are displayed through the activities of
the players involved.
In this game the players make a dolls of mud, bits of wood or ton scraps of cloth and with
great zest and excitement marry them off to each other, create and settle family quarrels,
arrange intrigues and dispose of divorce proceedings. So a brief profile of socio-cultural
customs of the community may be interpreted through this game.
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Dauki-Ciumdi (Tree game): This game needs certain physical strength as well as skill of
climbing on the big trees. Here a bunch of soft of maidens hair of a pole is tied to the topmost
branches of a big tree like semur tree. The boys put it there on the most difficult branch they
can find. A girl has to climb the tree to bring it down, spit on it and throw it away. Her failure
is likely to expose her to obvious penalties.
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Sadhu-khel (Saint & begging game): It is also a spontaneous play with dramatic acts rather
than a game. Two boys of age group (10-15) years decorate themselves as sadhu (saint) and
try to act of begging with bowl and stick. The first ‘Sadhu’ ask the second all the name for
different part of the body; the second gives the usual names but the first rejects them and
suggests synonyms, dancing girkly as he does so. As he gradually approaches the more
critical and intimate regions the excilerance becomes intense and his arrival there is greeted
with uproarious applause.
Luka-Puka (Hide and seek): This game is simply ‘Hide and seek’ as popularly found in rural
and urban areas across the country with variegated nomenclature. But the game texts have an
almost uniform appeal. Two boys staral facing each other and hold up their arms to make an
arch. The others form a queue each holding the waist of the other players in front. They go
round and round in the out of arch telling a rhyme- “Dandati-bha-ratti todi ai basuri”! (Those
who want come inside). From time to time the ‘arch’ collapses on to the procession and its
‘members’ (players) are caught one by one. By this process two teams are formed. Those
who are caught ‘turn into cats’ (suppose A team) and lie down holding the feet of the boys
who make the arch. When all are caught these try to run away, but as their feet one tightly
held, they (‘B’ team) fall over on top of a struggling heap of laughing children.
Karpet-narvel (Blind man’s buff): It is like the ‘Kanamachi’ game of rural Bengal. Here, in
this game one child covers his/her eyes with a piece of cloth and the others hit him/her until
he/she has guessed correctly who did it. It is generally popular among the junior children.
Nawan goti (Hunt the slipper): The children sit in circle passing stone (goti) secretly from
hand to hand. The child who is cut has to catch the stone in someone’s possession.
Tapori khel (Clapping game): It is very amusing. The hands are clapped and the elbows and
head touched in rapid, complicated and rhythmic succession with a song sung by the
performer. It is like a rhythmic exercise which needs physical skill with sound health and
fitness.
Kauda khel (Garden of roots): It is the most characteristic and important of the Baiga game.
A group of boys sit in a line each between another’s legs which are extended. Little bits of
wood, the roots are also put between their toes which are considered as ‘Kanda-bari’ (garden
of roots); Three boys are chosen to be the husband and ‘wife’ who own the‘bari’ (home) and
a‘Chaprese’ (server). First of all the husband and wife go round the line waving their hands
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over it: this is the wahring of the field. Then the husband hops round on one leg shouting: “I
am pulling it up”. He gives her‘gali’ (slang words) and they have a pretty quarrel to the
delight of all.Kukri-Chu (Cock by hens): It is a question answering game in which the cock
by hens attended singles them from the crowd one by one. A boy stands alone facing group
of children, preferably girls and cries ‘Kukri chu Kukri chu’ (cock, please chase). Someone in
the group calls out “whose cock are you”?. He names someone, perhaps his prospective
father in land, but at least someone who cause amusement. Then “where do you come from”?
ask the ‘crowd’. He tells them “what do you want”? “I have come for a hen”. He says “which
would you like”? He chooses one of the ‘croud’ (hens) and she (hen) at once runs to him her
fellows try to stop her. It she gets away, the dialogue is repeated and continues till the cock
has carried off the hens.
Ghar-gundia (Making of house): It is probably the most famous games of all. A group of
children wanders off into the jungle. They build some rough shelters with branches and
leaves. They pair off, little girl with little boy and each family sets up house. (ghar) A few
stone makes a hearth, some leaves and sticks are food and vegetables. The divisions of labour
are also depicted in the game when one finds that the boy goes and fetches wood for a fire.
The girl on the other hand pretends to cook. They divide the house into kitchen and bedroom,
and after their meal they creep together into the inner room. Once coming home from the
day’s work the pairs are married. The customary rites are properly observed and two children
began their married life together.
It can be interpreted here from the text of the above game that it takes place in the sex
education of children which is held by the Bachelor’s Dormitory elsewhere. But it is also
worth mentioning here that after the age of fifteen or sixteen the boys and girls never play
this game.
Chango-khel (Circular running with pebble): The game text follows the Nawan goti game,
but more elaborate in nature. The children sit in a circle each clasping his right knee with
both hands, the thumbs sticking up one bay with eyes blindfolded is sit down in a corner to
make ‘cow dung pats’ Another player takes a little pebble and goes round the circle touching
each kuee in turn. He slips the pebble under someone’s thumb and cries out that everyone
should close their thumbs. Then ‘cow-pats’ boy gets up and his eyes are uncovered and he
goes round singing– ‘Ela-chango Ela-chango” (where is the pebble?) to find the pebble.
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Finally after trying few times one succeeds and becomes Raja (King) but if fails he must go
back to his cow dung.
Discussion, Interpretation & Remarks
It is found from the foregoing paragraphs that most of the play and games of Baiga children
and junior boys and girls are simply the imitation of adult behavior of the day to day life and
culture. Today, the overall picture of their recreational patterns including play and games are
changing very slowly due to certain unavoidable factors of the present decade.
Due to the slow impact of communication, urbanization, industrialization, advent of

education and also the impact of Hinduism and Christianly, a slow change in the culture of
the Baigas is found today. These have a considerable impact on their recreational patterns
along wigh play and games also. The tribals who make a frequent contact with the people of
Bilashpur, Durg districts show their up to date choice not only in terms of occupations dress
and other traits but in borrowing few modern media based sports. Very few of the Baiga
children attend school and they are also gradually fond of modern games and sports. Thus it
can be concluded that the Baigas of Madhya Pradesh may show a slow mixing with the
culture of the neighbouring communities and urban dwellers as well in near future which will
bear a good sign that they are gradually trying to go towards the mainstream of the state as
well as national culture.
The traditional folk patterns of play and games are slowly dwindling along with the other
elements of Baiga folk culture. These need to be recorded as an ethnographic account
urgently on the priority basis and anthropologists must not deny their responsibility regarding
this vital task. Still at the present century the tribal play and games in India failed to attract
the urgent attention of the anthropologists and also of the planners and policy makers. It
remains neglected until recently when the policy for the protection of indigenous cultural
traits was drafted.
Therefore, it has been noticed that the Baigas generally lack in successful utilization of
recreation through games and sports. Due to certain environmental and economic situations,
they have reached a stage of stagnation. It is supposed that if proper incentives in given to the
tribal people through games and sport as well as physical culture, they may come forward of
their cultural stagnation. The data of the present sturdy may be utilized in this sense for
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applied aspect of rejuvenation ofthe cultura life of the tribes, which is obviously an aim of
tribal welfare in truest as well as holistic sense.
Lastly, it can also interpret to protect these games through the increasing consciousness of
physical culture in regular basis through awareness and local competitions (hamlet wise or
village wise), practices along with institutionalization like those of modern sports. It may be
one of the vital aspects of tribal development programme, keeping the basic appeal of
sustainable development intact.
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Madhya Pradesh. Calcutta: Anthropological Survey of India.
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Elwin, Verrier. 1998. The Tribal Worlds of Verrier Elwin : An Anthropography. London :
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Elwin, Verrier. 2008. The Baigas. New Delhi: Gyan Publishing House.
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Publications.
Gantam, Rajesh Kumar. 2011. Baigas: The Hunter-Gatherers of Central India. New Delhi:
Readarthy Publication.
Maharatna, Arup. 2005. Demographic Perspectives on Indias Tribes. New Delhi: Oxford
University Press.
Miller, Elmer S. & Charles A. Weitz. 1979. Introduction to Anthropology. New Jersey:
Prentice-Hall, INC.
Nag, Dayasankar. 1959. Tribal Economy; An Economic study of the Baiga. New Delhi :
Bharatiya Adimjati Sevak Sangh.
Narayan, Sachindra. 1995. Play and Games in Tribal India. New Delhi: Commonwealth
Publishers.
Otterbein, Keith F. 1966. Comparative Cultural Analysis: An introduction to Anthropology.

New York: Holt, Rinehart & Winston.
Roberts, John, Arth, J. Malcom; & Robert R. Bush. 1959. “Games in Culture” in American
Anthropologist, Vol. 61 : pp. 597.
Sanwal, Krishnanand. 2007. Handbook of Anthropology. New Delhi : Akansha Publishing

House.
Sharma, B. D. 1984. Planning for Tribal Development. New Delhi: Inter-India Publication.
Singh, K.S. 2010.the Scheduled Tribes. New Delhi : Oxford University Press.
Swartzman, H.B. 1978. Transformation : The Anthropology of Children’s Play. New York:
Plenum Press.
Upadhyay, V.S. & Gaya Pandey. 2003. Tribal Development in India: A Critical Appraisal.,
Ranchi: Crown Publication
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EXPERIMENT WITH FOLKTALES: A CRITICAL PERSPECTIVE IN KARNAD’S
NAGA-MANDALA
Dr. Shyam Babu
Abstract
Folk form is one of two dominant forms of theatre in India, the other being Sanskrit.
Sanskrit is known as Margi( connected to Shastra-well thought or well gotten) tradition and folk
is desi( connected tolok-people). Indian folk theatre in the form of rituals stayed over the years,
from the ancient times to the present because of its participatory and fluid nature. One of the
reasons folk theatres could sustain the hardship of times, was theirnature of oral tradition.These
forms of drama go beyond the entertainment values. These folk forms of drama are related to the
popular belief and rituals of common people, Richmond et alcall them “ritual performances”.
Experimentation with folk forms and rediscovering the power of it is doubly rewarding for the
Indian playwrights: they get the audience and as well as freely change the form whenever
required. And if “the unique character of all folk theatres lies in its folk audience, it is audience
who breaks the imaginary forth walls by participating(in performance) and extending the
rationale of the visual story.
Karnad has extensively used folktales to expose the gender disparity, caste issues and
hegemonic power structures manifested in religion, state and family through Naga-Mandala.The
paper thus seeks to underline the role of folk narratives and its rationale in the subversion of
power dynamics and showcases how confrontations between society and its ideological
apparatuses has been dealt with the nagas(snake) myths and their connection with the human
beings in the (southern) India.
Keywords: Folklore, oral, performance, power, identity, subversion, alienation
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Folk in Modern Indian theatre
GirishKarnad (b.1937) is one of the stalwarts of modern Indian theatre. He is also well
known as an actor, director, script writer and cultural critic; hence he is a multidimensional
personality. He belongs to, as Karnad has described in ‘Introduction to Three Plays’, “The first
to come of age after India became independent of British rule.” (301) Karnad has shown a
theatrical acumen, unique talent for visualization, rich theatrical aesthetics, and has drawn both
from Indian classical and folk forms, and as well as western dramatic forms.
In India, thepolitical decolonization starts in early fifties. Indian theatre practitioners,

however, started looking in the Indian indigenous performance traditions in later sixties as a part
of ‘write backto power’ strategies. Folk formbecame one of the dominant forms to decolonize
the Indian stage, as it were. The noted modern playwrights such as Vijay Tendulkar, Badal
Sircar, HabibTanvir, Girsh Karnad and C Kambar to name only these started creating a new
idiom forging link with Indian folk and modern European dramaturgy. Indian modernists hence
used folktales for the subversive purposes to highlight the sociopolitical crises on urgent basis.
Folk is one of two dominant forms in the Indian theatre, the other being Sanskrit. Sanskrit
is known as Margi( connected to Shastra-well thought)tradition and folk is desi(connected tolok-
people). Indian folk theatresin the form of rituals stayed from the ancient times to the present
because of theirparticipatory and fluid nature.Folk theatre could sustain the hardship of times
because of its nature of oral tradition. Hence folk theatre has still continued to survive in India
even without having any state patronage, though Ministry of Culture, Gov of India claims to
disseminate the folk studies. The situation has a bit changed. As the globalization started taking
its roost, the local and ingenious get commoditized. As the result the public and private sectors
initiated many efforts to study and preserve the folklores and oral cultures in India. The Sahitya
Akademy, India’s premier institution of letters, and the ICSSR (Indian Council of Social
Sciences and Research) took some major steps to revive the folk performance, arts, paintings and
oral narrative.
There are some preeminent folk forms of theatre in India which are practiced across the
different linguistic regions: Ramlila, Raslila, Nautanki, Khyal, Mach, Nacha, Pandawani,
Bhawai, Jatra, Ankiya Nat, Tamasha, Dashavatar, Pawda, Chhau, Yakshagana, Baylata,
97
Kutiyattam, and Kathakali among others. The chief characteristics of such theatres are stylized
acting and improvisation. There is always an intermediate narrator in performance. These forms
are visually so spectacular that they are surrounded by the audience from all the four sides. They
are also considered ‘total theatre’ because audience participates in the performance. These
dramas go beyond the entertainment values. As they embody popular belief systems and rituals
of common people, Richmond et al argue that folk theatres are “ritual performances” (1990,
121). Since they deal with contemporary issues, they do not create an illusion of reality. They
follow anti-realistic approaches. Folk forms always undermined the notion of holy character. A
folk actor plays role sometimes as a character and sometimes as a masquerade and often actor
oscillates between the character and audience. The very holistic sense of character is undermined
in the folk theatre. Folk theatre also prioritizes body over script and movement over dialogue.
The body movements correspond with the rhythm of sound and musical accompaniments as
wide as Dol, Tambura or Dapfali among others.
Modern Indian playwrights like Karnadused folk form not only as a source of material,
but also as the subversive tool against the realistic as well as colonial artistic hegemony. By
adopting techniques of Yakshgana, such as Sutradhra/string- holder as a narrator (who directly
talks to the spectators/readers present in theatre) he tried to demystify the proscenium/realistic
modes of theatres.Avant-garde theatre in India ‘is re-examination and redefining of (folk) form’
(Awasthy 1989, Schechner, 1993) and Karnad reused it for the subversive purposes. Karnad
intended to expose the gender disparity, caste issues, hegemonic power structures manifested in
religion, state and family. He highlighted the confrontations between society and its ideological
apparatuses. His folk form was poised to encounter such forces. Experimenting with folk was
exponentially rewarding for the Indian playwrights as audience members could break the
imaginary forth- wall by participating (in performance) and they could extend the rationale of the
visual storytelling( which the modernists otherwise intended) because“theunique character of all
folk theatres lies in itsfolk audience.” (Hollander, 2007)
Karnad’sNaga- Mandala: subversion of power
Naga-Mandala:A play with Cobrais a brilliant folk playwhich seeks to subvert

thehegemonic power structures in society.Karnad’sconspicuous ability to exploit the folktales for
the contemporary needs is quite commendable. This play is dedicated to A.K.Ramanujan, an
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eminent poet and folklorist. About the tales Karnad says, “ these tales are narrated by women-
normally the older women in the family- while children are being fed in the evenings in the
kitchen or being put to bed”(Collected Plays-I 314). Naga-Mandala, as the subtitle refers is a
play by a snake. The central story revolves around Naga and Rani and her husband Appanna.
The play begins with direct addressing of story and taking into account the attention of the
audience and the story acts as a narrator and commentator throughout the play. The story begins
“A young girl. Her name …it does not matter. But she was an only daughter, so her parents
called her Rani” (Naga- Mandala, 252).
The play is divided into two acts. The prologue sets the tune of the play and it ends with
the Rani’s happy marriage. From the story we learn that Appanna is a young man who belongs to
a rich family and his parents are dead. Rani was the only daughter of her fond father and mother
so she was called Rani-the queen of the whole world. She was also called so because she was
queen of her long tresses and if she tied them up in a knot it looked like a huge black King cobra
on the nape of her neck. Appanna married her when she just reached her age and he brought her
to his house.As he was a regular visitor to concubine he locked her up in the house. When
Kuruddava, the friend of her husband’s mother came to know her problem she advised her to use
aphrodisiac roots which was supposed to havelove potion. It had a magic power to mesmerize
any male towards a female. Rani prepared it indulgently to give to her husband but first time it
didn’t have any effect. When she prepared the second time the herb roots (Aphrodite) turned into
blood red. She was so scared that she poured it down in the hole of an ant hill near her home.
Since Naga was inside the hole he fell in love with Rani and got infatuated with her.As a result
of which he began to visit Rani at night in the guise of her husband Appanna. When her husband,
Appanna came to know about her pregnancy he was utterly shocked. So he made up his mind to
punish her for adultery and demanded that she must take a test (something like agni-pariksha)in
front of elders to prove her chastity. She consented to give the Naga ordeal by holding a cobra in
her hand. In the test the snake didn’t bite her because he was the same reptile who used to visit
her at night. Thus she was canonized as the goddess incarnate by the villagers and she became a
proud mother and a wife.She could know that all these happiness in her life was made possible
by Naga.
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The play follows the multilayered plot pattern. Apart from the main plot (Rani-Appanna-
Naga) there are subplots like the appearances of the Flame, Story and the Man, and the episode
of Kuruddava and her son Kappanna. The play begins with the prologue where we encounter the
story of ‘Story’, Flames and the Man. The setting of the play is the inner sanctum of a ruined
temple at night and the image is fractured. Man looks worried and addresses the audience (here
man acts as Bhagavata) because a mendicant has foretold that if he did not stay awake at least
one whole night in the month, he would die on the last night of the month. This had disturbed the
man and he had been dozing off many a days and passed many nights without a wink of sleep.
To the wonder of the audience the man has committed a crime by writing a play and he is
accused ofhaving caused many good people to fall asleep in miserable chairs. The man is
narrating his story to the audience and wants to escape death. If he only survives the night, he
would have nothing to do with plot, themes and acting. Hence, the man is consciousness of
prospective damage to his life. Thereafter the story of Flames comes. They are heard speaking
female voice from the offstage, as they have disguised themselves as women and they are
giggling with each other. They are naked and floating in the air without any concrete forms. The
flames reveal another story that whenallthe lamp are blown off, flames come to meet in the
temple and chat about their masters and their family. These inanimate flames are projected as the
super natural living beings. The new Flame says that her mistress is an expert of story and song
but now- a-days she is reserved and keeps all the stories with herself and they are getting choked
in her mouth. When she took a nap in the day and started snoring, the story and song came out
and hid themselves in the attic. The story is dressed up in acolorful sari of the song and is
welcomed by a group of surrounding flames. She is also worried over the condition of story:
STORY: Thank you, my dears. It is kind of you. But what is the point of your
listening to a story? You cannot pass it on (251).
The story has been used as a metaphor for the plight of Indian woman who gets married and
leave her place to go to her husbands’ house. The flames too, are like the women of villages.
This folk narrative serves as a structural device and it has, as Karnad has stated, “a parallel
system of communication among the women in the family”. It is also a resistance of woman
collective towards the patriarchal norms of subjugation and exclusion.The flames are
‘imaginative’, ‘non scripted or oral’ to counter the hegemony of ‘practical, patriarchal and
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scripted.These framed stories are the fictionalization of women’s harsh experiences. They have
their own stories to tell and to be heard independently. Karnad has rightly maintained that stories
are the embodiment of the daughters in Indian family who are struggling for their identities and
are not allowed to have their say in the family matters. Here folktales serve as the structural
device toexpress the problems of the women in general and the character Rani in particular.
The Story is quite desperate because the Flames cannot pass it on. Meanwhile when the
story and flames were talking to each other they feel interrupted by the presence of ‘the man’.
All the animated flames are huddled and scared and they try hard to set themselves free fromthe
grabof the man. The man wants to listen to her for keeping himself awake. He though promised
to listen to her, he felt sorry as he could not tell anybody else because earlier he had taken a vow
that he will not do anything with themes, plot and acting. Man wants to present a play before the
audience because he has to escape death. Hence he requests the audience and promises that he
will make it interesting and he calls the musicians and story to begin the proper play of Rani and
Naga. This interactive mode of play narrows the gap between stage and spectators. Sub plots
play an important role in the development of the main plot. They intersect the main story and
have an independent existence.
The story of blind Kuruddava and her son Kappanna is an example of plot within plot.
Her superstitions and beliefs add another dimension to the play. It is Kuruddava who manages to
solve Rani’s problems. She gives the aphrodisiac roots to Rani which was supposed to make
Appanna her beloved husband. Since she herself is familiar with the magical power of the roots
and had used it when nobody was attracted to her. She describes its effect on the man whom she
made drink this root:
He finished his meal. Gave me one look and fell in love. Married me within the
next two days. Never went back to his village (261).
Rani to her advice makes a paste of the roots and gives him after which Appanna falls ill(
inversion of tale) and it was of no avail. But when she prepares the potion and poured in the ant
whole, Naga drinksand became her lover. The ambience of the play is Appanna’s house where
Rani’s bed room is clearly visible.
101
The main theme of play is the search for identity and subversion of power. Rani after marriage
was never allowed to have her say. Shecould see only two men in her life. The
oneAppanna(husband) harsh and cruel in the day and another Appanna (Naga) caring at night.
She is on her toes:
How it fills the house before he comes! How it welcomes him! God, how it takes
me, sets each fiber in me on fire! (281).
Another recurring theme of the play is the freedom of women from the male hegemony. Rani
transgresses all the cultural norms made by men and patriarchal institutionlike marriage which
only advocate the fidelity of woman and not of a male (hence, Karnad problematizes sexuality).
As she goes against the norms of men and rebels, Karnd’s through clandestine love –relations
has undermined the whole concept of sexual purity or chastity against the existing ideology of
subjugationthrough the folk narrative of Naga.
The practice of mixing human and animal or non human being in the play suspends our
belief in the reality of the stage performance. The mixing of non- human elements in the play to
get the message across is an efficient dramatic device to suspend the illusion of reality from the
minds of the audience. When the non human body is presented or shown on the stage it creates
the estrangement and impels us to think that what is being enacted is merely a show of story or
‘illusion of reality’ on the stage and the not reality itself. In Indian belief snake is the
embodiment of fertility and male prowess and is acknowledged as the giver of life and
happiness. When Naga visits Rani in the guise of her husband Appanna she never questions
because he fulfills her long felt desires of happiness and a life of full woman. However, she at
the same time feels that the person who comes at night and talks so nicely is not the same who
comes in the day and locks her up without any sympathy. Appanna (Naga) who comes at night
bears the scars on his body due to fighting with mongoose. When Rani goes to the mirror box to
apply the ointment on his body she happens to see the image of big cobra sitting by her. She was
afraid even though she never interrogates him. She gets a chance to listen to the hissing sound of
snake mixed up with the sound of the dog’s howl but she pretends as if she does not know
anything. Her silence is puzzling and the story comments over the confusion of Rani:
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…That night he did not visit her. There was no sign of him the next fifteen days.
Rani spent her nights crying, wailing, piping for him. When he started visiting
again, his body was covered with wounds which had only aptly healed…But she
never questioned him about them, it was enough that he had returned. Needless to
say, when her husband came during the day, there were no scars on him (281).
To fulfill his purpose Karnad has devised the masks because the person who is acting the
role of Appanna is also playing the role of Naga. It was possible only by using the mask. Thus
mask is devised in the play to play the double role: Appanna and Naga simultaneously by the
same actor. So the audiences are constantly reminded that they are watching a play of Naga-
Rani and are sitting in the theatre hall. The role of story occupies a significant position in the folk
narrative. It is personified from the very beginning to narrate the story of Rani and also to
comment over the past and present action of the story. It acts as an agency like Brechtian chorus
or like sutradhar of the Sanskrit theatre. Story narrates some actions which act as link scene:
“The death of dog infuriated Appanna. He next brought a mongoose. The

mongoose lasted only one day. But it had evidently given a tougher fight…” (281).
Finally it is story that sums up the whole gist of the play:
So Rani got everything she wished for, a devoted husband, a happy life. For
Appanna’s concubine was present at the trial… in due course, Rani gave birth to a
beautiful child. A son. Rani lived happily ever after with her husband, child and
servant (293).
Most of the actions of the play are mimed by the actors. Their gestural movements
express the meaning in the play. The stage performance has been presented more as a ritual. The
enactment becomes interactive as the Rani’s trial is about to begin. The stage is full of villagers
from all the sides and there follows commotion and confusion among the audience. The elders
come on the stage and then it becomes the village square and here Rani has to pass the test of
snake ordeal. Finally the story exits and it is left for the readers to discuss what should be the
ending of the play. The Flames want the happy ending whereas the Man who has the experience
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of storytelling wishes it to be a tragedy as it is the essence of life. The discussion between Man,
Story and Flame is interesting to feel the pulse of the audience:
MAN (exasperatedly): These flames are worse than my audience. Can’t they wait
till the story is over? …
FLAMES: But isn’t it?...
MAN: It cannot be.
STORY: But why not?
MAN: Too many loose ends. Take Kappanna’s disappearance, for instance.
STORY: Oh that is Kurudavva’s story…I am only Rani’s story (294).
The debate between story and the man is the projection of confusion of the playwright
himself. They convey the two selves of him:the creative personality and the story is his figment
of imagination. This is an introspective reflection over the pros and cons of playwriting and act
of observation from the spectator’s point of view. This makes the production a participatory
ritual.
The ending of the play is like that of the problem of Appanna the most disturbing thing
to the audience. There are open endings like when cobra dies it is proposed that on the day of
snake’s death anniversary the child of Appanna(naga) and Rani will pay homage and burn
incense sticks because cobra not only gave life to child but also the couple’s lives by sparing
them. Rani feels a heavy weight in her hair and when she combs her hair a living snake falls
down, Appanna runs to get a stick to kill it. But she let her hair down and quietly hides the snake
in her long tresses:
Quick now. Get in. are you safely in there? Good. Now stay there. And lie still.
You don’t know how heavy you are. Let me get used to you, will you?... This hair
is the symbol of my wedded bliss. Live in there happily, forever (299-300).
The play unfolds some of the unpalatable questions: who is responsible for the
vulnerability of Rani? Who is chaste in the in game of (love) life? Or is happiness the co-existent
104
of infidelity? Or can life be sustained without the compromise with circumstances? But all these
questions are manipulated in the folktales and it becomes really mind boggling to deal. Such
subversive potentiality of folktales exposes the social and moral codes of the society.
105
References
Awasthi, Induja. “Retrospective of Modern Indian Theatre”. TDR (1988) 34.3 (Autumn,
1990): 183-89. JSTOR.Web. 23 Dec, 2008.
Awasthi, Suresh and Richard Schechner. "Theatre of Roots: Encounter with Tradition”.
Tulane Drama Review (1988) 33, 4 (winter, 1989): 48-69. JSTOR.Web. 22Oct, 2009.
Behera, Guru Charan. Appropriating Folk Culture: A Study of the Post-independence Indian
Drama. New Delhi: Author Press, 2008. Print.
Chaitnya, Krishna. “Modern Indian Drama”.Modern Drama Vo.2.No.4 (1959) pp.403-

409.University of Toronto Press.Project Muse.Web.
Cow, Brian and Chris Banfiled.An Introduction to Postcolonial Theatre.Cambridge:
Cambridge University Press, 1996. Print.
Dharwadker, AparnaBhargava. Theatre of Independence: drama Theory, and Urban
Performance in India 1947. New Delhi: OUP, 2008. Second Impression. Print.
…. “Introduction to Collected Plays-I. New Delhi. OUP, 2006. Print.
Hollander, Julia. Indian Folk Theatres.NY & London.Routled, 2007. Print.
Karnad, Girish (1938- ) Web. n.pag. 22Feb, 2010. http://www.imagi-
nation.com/moonstruck/clsc79.html
Karnad, Girish. ‘Introduction to Three Plays’.Collected Plays.Vol.-I Ed. AparnaBhargava.
New Delhi: OUP, 2006. Print.
Karnad, Girish. Interview with Bageshree S. in The Hindu. Conducted on 27 Junary
2018.Online.www.thehindu.com
…“Renaissance Man” by S.Kalidas and Rehmat Merchant.India Today.Web.n.pag. 12 April,
1999.<http://www.india-today.com/itoday/12041999/arts.html>
Mukherjee, Tutun, Ed. GirishKarnad's Plays: Performance and Critical Perspectives. New
Delhi: Pencraft International, 2008. Print.
Raykar, Shubhangi S. “The Development of Karnad as a Dramatist: Hayavadana” The Plays
of GirishKarnad: Critical Perspectives. Ed. JaydipsinhDodiya. New Delhi: Prestige, 1999.
Print.
Richmond, Farley P., Swan, Zarrilli, Eds. Indian Theatre: Traditions of Performance-I. New
Delhi: Motilal Banarasidas, 1990. Print.
Schechner, Richard. Performance theory.Routledge.NY & London. 1990. Print.
106
‘THINGS FALL APART, PARAJA CANNOT HOLD’: A COMPARATIVE

STUDY OF THE SELECTED FICTION OF CHINUA ACHEBE AND
GOPINATH MOHANTY
Mr. Jaya Pal
Abstract
Paraja, an English translation by Bikram K. Das of Gopinath Mohanty’s original novel in Odia
Paraja, is remarkable for the depiction of tribal life in the hills and jungles of the eastern ghats of
Orissa. These primitive people follow all the ancient customs of marriage, festivals, hunting and
are exploited by money lenders and government officials. In his portrayal of tribal life, Gopinath
Mohanty invites comparison with the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe. Achebe’s primary theme
of this novel is the colonization of Africa by the Europeans, particularly the British. For which
African tribe’s life became negative and violent, their as usual order of life became disorder and
the cause of all these are the entrance of the British. In the name of modernity, they did many
unusual activities which brought local (African tribe) people to disturb their smooth way of
living. They (British) wanted to convert African people to Christianity by bringing missionaries
into the local place.
The paper, thus try to explore why the normal life of both these communities were disturbed and
disrupted with the force of colonialism. Why the forces of materialistic society corrupted their
indigenous way of living in the name of modernization?
Key words: Tribal life, colonization, materialistic society, missionaries, modernization.
Paraja, an English translation by Bikram K. Das of Gopinath Mohanty’s original novel

in Odia Paraja (1945), has translated to about 40 languages, and this masterpiece created
Mohanty’s identity. This novel is remarkable for the depiction of tribal life in the hills and
jungles of the eastern ghats of Orissa. These primitive people follow all the ancient customs of
marriage, festivals, hunting and are exploited by money lenders and government officials from
top level officers to lower level peons. Shukru Jani the widower protagonist of the novel
107
represents the Paraja. His vision of future makes him a universal man or ‘quintessential’ man. In
the novel Gopinath Mohanty provides many ethnological details which highlight the life style of
the Paraja, Domb and Kondh tribes. He is called ‘The Chinua Achebe of Odisha’,who penned the
first ever story based on tribals called Dadibudha (1944), which is one of the jewel of Odia
Literary world. His novel Amrutara Santana(1947) is the first novel to receive Sahity Akademy
Award in 1955. His other famous awards are Padma Bhusan and Jnanpith. In his portrayal of
tribal life, Gopinath Mohanty invites comparison with the Nigerian novelist Chinua Achebe.
The setting of the Achebe’s novel is in the outskirts of Nigeria in a small fictional village
Umuofia, just before the arrival of white missionaries into their land. Due to the unexpected
arrival of white missionaries in Umuofia, the villagers do not know how to react to the sudden
cultural changes that the missionaries threaten to change with their new political structure and
institutions. Hence, this essay aims at analyzing the effects of European colonization on Igbo
culture.
The theme is the colonization of Africa by the British and the negative and violent
changes this brought about in the lives of the African tribes. Along with colonization was the
arrival of the missionaries whose main aim was to spread the message of Christianity and to
convert people to their religion. As a story about a culture on the verge of change, Things Fall
Apart (1958) deals with how the prospect and reality of change affect various characters.
Okonkow, for example, resists the new political and religious orders because he feels that they
are not manly and that he himself will not be manly if he consents to join or even tolerate them.
He had complete faith and strong belief upon his own culture and tradition, law and order
system, etc. are better than the western system which are forcibly implementing.
Both Achebe and Mohanty’s visions are almost indistinguishable: they visualize the
disintegration of a primitive community under the impact of a new faith or an alien value system.
Both the writers have focused on the tragedy of the innocent. Those innocents had only one thing
remains constant and that is their daily struggle for existence as the repressed, downtrodden and
exploited section of the society. Important of Mohanty and Achebe is that their literature is the
reflection of life, an exposition of human emotions.
108
Mohanty’s story goes in this way, Sukru Jani, a Paraja, tribal man, lives with his family
which consists of two sons Tikra and Mandia and two daughters Jili and Bili. Spends his life
happily and peacefully with his family. He earns his living from the small piece of land. He has
no wants. Before the influence of modernity his family had a very simple and content life, as we
can note from Mohanty’s novel:
Sukru Jani lives in ‘Paraja Street’. He has his hut and his small family, and he lives in
peace. His needs are simple: a bowl of mandia gruel every morning and again in the
evening, and a strip of cloth four fingers wide to wrap around his loins—and these he had
never lacked. (Mohanty, Paraja 2)
Then the forest guard sees his daughter Jili and wants to seduce her. The forest guard
sends a mediator to get Jili for him. Sukru Jani is angry and sends back the mediator without Jili.
The forest guard wants to take revenge on Sukru Jani. Sukru Jani, who represents the whole
paraja tribe, knows that forest is his own property and no one can go against him on that. One
day Sukru goes to the forest to fell a tree without understanding that the government or the forest
guard has the control over it. A case has been registered against Sukru and fine has been levied.
To pay the fine, Sukru has to mortgage his piece of land and one of his sons. This made his
family to live in misery. His daughters have to go and work under a contractor who tries to
seduce one of them. Things get more complicated when the elder daughter, Jili became wife of
the same Sahukar who had snatched their land, cheated, exploited and tortured her father and
brothers. Thus Sukru Jani’s happy world is shattered. He is exploited by the money lender,
newly introduced institutions like the forest guard, the law courts, police stations and contractor.
Disgusted and insulted Sukru Jani cuts the money lender’s head and goes to the police station
and admits his crime and is ready to accept the punishment. These forest guard, law courts,
police and contractor symbolizes the westernized policy implemented upon traditional and
simple tribe called paraja and disrupted their (paraja) way of simple living. In the same way, the
African people have varying behaviors, believes, mannerism, thought patterns and way of
interaction formed their culture and way of life. Entrance of the Europeans to Africa came
cultural infiltration, pollution as well as alteration. All these brought about by westernization.
Paraja depicts how the tribe failed when it is seen confronting the newly emerged law
and order in the highlands during the advent of modernity and colonial encounters in the hills
109
and mountains of the undivided Koraput district. It portrays a tragic view of the tribal way of life
in the Eastern Ghats in Odisha.
The course of the narrative in Dadibudha(The Ancestor) by Mohanty, visualizes the

disintegration of Paraja belief system; in the narrative the tribal way of life has been casted as a
dilemma of the indigenous society and culture and it is represented under the unceasing threat of
the newly emerged colonial modernity especially the spread of Christianity in the hills and
mountains of Odisha. Dadibudha is the first ever fictional narrative in Odia literature which
depicts a class of indigenous religious views and the ideology of Christianity and caste questions
in tribes. The disintegration of the primal way of life is depicted in Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
The western colonizers are to blame for the collapse of the African system as they came
uninvited and then dominated the people and their beliefs.
The significant note in the narrative of Paraja and Things Fall Apart is the perception
and methodology of representation by a non-tribal and a tribal author on the disintegrated tribal
society and culture; Gopinath Mohanty is an outsider to the Paraja community of the Eastern
Ghats, whereas Chinua Achebe is a member of the Igbo community which lives in the south
eastern Nigeria. Hence, the narrative approach of Mohanty in Paraja may be seen different than
Achebe’s Things Fall Apart.
The narrative of Paraja is more inclined to the ethnographic details and the tragic view of
the disintegration of the primal life, whereas the course of narrative of Things Fall Apart is socio
realistic and historical, and largely promotes ethnic pride. Mohanty in Paraja is sympathetic with
the Paraja tribe and Achebe in Things Fall Apart commands truth of the history without
communal compassion. In both the novels we could find that, a simple, honest and loyal
person/community can’t tolerate the corruption of a corrupted person/community if it crosses the
limit. Same thing happened in these novels: in Things Fall Apart, Okonkwo beheads one of the
white messengers who were trying to stop meeting of the Igbo which was about the war against
white/corruption. His novel shows:
‘In a flash Okonkwo drew his matchet. The messenger crouched to avoid the blow. It
was useless. Okonkwo’s matchet descended twice and the man’s head lay beside his
uniformed body. The waiting backcloth jumped into tumultuous life and the meeting was
stopped. Okonkwo stood looking at the dead man.’ (TFA, 184)
110
And in Paraja, the innocent Mandia Jani, son of Sukru Jani, couldn’t control the
corruption and turture of the most corrupted and lootera Sahukar/Zamindar Ramachandra Bishoi
and beheads with his axe. Mohanty’s novel depicts:
‘In a flash he raised his axe and brought it down on the Sahukar’s head. Immediately the
other two joined in. The Sahukar fell like an axed tree, and Mandia went on dealing blow
after blow, shouting: ‘You didn’t enjoy the land! you didn’t enjoy the land!’(Paraja, 373)
The paper, thus try to explore why the normal life of both these communities were
disturbed and disrupted with the force of colonialism. The forces of materialistic society
corrupted their indigenous way of living in the name of modernization? In addition to show
what kinds of damages were incurred to these indigenous tribes of the world in the name of
development? It highlights the various ways in which the agonies of these marginalized and
downtrodden people are reflected in the process of colonization. The systems clash and
everything seems to fail. The western colonizers are to blame for the collapse of the African
system as they came uninvited and then dominated the people and their beliefs. In the same way
paraja tribe also disrupted after the entry of western laws and systems.
111
References
Achebe, Chinua. Things Fall Apart. London: Penguin Books Ltd, 2010.Print.
---- --------------.------ ---------------.Nairobi: H.E.B. LTD, 1958.Print.
Das, Sisir Kumar. A History of Indian Literature: 1800-1910 Western Impacts Indian Response
Mohanty, Gopinath. Paraja.Tr. by Bikram K.Das. New Delhi: Oxford University Press,
1987.Print.
Mohanty, Jatindra Mohan. History of Odia Literature. Bhubaneswar: Vidya, 2006.
---- -------.The Ancestor.Tr.by Arun Kumar Mohanty. New Delhi: Sahitya Academy,
1997.Print.
112
THE VOCAL MEMOIR OF BLACK GIRLHOODS
Ann Mathew
Abstract
In the writings of African American women, the realities of their lives are mostly explored
through their understanding of the intersectionalities of race, class, gender etc., among other
categories. Their writing canvas most often depicts these aspects, their practice become
theoretical and their lives become political. To understand the emergence of this formulation,
where the Black woman stands in relation to the Black community and the reason why she
chooses what she writes about, this paper will explore the relationship between the Black girls
and their communities, by listening to their voices, expressing their own lives and where they
figure in the world today. Memory, memorializing and illocutionary words are often used by
them as the tools for the expression of their life. Bell Hooks’ memoir Bone Black: Memories of
Girlhood (1996) analyses how Hooks expands the meanings of genre through her lived reality in
a particular timeframe. I expand the timeline and the genre to view the current scenario of the
voice of a young Black girl activist and, in turn, the voices of disconcerted African American
girls, who are developing a vocal memoir through their writings and public activism.
Keywords: African American Girls, Memoir, Genre, Activism, Intersectionality
Writing about her childhood, Bell Hooks narrates her experiences of being a poor, Black
girl in the US South during the 1950s in her memoir Bone Black: Memories of Girlhood (1996).
It offers a complex reading of her race, class and gender identities while interacting with the
Black community to construct her girlhood that has impacted the development of the Black
woman she has become and the future choices that she makes. Through the genre of the Memoir,
Bell Hooks creatively moulds her girlhood experiences into forms that can be read as a passage
of the development of the Black consciousness from her girlhood days to her life as an adult
Black woman. This paper will focus on the Hooks’ narrative of resistance during girlhood and
how these acts of rebellion play an important role in fashioning the genre of memoir and its
connections with many other acts of Black girls and women’s resistance across America.
113
Born in 1952 as Gloria Jean Watkins in Hopkinsville, Kentucky, Bell Hooks’ memoir
opens with a dream involving her mother and grandmother, her mother’s mother, Saru. Hooks
(1996) has just received a quilt from the hope chest, a trunk that contains objects that elicits a trip
to the past of the family’s ancestors (p. 1-2). In her dream that night, Hooks finds herself back on
a journey to discover that her house and the memories and materials it held has been burnt down.
She is first met by her mother, who hands over a candle and encourages her to look through the
ashes, recovering bits and pieces of their past and present. This memoir beckons the reader to
partake in Hooks’ storytelling process of recovering her past and the connections between her
past and her present selves. The storyteller is both Hooks and her grandmother, where the two
women, generations apart, kindle similar stories that reflect and perpetuate their lives in its
comparable socioeconomic and cultural imagination.
It is imperative to look at the genre of memoir and its conceptualization since it leads an
important discussion regarding memoir writing and the articulation of Black girlhood. For Hooks
(1996), it is “the story of girlhood rebellion, of my struggle to create self and identity distinct
from and yet inclusive of the world around me” (p. xi) and her narrative is part of multiple
stories about Black girlhoods. In her definition of what the modern memoir entails, Judith
Barrington identifies few key distinctions of the genre. Firstly, the selection of theme matters,
unlike in the case of the autobiography which gives a detailed and chronicled, factual account of
life events (Barrington, 2007, p.109) although similarities between memoir writing and fiction
have also been observed. The extent to what is embodied as real and fictional rests in the hands
of the author and Hooks brings these two elements together in the narrative of her life. As a
curious and adventurous girl, Hooks (1996) explores around her house and walks up to her
favourite tree. She speaks to a bright green snake about her isolation and sadness. It becomes a
symbol of her creative voice, suggesting that Hooks projected her desires upon a creature that
was sympathetic to her rebellious self (p. 11). It is a reflection of her creative ways of defying
life’s hardships brought upon by a poverty-stricken family, whose disciplinary measures weighed
upon the mind of a young Black child. While portraying exemplary women, Delia Jarrett-
Macauley writes about the creativity of Zora Neale Hurston, the prominent Black author and
anthropologist, who was described as “contradictory” and “difficult” (p. 38) in a similar
comparison to how Hooks was described as a “problem”. Hurston and Hooks cull the
perceptions and assumptions about African American women by casting their lived realities upon
114
the images and interacting with the memories of their struggles as girls in a rural Southern
culture.
As she rebels and resists punishments, defies orders and norms, Hooks (1996) constantly
labels herself as a “problem child” through her writing (p. 11). Barrington (2007) formulates
three roles of the memoir writer – storyteller, interpreter and the protagonist – who is also adept
at inserting their retrospection to the scenario they are describing (p.111). When Hooks labels
herself as the “problem child”, she is placing herself as the main character through which the
story progresses. The story extends her narrative as a curious and wayward child whose choices
become problematic for the parents, siblings, other familial members or friends that she interacts
with. She adds on to the resistance narrative by describing a time when she became resentful
towards Sister Ray, her father’s mother. She recalls that Sister Ray felt a particular dislike
towards her because Hooks never seemed to desire to become brown, or lighter than the “color
of darkness” which she inherited from her father (Hooks, 1996, p. 14). By repressing her
identity, her resistance towards dominance and exclusion of her ‘self’, Hooks defines the ways in
which Black girlhood is formed albeit multiple circumstances, through one distinct prism of
input. While hiding in the car parked at her house, she provokes anger and terror in Sister Ray,
who was searching for Hooks and her siblings. Hooks thus builds up a strategy to control how
she is perceived, how she will be labelled by her family and takes upon the “otherness” that
accompanies her decision. These individual acts of resistance create the crux of turmoil in the
writing process of her memoir informing her writing self of the reasons why she seeks to belong,
to find a place, a home, where she can perpetually return to without fear of being exiled,
misunderstood and condemned. She discovers her place towards the end of her memoir when she
claims, “I belong in this place of words. This is my home. This dark, bone black inner cave
where I am making a world for myself” (Hooks, 1996, p. 182).
The fear of being misunderstood is one of the main characteristics that accompany Black
girls and women. Being questioned about their writing, of people “forgetting” their creative and
intellectual contributions, these Black girls’ and women’s experiences form a pivotal role in their
narration, one which is difficult to glean from archival research and they are oftentimes
interpreted in narrow and violent terms (Griffin, 2018). In such contexts, African American girls’
and women’s voices create a direct confrontation of their presumed roles in the family and
115
society at large. In the genre of memoir, Bell Hooks not only creates, fusing her memory, events
and imagination but also sheds light on the various ways a Black girl child is constructed. Hooks
learns what the boundaries and limits of her race, class, sexuality and gender are, at an early age.
Once, Hooks (1996) chooses the doll of her preference, a baby doll that is “brown like light milk
chocolate” (p. 23), a seemingly unusual preference for little girls although the reality for Black
girls was that the conventional Barbie doll did not represent them. Through the constant trope of
marrying off the dolls, Hooks realizes that her expected role as a woman in the society was to
marry, which she consistently refuses throughout the memoir (p. 22). Nigerian author
Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie (2014) speaks of the expectations of a woman’s role in society,
where they must always “aspire to marriage” and make decisions which are dependent on the
idea that “marriage is the most important” (p. 27-30) and this is one of the biggest challenges that
women and girls from across the globe encounter. The questions regarding women’s choice of
partner, of career and of their futures are raised here in a manner that most often counters and
disrupts the formative experiences of their childhood. These are political choices and these are
framed for several African American girls from their childhood.
On another instance, Hooks (1996) desires to play indoors with her brother’s games. She
is reprimanded several times but she recalls how she “hated the way he could assert these boy
rights and not include them in games” (p. 29). Angered by her brother’s taunts, Hooks expresses
her discontent through disobedience and is punished for “too much spirit” which had to be
“broken” (p. 30). This language, of breaking the spirit, echoes in traditional patriarchal family
setups, which are dependent upon women’s subordination to the male figures in the family.
While Hooks tried to rebel against her brother’s taunts, her father becomes the corrective figure
in the family and this represents the family, the community and in turn the American society and
nation at large, as “mini-nation-states” (Collins, 1998, p. 68). One manifestation of this lack of
visibility and diversity is in the academia where there are continual fundamental layers of
discussion and expansion about African American women’s positions which are yet to be
achieved. Continually, “women are given mediocre reviews…mistakes are often amplified” and
they bear the “ultimate social tax: their child-bearing, child rearing and care-taking roles”
(Evans, 2007, p. 133) which have transitioned to other debates where Black women
academicians are kept ignorant about institutional structures for a successful tenure, demands on
their time, intellectual labour and energy were claimed, an uncooperative and “cold
116
environment” were prominent in the interactions with white and/or senior colleagues, justifying
one’s existence (Moore, 2017, p. 201-202) among several other challenges. In these scenarios, a
reminder of the significant endeavours of African American academicians can be noted through
a conceptual point that Patricia Hill Collins (1989) raises in her work “The Social Construction
of Black Feminist Thought”. She claims the requirement for successful interface of knowledge
and wisdom, co-working strategies of survival while also existing in unjust and discriminatory
practices. Thus, on one hand, there is the breaking and silencing of the spirit, while on the other
hand is the situatedness of their bodies and its implications which reinforce the necessity for
support emerging either from networking and creative manufacturing of survival strategies or
finding encouragement from “Black extended families and Black churches” (p. 762). Hooks’
narratives of support are steeped in Black communities because of this knowledge about the
burden of segregation that a young Black child has to endure.
Hooks’ (1996) desire to connect with the women in her family is expressed through the
traditional coming-of-age process of “pressing” the women’s hair (p. 91-92), to indicate the
transformation from girlhood into womanhood. However, Hooks is deeply disconcerted by this
gesture although she craves for this attention, “comforted by the intimacy and bliss… our ritual
and our time… a time without men” (p. 92). It is seen as the precious time she spends with her
sisters until she undergoes this pressing, this straightening that does not take her desire to
become like the powerful women around her – with nappy, steel-like hair, unruly. She comes to
associate the act in a negative light, that which distances African American women from their
womanhood, that which plies them into the ideals of White womanhood. Hooks’ search for her
garden, Alice Walker’s (1984) conception of the garden, is not found among the space of these
women. Instead, she fondly remembers the time with her grandfather, Daddy Gus, whose
wisdom she grips strongly for foundation, his age providing gentle guidance for her “problems”
and balm to her wounded ego (Hooks, 1996, p. 85). She follows the calm of her grandfather’s
voice, whose tranquillity and patience she describes in the memoir as a formative experience of
her life (p. 86). Therefore, Hooks searches both in men’s and women’s lives for her nurture.
A little older, Hooks begins to read books voraciously and would choose to scour through
popular early 20th century romance literature. Hooks (1996) observes that the characteristics of
the women in the writing were filled with poor women finding fortune or marrying rich, although
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extremely independent yet putting caretaking of others, especially children, above themselves.
The character always got married towards the conclusion of the book and had happy endings to
their stories (Hooks, 1996, p. 119). Hooks understands that such dreams and fantasies are a
momentary relief of her distorted reality and her existence in the altered space of reading
provided her comfort and hope for her as a young black girl. Once again, she becomes the object
of curiosity for other White people in the library, who are suspicious of her reading activity but
she also recognizes herself as a subject undergoing these self-consolations through her hardships
(Hooks, 1986, p. 120). Hooks recognises that her feelings of hatred and bitterness towards White
people are because of the lessons from school that teach slavery and the construct of Black
bodies as “savages” (p. 31). Hooks (1996) reiterates that she does not understand poverty, and
she observes the use of lye soap for bathing, eating laundry starch to satiate hunger, going to a
country school and walking for miles (p. 4-5, 37), working in different capacities at different
ages (p. 7, 57) and then she provides a history of many poor Black girls’ lives in the South, living
by simultaneously understanding and figuring their economic and social class in relation to other
children and communities. These children are at the receiving end of the perpetuated fixation of
the African American women as situated in the “bottom of this division of labor” (Brewer, 1999,
p. 36) and their realities are taken from an “inherited” sense of work where “Black women are
often expected to do everything” and this work’s devaluation as a constant factor in their lives
(Brewer, 1999, p. 41). Hooks (2000) writes in her work Where We Stand: Class Matters of class
and its silences that framed the work for her mother, herself and almost all Black women. She
places her narrative in “the world old poor agrarian southern black landowners living under a
regime of racial apartheid” (p. 17). One can observe that writing about her girlhood is a
decolonizing experience, one where the experienced self stands behind the past self and
deconstructs the ways of life dictated to her Black and poor southern family. Her girlhood had
been in the confines and desires of her parents and other authoritative figures, while, mostly, her
life was lived in creative freedom and in want of an escape route.
The Combahee River Collective (1977) is a monumental statement in feminist history,

whose role in defining the intersectionalities, ideological alliances and distances had an impact in
Black feminist thought, especially while speaking about sexuality. Hooks (1996) is deeply aware
of how sexuality affects Black girls, that it is seen as a “curse” (p. 112), the experience of which
indicts them of a knowledge that equates to pregnancy, as a loose woman, a prostitute and a
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social welfare seeker (p. 113). She clearly notices that her object of pleasure is not the
imagination of the involvement of a man but that of a personal place of “refuge, a sanctuary” (p.
113). Constantly, the safe spaces that she discovers are threatened by lack of privacy (p. 114), of
being condemned (p. 158) and pressured into desires that are perceived as lacking by her parents
(p. 159). She notes how particularly harsh they are when they speak of homosexual individuals,
the “funny” ones (p. 136) where gay men in the communities are noticed but gay women are
unaccepted and ridiculed because they go against the social order of gender, race and class
hierarchies, that is, hierarchies existing in a way where the woman takes care of the family, earns
for the man and fits themselves in the role of the mother and/or caretaker.
Looking at the complexities of the intersections that Hooks hasanalysed in her memoir,
what stands out is the narrative style – short chapters that briefly look at deeper experiences and
meanings of living. The structure of the memoir is unusual from the traditional memoir genre
and offers hard-hitting reality. A reality which, even forty years after the Combahee River
Collective statement (1977), Black women seemed to experience through the constant
marginalization of their voice (Cespedes, Evans, Monteiro, 2018, p. 380). The voices and
identities in Hooks memoir, the writings of Black women’s life in academia and as I shall
continue to show, the vocalization of the disproportionate representation of these women,
continue to form some of the major issues that are being talked about in Black feminism, in a
manner where a “collective memoir experience” can be traced. This memoir becomes important
because it reflects and cuts across Black girlhoods in America, situated in their spaces and
reiterating the same kinds of prejudice that exist in the society. Many voices speak as one voice,
weaves life stories of different kinds but fits well with the next cloth patch and the one following
that. The stitches of intersectionality hold the layers of the quilted piece (Hooks, 1996, xiv) and
its expanse speaks back to the overarching pressure of power of various kinds in these women’s
lives.
In the performances of her girlhood, each stage of her life in bursts of short chapters
represents a burst of memory, that tries to pry open the boundaries of the genre of memoir.
Hooks (1996) argues that there is no one narrative of Black girlhood (p. xiii) but, as restated
through the events and its interpretations above, her memoir is a partial autobiography of Black
girls’ lives. The “I” spoken of is splinted by their collective experience of discrimination and
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poverty but is splintered by multiple selves, bound by traumas wrought by race, sex, class and
other dimensions which find their way into speaking similarly. Hooks (1996) views impressions
that are left in the mind of the young child as much more valuable than the events itself (p. xv)
and in these exercises, of writing and activism, there is the voice of hope of better lives for Black
women. Perhaps our entry into the world of Hooks’ creativity as readers is limited through her
words that she writes over pages. However, her act of writing is also an invitation to the reader to
observe her world making process, her memoir that writes of truths, resistances and words from
her world as a young Black girl.
Observing writers who have experimented in the genres of autobiography and memoir
writing, although not taking examples from Black women’s writing, Laura Di Summa-Knoop
(2017) has defined the term “Critical Autobiography.” The term encompasses a rethinking of the
genre of memoir and deviates from its threefold “standard features”– confession, coherent
narrative and representation of their identity (p. 9-10) are able to accommodate the discussion
around Bell Hooks’ memoir. The selection of Hooks’ life that she chooses to reveal, the almost
fictitious elements in her life, punctured with phenomenological reality challenges the reader’s
limits of understanding of the genre. Hooks (1996) admits to this memoir being unusual,
“unconventional” (p. xiv), yet, it is functioning also as illocutionary (Summa-Knoop, 2017, p. 3).
The manner in which this memoir stands out is, perhaps, not only in the stylistic change in the
form in which the memoir has been written, but the content therein, which is able to depict and
question the various perspectives of Black girlhood within the community that she is living in.
Hooks tries to present her narrative in chronological order, without explicitly stating the year and
uses techniques of clues scattered around, like menstruation, having good hair as a coming of age
tradition, dating as an older girl etc. Hooks sheds light into the lives of Black people, of the
occupations, the wages, their sexual and emotional lives where few are able, or have the
resources to express themselves, and it has laid a platform, a possibility for Black women’s
voices.
Hooks has expressed the variety of Black girlhoods in America, and the study in the field
of Black girlhood is magnified through the extensive work done by Nazera Sadiq Wright (2016),
Ruth Nicole Brown (2013) and Rebecca Carroll (1997) among several others through the
bildungsroman stories which replicate the comparable lives across time. Wright (2016), while
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writing of the genealogy of Black girlhood, traces her own development of Black girlhood by
presenting the picture of “brave, bold, black girl who battled injustices – when adults in their
lives were unwilling to” (para. 1). It could be seen as a conflicting statement to Hooks’
experience of young Black girls being “assertive, speak more, appear more confident” (Hooks,
1996, p. xiii). However,Hooksbreaks down this assumption by connecting it to the training they
receive, in terms of how these young girls are representatives of their race wherever they go and
not necessarily due to their gender identity, a characteristic that may seem as a cut above the rest
of the White girls (p. xiii). Wright’s association is largely with the inaction from the part of
Black adults who are responsible and are capable of making changes in the community, yet are
not doing their part, whereas Hooks’ comparison is with that of the ideals placed on women’s
lives, on a girl child’s life. Especially if she is Black, her burdens are multiplied. Some poignant
topics explored in Ruth Nicole Brown’s (2013) “Black Women Remember Black Girls: A
Collective and Creative Memory” (p. 46-97) makes a case for the present voice of young Black
girls, the expectations from them and the kinds of changes they want to bring to the public space
– to voice and seek change in their lives. Particularly where young Black girls are expected to be
aware of the future life, “premature and slow death, as they are often the first to be sacrificed, the
expected carriers of heavy loads, made to feel invisible and inferior…” (p. 47).
This is not to place the burden on the Black children for the plight of an entire race but to
see the kind of action they are willing to take for their communities. It is a collaborative process
where Black voices are raised in unison to see a long-term change in how laws and regulations
are made concerning their lives. In Hooks’ memoir (1996), she speaks of a specific instance
where walkouts from schools were a common form of protest (p. 154-156). School walkouts are
a peaceful method of boycotting classes and organizing against the system of power, to speak of
certain issues in the precincts of an institute that affect a set of students. It calls for institutional
amendments and seeks support from the school board, their parents and/or the public by
appealing to their conscience for their conditions and concerns. It can last for a number of days
(Franklin, 2006) or for a few minutes, which shall be discussed in the context of the Marjory
Stoneman Douglas shooting on February 14, 2018. Hooks (1996) recounts how black students
walk out in protest and are punished by the White teachers and principal. In Hooks’ school,
Black students are constantly aware of the gaze to perform well, to remain in the boundaries
drawn between the races, especially White girls and Black boys (Hooks, 1996, p. 155) and to
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continuously mediate or become the tiring mouthpiece that runs the mill on how they can
assimilate (p. 156). She sees this as a futile exercise and believes that they are relentlessly
policed, the first victims of racial prejudice. It is a constant conversation on how violence
continues to perpetuate in Black communities, among Black boys and Black girls in their
schools, a space for learning and nurture that are imbued with fear for their life. This kind of
anger that builds in the Black girls is expressed against the deep dissatisfaction of the system to
accommodate and listen to them (Wun, 2016, p. 11). However, in the increased visibility of
social media, Black voices and violence are reported and are often sought as indications of
change, holding authorities accountable for their actions and claiming that their lives are no
longer disposable. These are vocal memoirs being created and these voices are widespread as
well as layered now, more than ever.
Making her statement on gun violence and its impact, especially among Black
communities, the eleven-year-old Naomi Wadler opened up a forum for discussion of her
activism, a vocal memoir, through the speech she delivered during the demonstration of March
for Our Lives movement on March 24, 2018. After the shooting that took place at Marjory
Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Florida on February 14, 2018, several survivors of
the shooting formed an organization named “Never Again MSD.” The mission stated a demand
for stricter regulations to prevent gun violence. One month after the shooting, the “Enough!
National School Walkout” on March 14, 2018, saw a response from many students and parents
who demonstrated solidarity with student activists of Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School
by walking out of their schools for 17 minutes, one minute for each student who died in the
shooting. In Alexandria, Virginia, Black student Naomi Wadler and another White student,
Carter Anderson, organized a walkout in their school – George Mason Elementary School –
which was met with some resistance by the school authorities. The students were later allowed to
hold their protest. The Guardian reporter, Lois Beckett tweeted what Wadler touched upon in her
March for Our Lives speech, that she was termed as too “young” to comprehend the meaning of
her actions (Beckett, 2018). Wadler added an extra minute for the walkout in memory of
seventeen-year-old Courtlin Arrington, an African American student who was a victim of the
shooting at Huffman High School on March 7, 2018. During her speech in Washington, Wadler
had added the names of two other Black girls, Hadiya Pendleton, a fifteen-year-old who was shot
in January 2013 and sixteen-year-oldTaiyania Thompson who was shot in January 2018.
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As an eleven-year-old, Wadler is memorializing the deaths of fifteen, sixteen and

seventeen-year-old Black girls and women who, in Wadler’s words, are those victims of gun
violence, the disproportionately murdered and who have become part of statistics (CBS News,
2018). This speech contains many pointers towards the kinds of activism that Black women and
girls have been involved in for decades. Like Hooks has demonstrated in her writings, Black
girls have represented themselves and crafted their narratives of resistance in the context of the
vision of the future, which is heavily laden with the past of Black women’s and girls’ deaths.
From Hooks’ narrative of creative resistance and activism, the work that Black girls do, one must
observe the model of Black girl’s development into Black women. The time, geographies and
histories are vastly different although connections can be made through the emphasis on the
critical roles of participation of African American women and girls in American society. One
must ask – What is Wadler saying? What was Bell Hooks talking about in her memoir? The
kinds of Black girlhoods constructed by the world and by these African American girls
themselves are important discussions, which needs to be had, today.
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RECLAMATION OF MEMORY: A STUDY OF MICHAEL ONDAATJE’S RUNNING

IN THE FAMILY AND ROMESH GUNESEKERA’S REEF
Vara Ranjani
Abstract
Memory is one of the most fascinating theme and an essential element in the lives of diasporic
writers. These diaporic people rely on it so heavily, that their very survival depends on their
ability to remember who they are and their past experiences. This paper focuses on reclamation
of memory by two diaspora writers Michael Ondaatje’s Running in the Family and Romesh
Gunesekera’s Reef. These writers are connected to their home with their memories. For these
writers, a memory is something that has happened in the past and does not stop in time but it is
active in the present. It carries vast amounts of information which takes many different forms
like thoughts, images, photographs, stories and other sensory like sounds, smells and tastes.
These diasporic writers no matter how far they go their past follows like a shadow where they
cannot disconnect. These nostalgic memories instead making them caught in reminisce, it helps
them to deal with their loneliness and allows them to find meaning in life.
Keywords: over-romanticize, estrangement, Rootlessness, fragmentation, Reconstructing
Memories and longing for the past has become the central preoccupation of diasporic
people. Theseimmigrants feel not only awe and adventure in the new country but also a deep
sense of loss, a feeling of isolation and nostalgia for their home. One way or another, wherever
they go they carry their memories and these memories lure diasporas to hold on to their roots. So
nostalgia should neither look down on the host land nor should it over-romanticize its homeland.
The Russian writer Svetlana Boym calls the diasporic intimacy, “Diasporic intimacy does not
promise a comforting recovery of identity through shared nostalgia for the lost home and the
homeland…a hope that sneaks in through the backdoor in the midst of habitual estrangement of
everyday life abroad.”
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Nostalgia and memory help to mediate between the old and new homes of the diaspora.
In Midnight’s ChildrenRushdie remarks about memory saying, “I told you the truth…memory has
its own special kind. It selects, eliminates, alters, exaggerates, minimizes, glorifies, and vilifies
also…trusts someone else’s version more than his own.” They evoke the past in highly selective
ways constructing a present that is a hybrid of multiple cultures and experiences. Immigrants
resort to retrospection, which involves referring to the past so as to clarify their origins and
history. The family history is a valuable source of treasure which takes the immigrant back to his
traditional home where the fragments from the past, is captured and relived through photographs,
slides, thoughts, images, stories and other sensory like sounds, smells and tastes. Immigrant’s
memories get transformed over time becoming personal creation of truth and they become
custodians of the collective history of their people.
Neuroscientists have revealed that when people evoke an old memory, it

immediately reactivates in the brain more like a cinematic effect that often includes the people,
location, smells, music, and other minute details. Both the writers gaze half in the past and half
in their own time, their stories are built by the help of flashback technique. The writers highlight
the cultural clashes both in the homeland and the country of adoption thus becoming folk
historians and myth makers. In many instances, as the Canadian novelist Vassanji states, “this
reclamation of the past is the first serious act of writing. Having reclaimed it, having given
himself a history, he liberates himself to write about the present.”Writing provides a negotiating
space to compete between memories of the past that is distant in time and space, and the
displacement of it in its relocation within the new culture. The two writers learn to tame
nostalgia and hang on to a memory that contributes to their work in a host land.
Michael Ondaatje’s third novel Running in the Family published in 1982, is a quest to
know his family and his community which he had left behind for twenty five years. The memoir
is composed of two return trips to Sri Lanka in 1978 and 1980 with his wife and children. As a
result, everything in the book connects to the memory of someone or another and not just short-
term memory but a memory that is engrossed in everybody’s heart. He collects his family’s
mysterious and bizarre past from gossips, anecdotes, secrets, poems and documents which are
embarrassing, hilarious and at the same time adorable. He also thinks that his present has been
shaped by what went on earlier in his life that is his parents’ divorce and his love towards his
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father, Mervin Ondaatje, whom he missed when he first migrated to England in 1952 at the age
of eleven. So, the book attempts to establish the past link between him and his father and written
together with brothers, sisters, aunts, and other relatives.
In an interview with Maya Jaggi, when asked why he had wanted to go back to Sri Lanka
in his mid-thirties, Michael Ondaatje said that he had left his homeland Sri Lanka for many years
and so he wanted to reclaim and reconnect his past. His nostalgia created a longing in him to
return to the past and relive in his memories of his home. He preferred to deal with his own and
his family’s past,“I wanted to touch them into words…solitary desire,” indicating a writer’s
desire. His desire to reclaim of his past resulted in writing the memoir Running in the Family.
With the help of his large number of relatives, friends and colleagues he was able to learn much
about his father, he hardly knew, and his grandparents he never knew. Through this book
Ondaatje takes the reader physically to the living rooms and gardens of his surviving aunts,
cousins, and stepsisters to trace his family tree, his relatives, socio-political events, landscape,
climate, culture, tradition, and history.
The immigrants are born with a home, but their diasporic condition makes them
unhomely, and this condition makes them emotionally to reclaim their home through nostalgia
and memory. Ondaatje describes his home Sri Lanka as a familiar place but at the same time it
becomes unfamiliar place also. He romanticised his country Sri Lanka, which is exotically
packaged for the western reader, capturing through nostalgia. He evaluates his past not just to
see how it shapes his early perceptions, but also to see the ways in which it continues to shape
present events. Ondaatje makes it clear from the beginning that his home is in the past and his
present in-between condition does not prevent him from an imaginative perception of the past.
After twenty-five years of absence, Ondaatje’s memories are faint because of the distance from
home but still he was able to take the reader back to his past by some resources that connect to an
event from the past.
Ondaajte beautifully portrays these domestic scenes and personal traits of his family from
different sources of information that is from Aunts Phyllis, Dolly and Sister Gillian who retraced
his ancestry with labyrinth of memories. So his home is built by different layers of memories
which does not freeze, Ondaatje says that memory has, “moved tangible, palpable, into her brain,
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the way memory invades the present in those who are old, the way gardens invade houses
here…” Since he had gone away from his homeland at an early age, he had not fully understood
what he had missed. So the book helps him to bring back his missing past together and he first
started to gather information on his parents. When Ondaatje visits his father’s old army
colleague, the former Prime Minister, he learns of hilarious incidents and an outrageous
behaviour of his father such as, hijacking of trains several times in a drunken state. There were
reports of him keeping the Trincomalee-Colombo train running up and down for a considerable
time and in one incident he was running naked into a train tunnel at the kadugannawa.
Past can be imprisoned through photographs and Ondaatje uses his family photographs
to remember his lost childhood. Ondaatje uses photographic evidences in his work to show the
diverse mannerisms of his ancestors and his understanding of his role as a writer. A photograph
ceases the past and brings it alive in the present. They can only document the distance between
the past and present but can in no way, join the past and present together meaningfully. The
fourth section of the book is called ‘Eclipse Plumage’ which opens with a group photograph that
shows a fancy-dress party in the 1920s and his parents photograph which he was “waiting for all
[his] life,” showing his father Mervyn and his mother Doris on their honeymoon, facing the
camera and making hideous faces and this shows that they were perfect for one another.
Ondaatje writes “In the large house whose wings are now disintegrating into garden and bush she
moves frail as Miss Havisham.”As one reads in Great Expectations, Miss Havisham was
described as an old, frail woman living constantly in her past as a result of her loss of love in the
past. When Ondaatje uses this allusion, he shows that one of his Aunts is also stuck and broods
in the past. This past proves useful to Ondaatje who is trying to reconstruct his family tree.
The book is a personal homecoming of sort, where Ondaatje feels that he has ‘grown
from’ his childhood and his physical journey to his homeland is a necessary step towards
‘growing up.’ So the memoir shows the journey to one’s homeland is the narrative that bridges
between childhood and adulthood. The novel then moves to his familiar environment in the
tropical rain forest of Jaffna, where long afternoons filled with conversation and the “noisy
solitude”, which characterized his time in Northern Sri Lanka where Ondaatje returns to his
homeland to learn the history of his large and illustrious family. In order to understand physically
about his home the writer says that, “My body must remember everything, the brief insect bite,
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smell of wet fruit, the slow snail light, rain, and underneath the hint of colours…” He is trying to
remember and bring back the sensuous acquaintances of sounds, smells and colours of his
childhood home and by creating this kind of association, he internalizes the rich experience. So
physically he tries to understand his homeland through family, relatives, friends, landscape,
culture, and history.
Running in the Family is partly a memoir, partly a travelogue, partly a biography and
partly a history which represents a migrant’s diverse views. No doubt the book is preoccupied
with memories. The narrative fragmentation in Ondaatje’s work reflects his interest in the
plurality of stories. Different narrative threads cross, bend, and entangle with one another where
the past interrupts the present and vice versa. He shifts from writer to listener to recorder
introducing unsettling splits in the narrative. He continually undermines the authenticity of his
sources, suggesting that “No story is ever told just once. Whether a memory or funny hideous
scandal, we will return to it an hour later and retell the story with additions and this time a few
judgments thrown in. In this way history is organized.” Ondaatje is aware of his duality, as a
native and a foreigner and agrees that the experience of the loss is intensified in the immigrants,
who are far-away in space as well as in time, where they become an outsider in their own
country. The detachment from home distorts the facts and memories shows only incomplete
truths. He honestly accepts that the book is partly fictionalized because in Sri Lanka, a well-told
lie is better than a thousand truths.
On the other hand Romesh Gunesekera’sdebut novel Reef was published in the year 1994
and included in the shortlist for the Booker Prize from among two hundred works. From his first
book itself, Gunesekera has created a scintillating work, setting him on the path of an award-
winning writing career. The novel is short and crispy but it takes the reader on a long journey
starting in the 90s and going back to the 60s, where the writer explores a feudal master-servant
relationship and a tempting taste of exotic flavours and feelings of life rooted in the past. It is an
emotional journey towards a childhood homeland present in broken memories and distanced
from a time and place gone forever but remaining alive in the young immigrant’s mind. Despite
being a short novel it touches on loss, journey, memory, identity, the eroding passage of time and
ruined homeland.
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The protagonist imagines his homeland Sri Lankan as a paradise which is lost forever and
the only way is to recollect through memory. The novel is written in the first person, from the
point of view of the main protagonist named Triton. The novel starts with the prologue where the
protagonist had been staying in England since twenty years suddenly his memory is triggered
when he encounters a fellow Sri Lankan. The rest of the novel is the recollection of his journey
to his homeland, where he talks about his childhood, his coming of age, and his growth as an
individual under the wings of his master. Through memory of the protagonist, the author
describes in detail the socio-political changes and the changing ethnic instability in Sri Lanka.
It is a human tendency that the brain, apparently sets on fire, tugs at a loose thread of an
old memory when it come across a familiar smell or a person or an experience. Triton’s past is
triggered when he encounters with a fellow Sri Lankan so called refugee who is alienated by
language, where he doesn’t speak fluent English or Sinhalese, “I tried speaking in Sinhala, but he
shook his head. Wrong language; ‘Tamil, Tamil. English only little,’ he said. The tip of his
tongue hovered.” This incident made Triton to bring back a wave of memories from his home,
Sri Lanka and his early days in England where it took time for him to gradually assimilate the
new culture and he says, “broke all the old taboos and slowly freed myself from the demons of
our past,” the only means to survive in the new land is to let go ones past. The refugee reveals to
Triton that back home everything is on the verge of war, a battle zone of ethnic riots, “Very bad
war now back there.” The painful news of his homeland makes Triton to remember his home
once a paradise but now a land of warfare, “I could see a sea of pearls. Once a diver’s
paradise.Now a landmark for gunrunners in a battle zone of army camps and Tigers.” For Triton
his lost homeland becomes a mythic place of desire in his imagination and he tries to reclaim it
through memory. Triton’s mind suddenly turns to his homeland that was distanced by time and
place for twenty years. It is through the compatriot that Triton feels the sense of rootlessness,
pain and agony for the lost homeland. He unwraps his forbidden past through a series of
memories from his childhood days that he had spent in his homeland. This loss is filled by
recreating one’s native homeland through the buried past and is brought to the present.
Nostalgia is a leitmotif that runs through much of Gunesekera’s writings where many of
his characters go down the memory lane and yearn for the tranquil homeland, Ceylon, of
yesteryears. Triton’s imagination unfolds back into a series of flashbacks and traces out his
childhood homeland in the year 1962 when he was eleven years old. He was taken by his uncle
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to the town to work as a servant boyfor a marine biologist, Mister Salgado. Triton as a child
comes without a past where his name was not known and there is little mention of his rustic life
where he mischievously burned the thatched roof of his school and this made his uncle take him
to the city and put him to work as a housekeeper. It was in his master’s house that Triton
acquired a new identity for himself with a new name called ‘Triton’ which was given by his
master Salgado. One of Gunesekera’s major victories in the novel is the viewpoint he presents,
which moves from that of Triton as an adult in England to that of him as a local boy in his
homeland Sri Lanka. The result of this crossing point between past and present, this reworking,
is the production of cultural identities that in Stuart Hall’s term are in ‘transition.’ Being young
and immature Triton’s first job is to serve Mister Salgado his morning tea in bed and sweep the
house. But later he began to cook and experimented with food and it was motivated and
supported by his master Salgado. Triton learns almost everything from his master, Ranjan
Salgado, a generous man who loved to study and protect the coral reef of his homeland.
In the beginning of the novel Triton confesses that he has completely rejected the past.
For twenty years in the host land Triton was not sentimentally disturbed by his past, “A long
time protected from the past.”He confesses that he is away from his past,because his past has
nothing to do with the present condition in the host land and so he rejects the past. His life starts
from those meek origins in a remote village in his homeland Sri Lanka and he becomes a
survivor in the West enabling him to survive anywhere in the world. But ironically, Triton is not
fully cut-off from his past because he recollects his past story in the beginning so that he can
evaluate his past life in terms of the present life. So humans cannot reject the past, it exists, and
it also persists in different modes and manners. Gunesekera says that the land of one’s childhood
always haunts those who leave it, and the memories, joined with the imagination, become
essential to the identity of the immigrant in his host land. The past can become a cage that
entraps immigrants and prevents them from breaking away from it and soimmigrants who want
to assimilate into the host land should learn to tame nostalgia and preserve the past so that it
promotes survival in the new land. The fragments from the past, become a valuable scrap which
migrants use when stitching together new ways of thinking about their identity and their place in
the world. Even though Triton’s past has no identity, his past experiences have given him a new
identity in the present as the owner of a restaurant. Like many diasporic writers even Gunesekera
creates a ‘double-voiced discourse’ that is blending of voices where he situates his work in the
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past, a space other than presently lived in. But in his attempt to evoke the past or the earlier
place he could not recapture it completely but some how he brought it into being.
Triton in the beginning suffers from a nostalgic feeling towards his lost homeland when
he goes to the sea shore in England where he hears migratory bird gulls he felt like crying out
sadly of their uprooted lives and he also asks his master Salgado whether it is the same sea in
England as it is in his homeland Sri Lanka. Triton was finally left alone in a land which does not
belong to him but it is his life now and he had to survive without his master beside him. He was
left with a bundle of memories and a faded past. When the immigrants are cut-off from the past
or from their roots they try to assimilate into the new environment and to form a new identity and
live a peaceful life.To survive in the host country Triton put aside his past, his inherited name
and his generous master but he doesn’t give up his love for cooking. In his own immigrant
identity formation, he rejects everything unpleasant or pointless, keeping only his food- based
memories, for his new life in Britain. In the beginning he learns to earn his livelihood given in
an acutely moderate account, “The nights were long at the Earls Court snack shop with its line of
bedraggled, cosmopolitan itinerants…. without a past, without a name, without Ranjan Salgado
standing by my side.” It was Triton who successed in fulfilling the vision of his master by
opening a fast-food stands and later becomes a restaurateur. Triton himself adopts the survivor
status in the host country without the claims of the past. His position and his wish for voluntary
exile from his own homeland, and his anxiety with commercial success, create a transnational
identity. But whereas for his master things did not work out well in the host land.
As for his master Salgado, a man who has a well-formed past, yet, throughout the book,
one can see him as a person who is not at ease with an open world and actually wants a closed,
familiar and small world. At one point, Salgado painfully recalls the futility of the failed dreams
of his past vision of building a marine sanctuary, but he was not able to fulfil his desire. Later at
the end of the novel Salgado says, “We are only what we remember, nothing more…all we have
is the memory of what we have done or not done, whom we might have touched, even for a
moment.” In a sense, neither his sense of the past nor his past privileges have helped him. He
was not able to discard the past and the past haunted him even after living in London. Being a
diasporic migrant, Salgado is janus-faced for, despite living in England, he keeps looking back at
his past, and is caught between two nations and two societies. Master Salgado heard that the
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condition in his homeland Sri Lanka has become miserable and his former lover Nili, who is
running a guest-house was destroyed and her life was devastated in a Tamil attack. Finally
Salgado returns to his homeland, Sri Lanka in search of his lover Nili and this makes the reader
to assume that Salgado himself will fall victim to further violence. Both Triton and his master
Salgado end in two different fates. Triton was able to assimilate into the host land whereas his
master returns to his homeland with disappointments.
The immigrants have a strong desire to return to their homelands, similar to the Freudian
desire to return to the womb, but it remains a desire never to be fulfilled. The only way that these
immigrants can reach their homeland is through memory, a psychological journey to their
homeland. The history of the homeland may appear to be just stories from the past, fragments of
lives but these experiences are crucial resources for the immigrants who can work out to
formulate their way into the future. So nostalgia becomes a positive emotion where relocation
and acceptance of the past is necessary to adapt to a new way of life. M.G. Vassanji, the writer
who has an entirely opposing and inconsistent view with regard to the past, though a diaspora
himself intensely believes that the past must not be forgotten, because he says “a person without
history is an orphan.”In the novel Triton confronts his past which finally results in a re-discovery
of his own nation, roots and identity, and becomes a search for reality, an attempt to regain his
belongingness, and affirm his ancestry. In the beginning of the novel itself he is psychologically
transported through his memory to his childhood homeland Sri Lanka, which is six thousand
miles away. Triton’s “voyage of discovery”, involves re-visioning the experience of the
past.Being apostcolonial writer Gunesekera engages himself in a process of reconstructing his
national and personal history with the objective of analyzing and understanding his own past.
The diasporic experience comprises multiple journeys, which makes the migrant to
retrospect the past, particularly at their origins and history.Both the novels are narrated through
the fragments of memory and a cinematic melodrama of the past is beautifully depicted. Reef is
a fictional reflection on the issue of memory and it is heavily bonded in allegory. This novel is
heavily bonded in allegory from the past on family league, their life style and habits ina
particular period in the history of a nation and its people. Gunesekera wrote the way he saw it
and how he lived in it as a child. Triton is not an Odysseus longing to go back, but like Oedipus
fleeing home and remembering it in memory. In Running in the Family, Ondaajte recollects his
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childhood memories of the homeland with organization of stories on family league, their life
style and habits ina particular period in the history of a nation and its people. The narrative
strategy they both use creates a textual space in which fantasies and realities coexist. A popular
critic David Lowenthal comments on memory as , “History extends and elaborates memory by
interpreting relics and synthesizing reports from past eyewitnesses” and according to LaCapra
even false memory might have historical value in particular situations, like ‘lies’ allow
generalized truths to appear later as historical doubts. It is history’s job to shape a narrative from
the ‘living source’ of memory and in the process it should differentiate fact from fiction. The
writers muse about the past because they want to recreate a satisfying emotional experience that
will help them to understand their roots better. These emotional memories of the diaspora writers
are powerful and serve to guide and inform the writers as they plot a route to the present and
prepare for the future.Memories are a rich source of precise testimony of our history and the
diaspora writers are the true historians.
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AFTER THE RAIN: AN EVENING WITH POET RAMAKANTA RATH
Bidyut Bhusan Jena
Introduction
Dukha (grief) is the source of creation. On the banks of Tamasa, Sage Valmiki, on seeing
the plight of the bird couple, was overwhelmed by dukha, which culminated in the first verse of
the Ramayana. If one digs deep into the source of dukha, one would certainly find a tale of
separation. And separation, in turn, is the condition for creation. The seed is separated from the
tree and the sapling comes into being; the baby is separated from the womb and a new life sees
the light of day. Thus, our lives – an ever-ever tale of separation, can be looked upon as a
footnote to dukha – the memory of separation from the original source – the remembered
beginning. Therefore, one reminisces and sometimes tries to recreate the unrepeatable. This
could perhaps be one of the reasons why Albert Camus in the “Preface” to his book, Lyrical and
Critical Essays writes that “a man’s work is nothing but this slow trek to rediscover, through the
detours of art, those two or three great and simple images in whose presence his heart first
opened. This is why, perhaps, after working and producing for twenty years, I still live with the
idea that my work has not even begun.” And in a perfectly parallel mode, Poet Ramakanta Rath
said something like this upon my asking him about his life on that evening after the rain.
Source: Google Images

Ramakanta Rath (1934) is one of the foremost modernist poets writing in Odia. With an
inimitable use of imagery, Rath’s poetry mediates upon the themes of mysticism, life and death,
the mystery of the Self, and the enigma and infinite possibilities of some arrival across the
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intimate horizon of some unnameable elsewhere. He received the Central Sahitya Akademi
award in 1977, Saraswati Samman in 1992, Bishuva Samman in 1990 and the Padma Bhushan in
2006. Some of his major works are: Kete Dinara (1962), Aneka Kothari (1967), Sandigdha
Mrugaya (1971), Saptama Rutu (1977), Sachitra Andhara (1982), Simanbasa (2002) and Sri
Radha (1984).
It all happened a couple of years ago. I was still reeling under a personal tragedy and had
emptied my vial of tears as it were. And then, one afternoon, I felt like listening to old Odia
songs. There is something magical about one’s mother tongue. For me, it is not just a language; it
is a landscape of inexhaustible memories and infinite longing. And these memories come alive
when one is away from the place of their making; when the pangs of loss gnaw at one’s heart.
After all, memories lend a different hue to one’s days lived. They spur one into phases of
suffering and monumental moments of creation. As Ruskin Bond has rightly said in his
autobiographical story, “Life with Father”, “Some of us are born sensitive. And, if, on top of
that, we are pulled about in different directions (both emotionally and physically), we might just
end up becoming writers.” And as a poet such memories have breathed ever new life into my
being.
Thus, the old Odia songs transported me to another order of time. It was a magical
afternoon indeed. Song after song played on my computer, lulling me to a siesta of dreams. And
when I woke up, it was the most natural way of waking up to a new state of being. There was a
longing-soaked silence in my house with warm fringes of an orange tint – the afternoon sunlight
just before the dusk. I gifted myself a cup of peach flavoured green tea and without any
rehearsed thought sat before my bookshelf.
My bookshelves have comforted me in the darkest of times. There is something about the
printed leaves that escapes speech. The new, old, yellowish, white, fragile and sometimes dog-
eared pages still my being. But that day I was drawn to the Odia section of the bookshelf; to a
particular book in fact – Simantabasa – a book of poems by Ramakanta Rath – one of the
renowned Odia poets. I had read this collection of his in the past, but that day the poems touched
a deeper part of me. The words revealed themselves to me creating a dream sequence of sorts. I
could feel every single word quite distinctly. It was almost an epiphanic moment, reminding me
of the following lines from Raja Rao’s book of meditative essays, The Meaning of India: “If the
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transient speaks to the transient it becomes a cacophony. But if the eternal, the unchanging,
speaks to the unchanging, in me, in you, we have one language.” Maybe the eternal in Rath’s
poetry had touched the eternal in me. Maybe it was a pure moment of rasa – aesthetic
realization. And that day I did not just want to limit myself to reading. I wanted to translate. And
within the next few hours I had already translated a couple of poems from the collection. The
next day I had the wish to have a conversation with the poet and show him my translations. But I
did not have his contact details with me. After a moment’s pause, I contacted another renowned
Odia Poet and my teacher, Shatrughna Pandab and requested him for Rath’s contact number.
That very afternoon I made a phone call to Ramakanta Rath. At the other end I heard a
chiselled, distant and still voice. It was like the sound of the residue of raindrops falling from
trees and thatched roofs against the background of the silence that follows the rain. I did not
know how to begin the conversation. After a brief introduction, I told him about my translating
ten of his poems from the collection Simantabasa, and how I wanted to show them to him. He
paused for a moment and what followed was one of the happiest things that had ever happened to
me. He was visiting my current city for some work. And upon request he shared his address with
me and told me that we could meet one evening.
It was a hectic day at the workplace. After the work, I with Pramod Kumar Das, a dear
friend of mine of many years, took an auto to Rath’s current place of stay. It rained all through
our journey, further perplexing the auto driver by casting a film of watery oblivion on
everything. The rain had stopped by the time we reached our destination. After buying sweets for
the poet from a nearby shop we walked on. Again we had to make a call to Rath for directions.
Within a couple of minutes we were in front of his house. Our hearts missed a couple of beats
moments before we knocked on the door.His son-in-law opened the door. We were made to sit in
the drawing room and in no time a tall, graceful and kurta-clad old man, with measured steps,
came out of the other room. He walked as though he paused and felt every inch of the floor under
his feet. He smiled at us as he approached our sitting place and in turn we greeted him by
touching his feet. All of us sat down leaving behind a trail of silence. It was as though a moment
of spell had been cast on us. Then I began the conversation with a “how have you been”? And
what followed was a long pause culminating in a response almost inaudible – “how must I be if I
have not been able to write the poem that I have always wanted to write!” These words of his
were followed by yet another moment of silence leading to an unforgettable conversation which
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veered between the reading and writing of literature. There was yet another reason for the
conversation holding out the promise of being etched in my memory for a long time. And it was
the poet’s reflection on some of the thoughts on art that I had always believed in as a poet,
writer, reader and translator.
While dwelling upon the topic of literature, Rath stressed the need for simplicity in
writing, so that the reader is not utterly at the mercy of the writer. When I asked him about his
favourite authors, Rath mentioned some of these names – William Shakespeare, Johann
Wolfgang von Goethe, Franz Kafka, Thomas Mann, Dante Alighieri, T. S. Eliot, Ezra Pound,
Walt Whitman, Albert Camus, Sylvia Plath, W. B. Yeats, Anna Akhmatova, Vladimir
Mayakovsky, Leo Tolstoy and Fyodor Dostoevsky, to name a few. Rath, also, recollected his
memory of visiting the houses of Tolstoy and Goethe. However, he was pained by the fact that
many in Russia and Germany still did not know their great writers, quite similar to the situation
in India. He stressed the need for not only remembering the writers, but preserving some of the
greatest and rarest books of the world. He was alarmed by the fear of a cultural impoverishment.
And in this connection, Rath alluded to the redeeming dimension of translation as a process of
cultural preservation and transference. Our discussion also led us to some of the important Odia
authors like Kanhucharan Mohanty, Ramachandra Behera and Shatrughna Pandaba. Time and
again, Rath mentioned Kanhucharan Mohanty and showed his displeasure at how the latter was
yet to get his due owing to some kind of literary and political apathy. Rath was also alarmed by
the disappearance of bookshops and people’s lack of interest in bhasa literatures. He looked
upon the disappearance of bookshops as symptomatic of cultural amnesia. In the context of our
conversation, I also broached the topic of how bookshops were being closed down in Odisha,
that too in the capital city of the state, resulting in the unavailability of books by great writers of
yesteryears.
Then all of us fell into a moment of silence. Rath broke the silence by asking me if I
wrote. When I told him that I was a published poet, his curiosity seemed to grow, and he asked
me in which language did I write? When I told him that I wrote both in Odia and English, he
took a pause and in a low and non-judgemental tone suggested that I should write in Odia. Also,
he was willing to share with me the details of some of the important Odia magazines that publish
poetry and contacts of some of the editors. In fact he readily shared with me the contact details of
renowned poet Bibhu Padhi. Rath also mentioned Nityananda Satpathy and recounted his
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friendship with author and my teacher Ramachandra Behera. Rath, also, reiterated the need for
revisiting the authors that came before us. As we took a pause for a moment, his daughter served
us tea and snacks, and I took the opportunity to show Rath the manuscript containing my
translations of some of his poems from Simantabasa. He took a look at the manuscript for a
while and told that he would read it properly and get back to me.
I also gifted him a book of novellas by the great German writer Thomas Mann. Rath was
happy to receive it and told me that years ago he had read Death in Venice. While referring to the
great books of the world, Rath mentioned the Ramayana and the Mahabharata, and spoke
passionately about the contribution of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and Central Sahitya Akademi
towards popularizing these great books. He also stressed the need for turning to such timeless
works for inspiration. In that context, he also mentioned that Kannada Sahitya Academy had
invited him to give a talk on the Mahabharata as he was in the town for a couple of days.
After a moment’s pause, upon hearing that we were teachers, Rath promptly mentioned
how fortunate he was to have not chosen teaching as a profession. Though I did not press him
further with a ‘why’, yet I, from my experience, somehow understood the possible reason for
Rath’s saying so. Maybe as a teacher, one tends to theorize literatures a lot and dissects it to the
point of damaging its very spirit. Thus literature evaporates in theorizing. Maybe this could be
one of the reasons why Rainer Maria Rilke in one of his letters to Franz Kappus was suspicious
of the critics of art.
Thus ended one of the beautiful conversations I have ever had. As we were getting ready
to leave, the poet gifted us the books of his poems – one, a collection of some of his memorable
poems in Odia, Srestha Kabita,andFrontier Lyrics, a collection of some of his self-translated
poems in English. As he inscribed, “To dear Bidyut, Ramakanta Rath” in Odia, with his shaky
hand, undefined tears welled up in my eyes. Then I mustered courage to ask him the reason for
the bandage on his forehead. And he said that he tripped and fell and broke his head. Then he
took a pause and said, “old age it is”; and fell into his silences, ending the evening of poetry
between pauses.
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CONSTRUCTION OF GENDER AND PATRIARCHY: A CRITICAL

READING OF THE FILM KOTHANODI
Sikha Das
Abstract
This paper is an attempt to understand the depiction of gender, marginalisation, witchcraft and
possession in the Assamese film Kothanodi (2015). The film is based on four folk stories from
the region of Assam. It has been taken by the filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika from the book Burhi
Ai’s Sadhu, (Grandmother's tale) published in 1911 compiled by Laxmi Nath Bezbaroa.
Although the stories were written in Assamese, it has been collected from different groups of
people of the region. The filmmaker has given a contemporary perspective to the stories. Among
the four stories, one is based on a king and his seven queens. Hazarika has changed the location
and has narrated the story, in the film, taking place in the village. Although the filmmaker has
shown a contemporary village for the stories, it is important to look at the time period when the
original text has been written. These stories were based on the social structure of that time
period. In the constructed social structure how different categories of people are restricted within
the norms that are assigned to them. In the film, construction of gender in a patriarchal society
has been portrayed in a visible manner. The marginalised position of women, as a stepmother,
practitioner of evil power, possessed by an evil power, greed for wealth has been discussed in the
film. Assam is known for its age-old practice of magic. Further, the film has portrayed the belief
system about healing among the people of the region. The paper intends to understand the
construction of gender, patriarchy and how it is connected with the social structure of different
community through feminist research methodology.
Keywords: Gender, Witchcraft, Possession, Patriarchy, Social Structure
Introduction
The paper intends to understand the depiction of different categories and their assigned
norms in a social structure. It will engage with a critical analysis of the film Kothanodi. In this
paper, the first segment is the synopsis of the four folk stories that have been narrated by the
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filmmaker in the film. The later part of the paper is a critical analysis based on these four stories.
The first part introduces the context while the second part critically analyse this context and tries
to understand why it is still relevant. The issue those have been portrayed in the film is
significant to the current scenario of the region. Witch hunting is a burning issue in different
parts of Assam. A large number of people have been killed and abandoned from their own house
and village in the name of witch hunting. Different people of various communities have been
marginalised in the name of class, gender and religion. It is also important to analyse the
engagement of the filmmaker with those four folk stories which have been compiled during
colonial period. Why the filmmaker has chosen those stories for his film? The issues focussed by
those folk stories are still relevant with the contemporary social structure of Assam.
The Four Folk stories
Kothanodi, the film is based on four folk stories written by Laxminath Bezbarua. It is a
debut film of the filmmaker Bhaskar Hazarika. The four stories go simultaneously and intricately
linked with each other. The film stars with a scene where a man is holding an infant baby in his
one hand and a fire torch in the other hand as he walks inside a jungle. After reaching a certain
point, he keeps the baby on the ground and places the flaming torch on the branch of a tree. In
the same place where he has stopped, he buries the infant and leaves. As the story proceeds, the
man buries two more infant one after other at the same place. Later it showed that the three
infants, that he had buried, were his own children. It is revealed later that after the birth of each
child, he and his wife would go to his uncle’s place to get his blessings, as he was a fortune
teller. After he touched the child the uncle would tell them to kill the child. But when they went
to his place with their fourth child, he gave the child his blessings and declared that that fourth
child would be a blessing in their family. Further, he told the couple to go to the place where
they buried their three children on a full moon night. He said that they will find the reason
behind his command to kill them. As instructed, the couple then goes to the place where the man
had buried their children. As they sit down at a distance and patiently waited, they saw the
arrival of the three buried infants. The children then start to talk and discuss that if they were
alive; their father would have been killed by them at their different age. The conversation of
those three buried children gave them the reason to trust their uncle’s words.
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In the beginning, while the husband was a believer of his uncle’s words, his wife was
sceptical to believe his prediction about their children. After listening to the conversation, both of
them were shocked and their belief in their uncle’s prediction had become stronger. The story
again showed that the first three children were male whereas the last whom the uncle has
declared as blessings for them was a girl.
In the second story, a weaver Keteki who gives birth to an elephant apple was accused to
be a witch and thrown out from the village by her husband. At first, she was scared of the
elephant apple, but later she kept the elephant apple with her and moved far away from her own
village. Later, when she moved from the village, the elephant apple starts to follow her. While no
one was aware of her identity, she was still ostracized as the elephant apple kept following her.
As a result, she was allowed to stay at the end of the village, which was not connected to the
main habitat of the villagers.
The third story starts with a group of people were trying to catch some object in the
jungle. It is not clear what the object is. A man was sitting in a bullock cart and waiting for the
group to come back. Later, the group informs the man that they have caught hold of the object
and were returning to the bullock cart. The man who was sitting on the bullock cart was their
master. All of them came back to the house where a lady was buying ducks from a seller. Her
name was Dhoneswari. While talking with the duck seller, another woman informed her that her
husband has reached home with the object. A victorious smile is visible on her face after
listening to the news of the arrival of her husband. She tells the duck seller to keep all the ducks
she has brought and leave. One of the women is asked to bring the plate which she had already
prepared for the welcome of her husband and the object.
Later the story reveals that the object was a reptile which has been brought to marry their
daughter. Dhoneswari was the second wife of her husband. The daughter of the first wife was
married to a python and the python gave her gold jewellery as a gift. Seeing that, Dhoneswari
also forced her husband to catch a python from the jungle to marry her daughter. In both the
situation, the difference was that the python, with which the daughter of the first wife got
married, came willingly and could speak in a human voice. The second python was forcefully
caught by the people. The idea of shapeshifting has been showed in this film through the folk
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story. In the end, the daughter of the second wife was killed by the python. She was found in the
stomach of the python in the next morning of her marriage.
The final story is about Tejimola, a young daughter of a merchant. After the death of
Tejimola’s mother, the father married another woman. But his second marriage was only meant
for the sake of Tejimola. As he goes around for his business trip, he needs somebody to take care
of his daughter. The second wife felt cheated by her husband. After a few days of her marriage,
he left for his business and gave the entire responsibility for his household and Tejimola to his
new wife. After his departure, Tejimola was given different forms of punishment by her new
mother. Tejimola’s mother goes to meet one man at night on the river bank that the filmmaker
portrays it as an evil spirit. She starts to follow his words and shows her power over Tejimola
with different forms of punishment. In the end, she kills Tejimola brutally and buries her in their
courtyard.
Methodology
The researcher has tried to understand the film through feminist research methodology.
Gender is a concept that has been structured through social and cultural norms of a society.
While the researcher was trying to analyse the film from a feminist standpoint, she was looking
at the ideas of gender, patriarchy and how it is connected with the history and socialstructure of
the region. Without tracing the history of the social structure of the region, it is difficult to
understand the perspectives that have been depicted in the film. Feminist research methodology
always gives emphasis on the politics of individuality. How each individual has their own
perspective in a given situation or in the same social structure? The researcher has to be careful
while choosing their samples. Location of the researcher has been taken as a major factor to
understand the area of research.
In this film, the researcher has critically engaged herself to analyse the position of the
different protagonist from their perspective. Each protagonist has taken their political stand from
their own location. As Mary E. John (2015) has discussed, “Inter-sectionality is to draw attention
to the fact that individuals are not single entities. They are located at the intersection of various
different identities like developing country, age, race, gender, education”.
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Construction of Gender
The film has portrayed different norms that are set for different category of people. It has
also discussed how a patriarchal social set up gender roles were defined and how different
categories were confined to those constructed norms. Whosoever has come out from those
assigned gender roles have been taken as a threatto the social structure. Gender is a cultural
category (Moitra, 2002:6). Different culture constructs their own cultural norms for their social
structure. Patriarchy is ‘the absolute rule of the father or the eldest male member over his family’
(Geetha, 2015).
In the film, the four folk stories narrate the position of men and women in a patriarchal
society. Their roles were constructed according to their socio-cultural norms. In the first story,
although the wife was not ready to bury their infant children, later she followed the words of her
husband. Her opinion was not taken into account. While in the second story, the woman was first
ostracised and later thrown away from her village. She was not capable enough to give birth to a
human child. Instead of a child, she gave birth to an elephant apple. No one questioned her
husband’s ability for reproduction. In a patriarchal society; it is always a woman who has been
questioned for her reproductive ability and inability. The third story depicts the stereotypical
notion of gendered norms in a patriarchal society. Where the husband goes on a business trip and
his wife has been given the responsibility to take care of his daughter without taking any opinion
from her. She was considered a bad woman by the society because of her exceptional behaviour.
The fourth story talks about the greed and jealousy of a second wife.
Belief System and Healing
Assam is known for its history of magic, healing, totemism and use of traditional
medicine. Different communities practice various belief systems and their own traditional
healing system. Establishment of institutionalised medical, implementation of forest act has
overpowered the practice of traditional healing system. Still, the practice is prevalent among
certain communities of Assam.
The first folk story which has been portrayed in the film discussed the belief system of a
group of people. They work on the basis of their existing belief system of society. Belief about
malevolent and benevolent power, belief in healing and the future prediction was a part of their
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everyday life. It is so prevalent that the couple buries their first three infant children based on a
prediction made by an uncle of the husband. In the story, the wife was not ready to agree with
the words of their uncle. Her voice has been marginalised in a subtle manner and the husband
followed the words of his uncle. In the end, it was the decision of the man who takes the ultimate
choice and buries their three children. The story again highlights the rule of the elder over their
children. According to V. Geetha (2015), this power structure is called patriarchy. Patriarchy is
not always domination of men over women. It is the domination of elder men over their family.
Further, the story shows that the first three infants were a boy and the fourth child was a girl.
Why the story was written in a manner where girls were given more importance than three boys.
Because the stories were collected from different communities of the region, there is a possibility
that for certain community girls are more important than boys. Boys are considered violent. The
social structure of the region was based on both matrilineal and patriarchal. A few communities
have transformed their social structure through social upward mobility from matrilineal to
patriarchal. Moreover being a child when we were told the story, the moral lesson we learnt was
always obeyed the elders. Disagreement and disrespect to the words of elders can risk our lives.
Daini (Witch), Witchcraft and Witch Hunting
Violence, in the name of daini has become a serious issue in the region of Assam. A large
number of people have been killed and thrown away from their villages in the name of daini. The
phenomenon of dainihatya (witch hunting) is prevalent among different tribes of Assam. While
looking at the phenomenon of witch hunting among different tribes of the region, it is important
to understand the history, socio-economic and socio-cultural situation of the community. Why
naming and killing has increased in last few years? Globalisation, liberalisation, implementation
of forest act, the establishment of poor health facility have become some important factors which
affected the socio-economic and socio-cultural structure of various communities. As a result,
economic disparity has increased among the people of a same social structure. Villagers were not
able to understand the reason behind the quick changes that have happened in their social
structure. According to their belief, they blame malevolent power for their break down of the
different socio-economic condition. At that time, villagers started to suspect their own
community members for bringing destruction. Further, in that process of a namingdaini, different
groups from the same social structure have various agenda to fulfil. Belief about evil power has
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been used as a tool to fulfil their hidden motive. Property rights, sexual exploitation, to maintain
the power structure and jealousy are a few factors that are closely associated with the
phenomenon of witch hunting. Single women and widows were named as a witch by their
immediate kin members for property rights. Refusals of sexual favour, forced marriage have
transformed many women as a witch. Economic upliftment of lower class has put them in the
category of a witch.
In the film, the second story discusses the position of woman, who has been branded as a
daini (witch) by her own family members. She was an expert weaver in the village. The naming
started with the birth of an elephant apple from her womb. A normal woman cannot give birth to
an elephant apple. It is believed that she has some supernatural power to give birth to an
inanimate object. The social norms consider unnatural things with evil power. She has been
named as a practitioner of evil power, a bad woman and is thrown away from the village. But
nobody questions the position of her husband. In a patriarchal society, it is always the women
who have been made responsible for their reproductive power. Keteki has also been marginalised
based on her reproductive capacity. Women who are not capable to fulfil the norms of
reproduction are categorised as unproductive. The situation is not same as a man in the same
social structure.
Women as Agents of Patriarchy
In the third story, the nature of women was showed as greedy and attacked towards
wealth. Again it showed the relationship of two wives of the same husband. The first wife has
been sidelined after the entry of the second wife in the house. Further, it highlights the
relationship between a daughter and a stepmother. Women were shown as the agents of
patriarchy. It was the second wife who controls the entire household.
Further, the story brought the history of magic and existence of power like shapeshifting
in the region. Champawati, thedaughter from the first wife has been approached by a python for
marriage. Easterine Kire (2014) has discussed the belief about shape-shifting among tribes of
Nagaland.
Further, the position of the second wife in a patriarchal society has a negative connotation
attached to it. It is always the position of women which has been looked as wicked, not the men.
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Both the women in the same household threaten their position of ‘wife’. One is showed as docile
and the other one as wicked. The second wife was trying to establish her position in the family.
In that process, she has taken the norms of patriarchy as a strategy to abandon the first wife and
set up her position.
Possession as a Strategy
Construction of gender and construction of motherhood has been broadly discussed in the
fourth story. At the beginning itself, the story showed the gendered work of men and women.
Where the man goes for his business trip and woman has been given the responsibility of
motherhood without considering her opinion. In the story, parenthood has been restricted to the
work of the mother. The protagonist of the story delivered a dialogue, “Khodagore koisilmoi tar
ghororgrihastinihom, kotgrihastinihombandiholu” (Merchant (her husband) told me that I will
become the owner (authority) of the household, but my position has been restricted as a service
provider).
The notion of stepmother has also discussed with the filmmaker in the film. In a
patriarchal setup, the position of stepmother has a negative connotation attached to it. Being a
stepmother, it has become the responsibility of the women to overcome those stigmas those were
attached to the notion of stepmother. Further, fulfilling the norms of motherhood has become a
burden on the stepmother. If she fails to fulfil the norms, the position has been stigmatised with
the established patriarchal norms of stepmother. Again, her individual position has never been
considered by the society.
Pameli has used possession as a strategy to resist her position assigned to her by the
society. It has been illustrated that every night she goes to meet a man near the riverside. The
features of that man were portrayed as an evil power who directs her to persecute the daughter of
the merchant. In a way, he possessed her with his words and pushed her to kill the girl. Through
possession, she was showing her power of authority which has been denied to her. On the other
hand, it was a man who was playing the role of master and the woman as his slave in the film.
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Conclusion
The four folk stories film has discussed the ideas of gender, patriarchy, construction of
motherhood, power structure, possession and how it functions in different social structure. In a
patriarchal social structure, both men and women have been categorised under the norms of that
particular social structure. In the film, women’s position has been showed as doubly
marginalised and restricted than men. They can just step into a place created for them by their
family and the existing fabric of society. Their position was questioned and stigmatised with
different notions like a witch, stepmother, and second wife.
The researcher has made a shift in her understanding of these folk stories. During
childhood, these stories were taught to her to give moral lessons by her elders. But when she
tried to understand these stories from a critical perspective, these stories were not told only to
give moral lessons during childhood. It was more than that. Through these stories, she has been
taught different norms of their social structure. The norms assigned to her according to her
gender and class. It has a political aspect attached to it. From the childhood onwards the social
structure shaped individuals on the basis of their norms through a different approach.
150
References
Bezbaroa, Laxminath. (1911). Burhi Aai’r Sadhu. Assam: Panchajanya Printing &
Publishing.
Geetha, V (2002). Gender: Theorising Feminism.The University of Virginia: Stree.
John. E. Mary. (2015). Intersectionality: Rejection or Critical Dialogue?Economic and

Political Weekly. Vol l no 33, 72-76.
Kire, Easterine (2014). When the River Sleeps. New Delhi: Zubaan Publication.
Moitra, Shefali (2002). Feminist Thought: androcentrism, communication, and objectivity.

The University of Michigan: Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers.
Omvedt, Gail. Geetha.V. (2007).Patriarchy: Theorising Feminism. The University of

Michigan: Bhatkal & Sen.
Hazarika, A., Hazarika, B. (2015). Kothanodi. India:Metanormal Motion Pictures.
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REINFORCING GENDERED SUBJECTS: ANALYSING THE FOLK

SONGS OF THE BODOS OF ASSAM
Kanki Hazarika
Abstract
Folk songs play a multi-dimensional role which is significant for the people belonging to the
community concerned. These are integral to their culture; a reflection of their social life and
carry of the socio-cultural values of the community that have been passed onto generations. The
present paper intends to analyse the folk songs of the Bodo community of Assam. The
community, which did not have written script before the colonial period, used oral modes of
communication such as folk songs, myths, legends, tales, proverbs etc. to transmit knowledge.
Not only these songs have socio-cultural values but also it has political underpinnings. Each
community has its own specificities, its own codes of conduct to maintain the social order and
community identity. The folk songs of the Bodos whose origin is not known, but have been
passing on from generations, help to reiterate those values among the members of the
community. It is against this backdrop, the paper would like to understand the ways femininity
and masculinity are perceived by the Bodos and how these songs have reinforced the gendered
construction of behaviour among the individuals. In parallel, the connection between the social
construction of gender and broader communal identity reiterated through the songs would also be
looked at to understand how women have been influenced and perceived by the society. With
these objectives, the present paper analyses few songs from the book “Folk Songs of the Bodos”
a compilation of folk songs by Mohini Mohan Brahma. Additionally, one song ‘mane jiu hwgwn
arw raijw lagwn in Bodo’ that is available on youtube is also looked at in the paper.
Key words: Bodos, folk song, gender, masculinity, women, culture, community, identity
Introduction
Oral narratives play a significant role in understanding the living traditions and culture of
a community. The Bodo community of Assam did not have written histories until the colonial
period. Several oral modes of communication such as folk songs, folk tales, myths, legends were
used to transmit knowledge and culture of the community from one generation to another. For
them, oral narratives are pivotal in maintaining and transmitting the cultural beliefs and
practices, lived experiences of people. Folk songs, one of the forms of oral narratives, have been
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crucial in this regard that help in the construction of socio-cultural identity of a community. A
community and its social structure and cultural beliefs can best be understood by reading the
texts of these folk songs. Furthermore, it reflects how these songs communicate and transfer
socio-cultural particularities among the community members.
This paper analyses the folk songs of the Bodos of Assam to discern how these songs
emphasized and re-emphasized certain societal norms for the members of the community that are
considered integral to the community identity, producing gendered subjects that have been
regulated through cultural practices. It must be noted that these songs are composed within a
particular socio-cultural setting and display the ways of living, their norms and rituals etc. The
Bodo, an agricultural community by occupation, has folk songs narrating the rustic agricultural
or social lives of the people that are expressed rhythmically. These songs enunciate the emotion
and desires of the people. A critique of these songs throws light on the socio-cultural
underpinnings of a community as well as the collective psychology. Passed down from
generations, it is difficult to trace the origin of these folk songs. These songs, often with
repetitive lines are portrayals of the imagination and profound thoughts of the people as Brahma
(1960) mentions; these are spontaneous and simplistic in nature and hence easy to understand.
This genre can be categorised into different sections based on themes such as love songs,
patriotic songs, ritual songs, songs of marital life and pastoral songs etc. manifesting diverse
ways of their lives. Folk songs inculcate the codes of conduct, moral values among the members
of the community. In addition to that, they also reflect male-female subjectivity and expressions
of the desire, imagination and controlling of sexuality of women, which form the subject of this
paper. With these objectives, a book titled as “Folk Songs of the Bodos” written by Mohini
Mohan Brahma has been referred in this paper. This book is a compilation of various folk songs
collected from the Bodo people of Assam. These songs are written in three languages, Bodo,
Assamese and English respectively. The researcher has cited the English translations of the songs
in this paper. Additionally, the original Bodo and its translated Assamese texts have also been
referred to. Apart from that, one song ‘mane jiu hwgwn arw raijw lagwn in Bodo’ from the
youtube channel has also been cited here.
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A brief note on the Bodos
The Bodo is an indigenous community living in Assam, other Northeastern states, West
Bengal and the bordering countries of Nepal and Bangladesh. The community is scattered
throughout the state of Assam and categorised as a Scheduled Tribe under the Sixth Schedule of
the Constitution of India. Agriculture is the primary occupation of the Bodos, followed by other
livelihoods such as fishing, piggery, poultry, weaving etc. Traditionally, they are the followers of
Bathou religion which is a form of paganism and animism and worship siju plant (cactai family).
With the influence of Hinduism especially from West Bengal, many Bodos converted to Brahma
religion, a socio-religious reform movement. With the coming of Christian missionaries during
colonial period, many of them converted to Christianity. Unlike some other tribes of Northeast,
the Bodos follow a patriarchal and patrilineal structure.
On Women: Reinforcing Patriarchy through Folk Songs
Patriarchy operates at different levels starting from the family to community and the state
with varying degrees. It has been manifested in various forms such as controlling of female
sexuality, sexual division of labour, construction of masculinity and femininity. Women
performing familial duties as well as carrying the moral responsibility of both the family and the
community is inherent attribute of patriarchy. For a woman, the primacy given to marriage over
other jobs amongst the Bodos reveals how she is perceived and defined within the social
structure. While it comes to the woman, the gendered appropriate behaviour, legitimised through
social sanctioning is measured through the virtues of docility, submissiveness and how proficient
she is in carrying out domestic responsibilities. In this context, folk songs have been instrumental
in guiding women in the ‘socially sanctioned behaviour’, to act according to the codes of
‘feminine demeanour’ and direct her duties as woman. These criteria decide the eligibility of a
girl for marriage who would bear the responsibility of the husband’s family and household
chores. There are songs advising the woman to forget her relationship with the parents, siblings
and other relatives from the day she got married, and embrace the new conjugal life. It also hints
how the concept of family is narrowly defined for a woman.
Menon (2012) writes, “Women have to learn to remake themselves completely, but even
more significant is the fact that the entire period of their lives before this singular event of
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marriage, is spent in anticipating and preparing for this specific future, from choice of career and
job options to learning to be adaptable from early girlhood.”
“Oh sister, you are lucky
Through the grace of the Creator
You will now own
Spotted cows and large granaries
From now on,
Your parents are no longer your kin
Your father-in-law and mother-in-law
And relatives of your husband
Are now your near and dear ones
Oh little sister
Stay with your husband
Work well, be happy
And lead a fruitful life.”
In the original song which is in Bodo language, the woman is asked to ‘be submissive to
her husband, work well and manage her family peacefully and happily’ which has been
expressed in the English translation by using the lines ‘stay with your husband......fruitful life.’
This song sung by women is an illustration of the hierarchical nature of the conjugal relationship
where the woman is expected to be submissive. The quality of her being submissive defines her
as an ideal wife and also decides how good and happy a family is. The projection of man as the
head and decision maker of the family and woman as subordinate is significant in a
heteronormative patriarchal Bodo family. In this particular song, the girl is apparently reminded
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of how lucky she is to get a husband from a well-off family. Pointing out directly on the
secondary position of women within the community in the song, the girl is asked to oblige to her
husband. The concept of ‘happy family’ is projected on the performance of the woman who is to
be abided by her husband and obey his rules. The kind of songs sung by women also reveals how
the women act as ‘active agents’ of patriarchy through continuous reiteration of gendered
behaviour and codes of conduct.
The patriarchal understanding of an ‘ideal woman’ proceeds on the premises of the

notions of domesticity, chastity, docility, modesty or purity of a woman and this ideology is
prevalent amongst the Bodos as well. Such stereotyped image of a woman defines her position in
the society. These are the attributes needed to be thrust upon by a woman without transgressing
the societal norms. The sanctity of marriage lies on maintenance of chastity and morality by her
before marriage, which have been reinforced and inculcated in their minds through folk songs.
Female sexuality has to be repressed until they get married which has been conveyed to them as
the onus of the family and the community ‘honour’ lies on the girl. The imagery of a woman in
the community is quite paradoxical; she is seen as the honour of the family or community or flag
bearer of the culture and yet, objectification of woman is normalised amongst them.
“Don’t you weep, dear
The virgin hen has been taken out of the sty
She is ready to be taken
To her groom’s place......”
“...do not weep, dear
You are still chaste and pure
Like the virgin hen
We are today taking you
To your husband’s house....”
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The deliberate use of the term ‘virgin hen’ exhibits how woman is dehumanized and
relegated to the position of mere object/animal and a ‘prized possession’. Such objectification of
women precisely articulates the idea of a female body as an object of male desire. An
interpretation of the designations such as virgin, chaste and pure for a woman shows her being an
‘ideal object’ based on these qualities for marriage. Proclaiming these characteristics as inherent
to a woman has been time and again reinforced amongst them through these songs. These
stereotypical notions, values or ideas have been internalised and perceived by the community
members, thereby strengthening the patriarchal roots amongst them.
“The fish Batia, shakes, the fish, Batia, shakes
Darling you don’t get annoyed
Don’t get angry
If you do not do your duties properly I shall rebuke you
You shall not get angry
If you do foolish job
I shall beat you
You shall not get angry.”
This particular song delivers the message to woman how she is supposed to behave even if she
gets beaten by her husband and accept it. The husband asks her to perform her duties ‘properly’-
the duty of an ‘ideal wife’ – to take care of all the household chores and the family, obeying her
husband and other family members. The woman is subjected to domestic violence if she fails to
perform her duty ‘properly’; she would be beaten by her husband if she does anything wrong. A
reading of the text exhibits how normalisation and perpetuation of violence on wife or woman
per se, authorised by the patriarchal mindset has been done through various forms like folk
songs. Beating wife is an act of manliness, valour; giving the authority or power to men that
displays the patriarchal hierarchical relationship within the family. While the reverse is highly
condemned and if a wife does so, they have to perform a ritual to expiate the ‘sin’ as the
researcher was informed by the people from the community.
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“Wife: From the Bhutan Hills
Whither are you going
For cutting wood?
Fetch me, oh dear,
A shuttle made of sal wood
Husband: Most gladly I will
Oh Dear Goychiri, my jewel
But keep ready
Wine for me”
These constructed gendered norms have put pressure on both women and men to
maintain the qualities of manliness or womanliness. Giving a brief idea on the kind of works
they do, the song exhibits the gendered division of labour amongst the Bodos. While the man is
going out to earn livelihoods, woman is asked to make the rice beer (it is integral to Bodo food
culture), an important task woman must know. Further, the original word used in the song in
their language was ‘Mainao’ instead of the word ‘jewel’. The word ‘Mainao’ remains the same
in the Assamese translation as well. Amongst the Bodos, the goddess Laxmi is referred as
‘Mainao’. The researcher wishes to analyse the word Mainao used in the original song instead of
the English word used in the translation. Referring his wife as Mainao or ‘goddess Laxmi’ has
manifold innuendos. Unlike the goddess Durga or Kali, who are considered as fiery goddesses,
Laxmi is seen as more of a gentle, calm and loving figure and goddess of prosperity. The
equation with the goddess Laxmi epitomises the image of a woman and puts pressure on the
woman to act in a certain way that establishes her as an ‘ideal woman’.
Woman’s Body and Reimagining Community Identity
Each society has its own codes of conduct to regulate the behaviour of the individuals, to
maintain the socio-cultural fabric of the community. Intricate to these codes is the concepts of
purity and identity. Purity and continuation of identities such as community, caste, race etc are
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needed to be ensured through policing of female sexuality. Controlling the sexuality of woman is
crucial to their identities, which has to be read within a larger picture demarcating ‘us’ from
‘them’ or ‘self’ from ‘others’. Policing women’s sexuality has been included within the sphere of
cultural norms of the Bodos who prefer endogamous marriage. Although both the genders are
encouraged to do endogamous marriage, societal pressure is more on the girl. The institution of
family and marriage cannot be separated from the broader public arena. The marriage,
solemnised between two individuals is not only a private subject but also a community affair
having many nuances. Every community is influenced by the historical situation, the
geographical condition and its neighbouring communities living in the same region. Each of
these factors influences the socio-cultural structure of a particular community in one way or the
other, facilitating the interchanging of various socio-cultural elements between/among
communities and in constructing new norms in accordance with their situation. Thus culture is
not a static phenomenon; rather it undergoes processes of changes over time. At this juncture, we
need to locate the construction of the cultural norms of the Bodos historically. A critique on this
subject would help us to understand how the emergence of the socio-economic order brought by
the colonial rulers influenced them in various ways. The changing scenario of the region, the
new policies on land and several other issues introduced by the colonial regime has an obvious
impact on their culture in terms of constructing new norms, codes etc. Several folk songs have
expressed these concerns and as well as the codes or the norms and transfer the knowledge or
their past to the people. How do we connect this political situation of the Bodos and controlling
of female sexuality or marriage so to speak? What was the need to police sexuality of woman
and her marriage? It was obvious that the community inhabiting the region from a long time has
been threatened on various grounds with the coming of new regime and immigrants. While the
numbers of immigrant settlers are continuously growing, it has become urgent to strengthen their
community. This understanding has given legitimacy or justification to control women’s
sexuality which seen as ‘dangerous’, yet ‘fragile’. It has become pertinent to strengthen the
population by controlling her marriage and reproduction in addition to the notion of ‘honour’
associated with the women.
A heteronormative family is the connecting point between personal and political. The
institution of family plays a crucial role in shaping the identity of the community. In this regard,
the line between private and public is vague. Intertwining of familial duties or values with the
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broader public arena can best be understood by analysing folk songs. Given this background, I
would like to discuss one particular song ‘mane jiu hwgwn arw raijw lagwn in Bodo’ sung by a
Bodo male singer which is available on youtube (cited the link in the reference section). Here,
the singer apparently expresses his wish to do polygyny citing his concern for his community
and a homeland. The video starts with the clipping of a rally by Bodo youth shouting slogans like
‘we want Bodoland’, ‘No Bodoland, no rest’. The singer asks his fellow mates to do the same for
the interest of the community. The reproductive capacity of a woman is perceived to be the
potential to rescue a community from extinction of its culture and identity. An engagement with
this song elucidates the larger political picture of the region where the community has been
struggling for a long time to get a separate state affected by both colonial and post-colonial rule.
This apprehensiveness is articulated in this song, which connects the community identity with
that of personal through marriage. Here, the notion of marriage is looked as a social
responsibility. The indispensable criterion of marriage is to legitimise the sexual act and involved
in procreation. The reproductive capacity of a woman is a medium to maintain the family
lineage as well as the community honour. It is seen as an essential factor for identity and
existence of the community who has been trying to create an identity of its own. Procuring
children is of utmost important for their already diminishing population and identity and makes
the community a dominant one so that they can claim a separate homeland. Hence, getting
married to multiple women is seen as a viable arrangement to this problem. The woman’s body
has, thus, become an interface of biological and social, a site for negotiation to accomplish the
broader political objective. Here, a woman’s body is associated with ‘we’ instead of ‘I’, a
communal property and thus objectifying it with the intention of reproducing children. Polygyny
is not just matter of population growth, but underneath this, there are socio-cultural
underpinnings, the gendered norms and controlling of women’s body. The whole notion of
womanhood with its significant criteria such as reproduction, chastity, purity and her choice for
inter-community marriage have been quintessential aspects for the reconstruction of the
community identity. In that case, not only her body or sexuality but also her agency or choice is
regulated and the folk songs manifest these notions either explicitly or implicitly. Procreation is
just the beginning of the responsibility, but all other aspects of reproduction, inculcate the values,
norms and cultures of the community lies on the woman. Thus to develop a sense of sentiment
towards the community by injecting these values on children is the responsibility of the woman.
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In this context, woman’s body no longer remains a physical body, but transcends beyond the
physical body and becomes an embodiment for the community.
The instrumentality of family in shaping the identity of the community encompasses

procreation and inculcating the moral values or codes of conduct to its members. The whole
concept in the song sounds similar to the Hindutva ideology propagated by Rashtriya
Samajsevak Sangh (RSS) although the context is different. The idea of making a Hindu nation
manifests the proposition of impregnating women. The construction of womanhood in Hindutva
ideology encourages women to give birth to more children. Similar to this ideology, the above
mentioned song exhibits the community sentiment, making an exclusive homeland for them that
can be achieved through impregnating women.
The operation of the community identity in the marriage can best be understood by
reading the text where the girls is asked to marry within community or asking her not to cry as
she is getting married to a Bodo, not to a Bhutanese or Assamese.
“Why do you weep, dear?
Do not you weep, girlie.
You have been married not to an outcaste
But to a right and Bodo youth proper
To lead a proper family life.....”
“Do not you worry, dear
Do not you grow sad
You have not been given away in marriage
To a non-Bodo or a Bhutiya....”
Anandhi(1998) writes, “While women are assigned the task of reproducing community
identities, their sexuality is contained both physically and ideologically. Both these processes
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mark out and celebrate the so called ideal/pure women, elicit their compliance with the
patriarchy inherent in identity politics by giving them a sense of pride and participation....”
Performing Masculinity
Reinforcing the concepts of masculinity or femininity by constructing gendered norms

and behaviour have been significant in the folk songs of the Bodos. The construction of
masculinity is an important aspect of these folk songs. In the song that has been discussed above,
portrays the man as the protector of the community or a nation. A homeland is always
represented as the feminine one that needs protection when it is under threat. Here, the singer
asks all his male friends to perform the duty of safeguarding their culture, identity or the nation
by impregnating women in a legitimized manner that is through marriage.
“Drive fast your steed, Bachiram
A hero you are,
The Bhutanese soldiers are marching
Tighten the rein and use your spur...”
The Bodos have been living in the foothills of the Bhutans, which were under the control
of the Bhutan king before the colonial period. The folk songs have been significant in terms of
carrying historical stories of the region and the community; these songs have also spoken about
the tension, animosity and war between them and Bhutanese. Bodo men have been encouraged to
go to the war to fight against the enemy to protect the nation through songs. Masculinity is
constructed and reemphasized through these songs who are asked to take responsibilities as the
head, go for hunting, or to cut timber in Bhutan forests etc. Women ask their men to bring
bangles, chains, dokhona or yarn for her through her songs. The men not having enough property
are not considered as suitable for marriage, he is expected to perform the role of decision maker
and carry the economic responsibility of the family. The man is asked to go out in search of work
or do cultivation if he intends to marry a girl.
“Oh revered father
Do not give me away in marriage
To a youth of non-descript family
Be guided by the footprints
Of horses and elephants
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Do not follow the foot marks
Of dogs and crows. I will not
Go to the inconsequential nasty houses.
Be guided by granaries and cowsheds
Wherever these be,
Thither shall I go, father dear.”
Manliness or masculinity is associated with dominance and power over women in both
private and public, while submissiveness, docility these are the qualities identified with women.
Concepts such as power, heroism, valour, virility, protective etc are associated with a man. A
man is expected to perform certain roles and duties in accordance with the norms of masculinity.
The body is a site of interface between the social and biological which is acted on. Turner (1984,
quoted in ‘Embodying Gender’, pp.21) in his ‘Body and Society’ mentions about ‘institutional
subsystems’ of a society to govern the body in terms of the reproduction of the bodies in time,
the regulation of bodies in space, the restraint of internal desires and the external representation
of the body.
Inspired by Foucault framework, Howson mentions how sociological discourses around

the body also involve the regulatory and disciplinary-these two types of powers to control the
body socially. While regulatory power involves institutions and populations, the disciplinary
power refers to practices and disciplinary mechanism, in which individuals themselves engage.
As a result, the control of the body becomes itself embodied. Individual are not forced directly to
practice the set of behaviours and rules, instead they internalise those values with constant
repetition or reinforcement of those through the various mediums used in the subsystems (ibid.
Pp.23-24). In this whole process of regulating the body based on their biological traits, the
institutions construct gendered subjects and naturalise those rules and behaviours. These
gendered subjects are produced and regulated through their everyday cultural practices. Folk
song is one such medium that inculcates those behaviours, moral values and social norms in
accordance with their culture.
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Desire and Emotion in the folk songs
Desire, emotion, love are some of the fundamental attributes of human being. This
attributes have been expressed through music, dance and songs in most of the societies. The
vigorousness of these medium helps in expressing the subjectivities in a more lucid way. These
songs are expression of their emotion for their love, their happiness or sadness, their work etc.
“Oh flower, oh flower,
Fully blossomed flower
Alone you bloom, alone you wither
Our years too
Have arrived in full youth
They are also withering in loneliness”
“I am not a bird, not a pig
You cannot keep me detained at home
In a cage or sty
Ceaseless and boundless blows the breeze
Flowers are falling of the plant, you cannot keep it.
Breeze cannot be prevented
From blowing
Those who should be kept back
Them you detain, not others
I am brought up by you
I have attained the age
When I can be a mother
I cannot be kept home
Like birds or pigs
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But should be given away in marriage”
Although a woman’s physical body is policed, the mind or emotion cannot be always put
into regulation. This particular song sung by a girl articulates her desire to get married as she has
attained the ‘marriageable age’. As a young girl who is restricted within the domestic sphere,
whose body is controlled, asks her parents to let her go and not kept in a cage like an animal. Her
emotion through this song has been emanated from the social-cultural situation, her lived
experience. A reading of this song discerns the kind of resistance by the woman to the gendered
ideologies and social construct. The words such as pig and bird used in the song to describe
herself denote how a girl is looked at, who is believed to be more of an object rather than human.
It reflects the existing social reality within which a woman is born and brought up. It also
suggests folk songs not only as a medium of communication but also it is a platform for these
women to express their lived experiences, subjectivity that might not have been possible directly.
Songs sung by women together is not only about emphasising or resisting the existing structure
but also validation of the cohesive solidarity of women that comes out of their position of being
women. However, a reading of these songs also reveals the shifting and often contradictory
positions of women based on their extraordinary experiences and different positions as a wife,
daughter, widow and so on.
Within the subjective approach, the question “not only how gender defines women's
treatment, occupations, and so on, but also how women perceive the personal, social and political
meanings of being female” emerges as pointed out by Nancy F. Cott and Elizabeth H leck (A
Heritage of Her Own: Toward a New Social History of American Women by Nancy F. Cott and
Elizabeth Pleck, 1979, quoted by Lewis, 2018). Instead of accepting it as a social construct, they
perceive it as natural as these things are naturalised and deeply penetrated. The internalisation of
the construction of gender through songs and other mediums have reinforced and reemphasized
to perform according to the established order.
Contemporary period
It must be noted that folk songs of the Bodos in earlier period was produced based on the
context, their religion etc. No culture is static; these have been subject to change with time and
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situation. Much has been changed from that time suggesting cultural fluidity. Many folk songs
have been lost over time, and with the conversion to other religions, people have stopped singing
as well as forgotten those traditional folk songs and dance. For instance, Bodo Christians sing
gospel songs combined with their traditional music instead of these folk songs. Nevertheless,
patriarchal forms prevail amongst the Bodos in one form or the other depending on the situation,
be it in the past or the present. It has been endorsed through other modes such as religion.
Romanticisation of the qualities of an ‘ideal’ woman still exist among them, yet there have been
changes such as women going out, taking education or jobs with the demand of the situation. In
the present day scenario, the folk songs play a crucial position amongst them that carries socio-
cultural values. It has become significant especially when there has been an identity movement
by the community going on in the region and efforts have been taking place to revive the
traditional culture by forming several community organizations.
Conclusion
Katerina Tsetsura (2010) expresses. “History of culture, therefore, can be told through
folk music, and songs and dances are not only cultural artefacts but also communicative
manifestations of one’s cultural identity.” Folk songs have not only social and cultural
significance but also they carry political meaning with it. It exhibits how a community’s life is
intertwined with the geographical and social environment and culture is constructed accordingly.
Moreover, it carries the history of the people as well as the region from one generation to
another. Being a community who did not have written script, this form of oral communication
has helped the present generation to understand their past and why it has become important for
their present identity.
It is also important to be critical about how folk songs act as guidelines for the members
of the community asking them what and how to act. The gendered construction of subjects such
as the secondary position of a woman and, moreover, men being the dominant has been
reinforced by those songs. Through this reinforcement, it naturalizes the behavioural pattern of
men and women. Culture is not static; it is fluid in accordance with the time. Preserving these
songs does not necessarily mean to practicing those norms, instead it would give the community
to look back to their past, their history and analyse how far they have come and what can be done
in the future.
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References
Brahma, M. M. (1960). Folk Songs of the Bodos.Assam: Gauhati University.

Capila, A. (2002). Images of Women in the Folk Songs of Garhwal Himalayas: A
participatory Research. New Delhi: Concept Publishing Company.
Howson, A.( 2005). Embodying Gender (pp.21). London: Sage Publication.
Krishnaraj, M. (2017).An essay on Feminist Methodology. Urdhava Mula Women’s Studies
Journal Vol. 10, Mumbai: Sophia Centre for Women’s Studies and Development.
Retrieved from www.academia.edu
Lewis, J.J. (2018). Subjectivity in Women’s History and Gender Studies-Taking Personal
Experience Seriously.Retrieved from www.thoughtco.com.
https://www.thoughtco.com/subjectivity-in-womens-history-3530472-
Menon, Nivedita. (2012). Seeing Like a Feminist. Zubaan, Penguin India.
Nair, J. & John, M. E. (ed.). (1998). A Question of Silence: The Sexual Economies of Modern
India. New Delhi: Kali for Women.
Raheja, G. G. (ed.). (2003). Songs, Stories, Lives: Gendered Dialogues and Cultural
Critique. New Delhi:Kali for Women.
Tsetsura, K. (2010). Performing Thyself: Sparking Imagination and Exploring Ethnic

Identity through Singing and Dancing .Journal for Learning through the Arts.
Retrieved from
https://cloudfront.escholarship.org/dist/prd/content/qt974542b5/qt974542b5.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=akLRUzk8wa4
167
SOCIAL INCLUSION OF TRIBAL WOMEN

(Data from a few Juang dominated villages of Keonjhar, Orissa)
Jharana Mishra
S. C. Pujari
Introduction
The status of tribal women can be discussed in term of their demography, health,
education and employment. The present paper discusses about their social inclusion. Despite
constitutional protection and assurances, their status is found to be lower than not only that of
women in the general population and the scheduled caste women but is also lower than the status
of tribal men. It is characterized by over-work, invasion of sexually exploitative market force in
tribal society, illiteracy, sub-human physical living condition, high fertility and high
malnutrition. The tribal women, constitute as in any other social group, about half of the total
population. However, the importance of women in the tribal society is more importance than in
other social group in India, because of the fact that tribal women, more than women in any other
social group, works harder and the family economy and management depends on her.
In all societies economic activities constitute the main source of survival and sustenance
and women have always been an important part of work and economy. However because of
difficult economic situations and lack of bargaining power, women workers all over the globe,
especially in the developing world, have to accept low wages and work under debilitating
conditions. Tribal women have the primary responsibility for food gathering from communal
lands and forests. In most countries livestock husbandry is also the responsibility of women.
Despite women’s enormous contribution to agricultural sector, much of domestic and
agricultural work done by women is unpaid and more often overlooked. Women workers in the
tribal areas tend to be consistently handicapped owing to the traditional division of labour. The
lack of adequate data on women’s role used for data collection do not reflect small-scale or
subsistence agriculture, ignoring important parts of women’s work and overall economic
production.
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Though everyone is now recognizing the invisible economic contribution of women,

methodological problems persist in measuring certain aspects of women’s work. By far the most
“invisible” of all work done by women the world over, is domestic work, which continues to go
unrecognized, unpaid, undervalued and largely ignored, despite its crucial importance to society.
It has been argued that if domestic work were to be quantified, it would contribute up to forty per
cent of the gross national product. In both the developed and developing world, women work on
an average of sixty hours a week around the house. Yet social values are such that most women
whose job description reads “housewife” do not consider themselves economically active (Singh,
2001: 118).
The status of women in tribal economy is closely linked to the mode of production
prevalent in that tribe. The economic activities vary from one society to the other depending on
their exposer to the outside world. The Juang have also their set of economic activities and the
women contribute maximum of it directly and indirectly. The Juang women’s economy that
mainly centers round agriculture and forest depending on their natural environment, the main
source of income for them therefore comes from food gathering, cultivation, handicrafts and
labour work.
The paper is the outcome of our research work undertaken in the four villages namely,
Budhighar, Phulbadi, Bali and Panasanasa under the traditional territorial unit of Jharkhandpirh
(south-centrally located) in the Banspal Block of Keonjhar district in Orissa.
The Juang are one of the major aboriginal tribes of Orissa that has been very little
affected by civilization. The community is confined only to Orissa and especially to the districts
of Keonjhar and Dhenkanal. It belongs to the Proto-Australoid racial stock (Patnaik, 1989: 1).
The Juang are medium in stature with long head, high cheek bones and broad nose with
depression at the root is the physical construction; brown to dark brown is the skin colour; black,
coarse and wavy hair and strait eye-slit.
Women and Agricultural Operation
The Juang on the hilltops and slopes largely practices shifting cultivation. Shifting
cultivation is a traditional method governed by environmental conditions, rainfall, steep slopes,
thin population density and inaccessibility. The number of years of holding land for shifting
cultivation and the number of years for which it is left fallow for regeneration of forest depend
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upon factors such as rainfall, pressure of population and condition of the terrain. As a general
rule, tribals hold the land for shifting cultivation for two or three years and wait for five to six
years for regeneration of forest cover.
Significant use of indigenous knowledge is seen in the various agricultural practices of

the Juang women. They are very knowledgeable about the kind of crops that can be cultivated in
each type of land. Their use of the local resources and even their food habits reflect their
knowledge of their environment.
To maintain the fertility of the soil, the Juang use cattle waste, ashes and compost. Every
few years they also change their cultivation from one traditional rice variety to another in order
to conserve their traditional paddy varieties and to prevent the loss of fertility in their soil. They
also use the ghadatulasi (Osimum basilus), salpa branch (Caryota urens) and karadabranch
(Helicterus isura) as insect repellents and spider webs to prevent attacks from insects.
The year round agricultural activities for Juang women is found in all the six types of
land, viz. Toila, Ekan, Nala, Guda, Bakadi, Bila. In the month of Feb. and March the felling of
trees in Toila land is done where women occasionally take part. In the month of August, both
men and women take part in debushing. In the month of November-December, they are engaged
in watching the crops and in December they take part in harvesting. In Ekan land women start
their agricultural operation with degrassing in the month of April. Here debushing and weeding
is done both by men and women in September and October. The watching and harvesting is
done here in the month of November and December both by men and women. In Nala land
women are not engaged in the work of harvesting with men. There is no need to watch crops in
this type of land. Work of women in Guda and Bakadi land is quite similar to the Nala type of
land. In the month of April women do manuring in the bila type of land. Then they are engaged
in weeding in this type of land in the month of August and September. They do the harvesting in
the month of December and January.
When we analyze the work distribution in terms of participation in agricultural work we

find in the works like ploughing, broadcasting seeds, stacking and storing, women do not
participate, as it is a taboo for them in the Juang community. But in other agricultural operations
like leveling the field, field preparation, carrying seeds, transplanting, weeding, manuring and
fertilizing, harvesting, threshing, winnowing and drying women are engaged fully or partially.
170
Here we find a clear division of labour between Juang men and women in the
agricultural sector. It is also important to note that without women’s participation the
agricultural work gets hampered. The invisibility of women as the primary breadwinner is
ignored in the Juang pirh.
Women and Non-agricultural Operation
The evidence of diversity of women’s expertise is strong in the field of technical changes
in agriculture. It is associated with higher capital intensity, greater mechanization of production
and post harvest operations, the introduction of exogenous knowledge and the development of
crops and livestock with diverse characteristics geared to the requirements of commercial
commodity production. It has been accompanied by changes which women experience in unique
ways. Women’s knowledge has been the mainstay of the indigenous dairy industry.
Animal husbandry as a non-agricultural work of a Juang woman is very much linked to

her agricultural tasks. For agricultural purposes generally the cattle are kept. Other animals like
goat, pig, sheep and chicken are kept for entertaining guests and also for sale. Everyday women
use to clean the cattle shed. For fodder they bring wild grass, green leaves with them while
coming back from forest. To keep the insects away she burns fire at the shed. Dogs she keeps
that helps her husband in hunting and also watching crops. The chicken is mainly used for
rituals, slaughtered for meat to entertain guests and marketing. Buffaloes she takes care for milk
and milk products and ploughing the field.
The narrow streams being full of stones and boulders are not suitable for fishing. The
Juang women are found to catch fish with the help of their saree in the rainy season. A portion
of the catch it is consumed at home and the rest is sold in the market. However, that is not a
stable source of income. The difficult economic situation and a lack of bargaining power
resulting from gender inequality, many Juang women have been forced to accept low wage and
poor working conditions and thus have often become preferred workers. They have entered the
workforce increasingly by choice as the family situation compels them to earn for maintenance
of the family. But, they never prefer to go far away places or are engaged in such activities like
wage earning on a regular basis. Whenever there is a wage earning opportunity, a Juang woman
goes accompanied by her husband to the work place. The general preference is to work at a
place close to their home so that it will not effect their home management.
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Tapping Forest Resources
Minor forest produce forms a major source of income in the Juang community. Women
and children are almost exclusively involved in collection of minor forest produce, its storage,
processing and marketing. Increased government control of forests has distributed the Juang
economy adversely affecting their lives, particularly that of women. Appointing of agents from
outside for collecting forest produce has not only affected their livelihood, but has also made the
work of women more difficult. Collection of fuel wood has become more difficult since it is less
accessible and more time-consuming. The result has been less income combined with less fuel
wood available for themselves and lesser nutrition. It also leaves them little time for earning
wages. Government control over forests has also reduced hunting to a ritual.
In the Juang community a special relationship exists between women, the family and
trees. This fact has not been properly acknowledged in all earlier works. The agricultural
products manage to feed the Juang people for three to five months. The rest of the year the
people rely on forest based products. United Nations report found food rich in vitamins
consumed in African countries are collected from forest (UN, 1994: 4). Trees also provide food
in a number of indirect ways, Juang people use nearby forest as an important source of collecting
honey and edible fungi.
Juang women are found, engaged in collection of different food items from the forest
throughout the year. However they are not allowed to engage themselves in hunting. Juang
women spend major part of their life in going to the forest and collecting different items from
forest. Mahua (a flower) she collects for liquor while it accompanied with kendu, chara, honey,
mushroom she collects, give her a good amount in return. Pulses she uses as exchange products.
Brushing stick collected by women from forest are used in home as well as marketed throughout
the year. Fruits she gets plenty in summer while mash rooms are available in rainy season.
Juang women rely on the collection of non-timber forest products that include medicinal
herb,home based processing foods, fibers, dyes and liquor. They also prepare different type of
handicrafts for sale in the local market.
Juang women collect the fodder for domestic animals from the forest. Without fuel to
cook with, as the Juang women know well, there may be nothing to eat. Fueling and tending the
household fire has always been women’s work. So they have much harder job of collecting and
172
transporting the fuel. They have acquired an intimate and practical knowledge of the suitability
of different tree species for cooking. They know which wood burn slowly or fast, which smoke
and which kindle easily. The wood must be dry and be able to give fire for a long time. They,
collect some extra wood to store for rainy season.
Juang women use neem sticks and neem leaves to keep mosquitoes away by setting fire
to it. She smokes fish and meat on fire. In the night she light the house with fire. For drying the
wet harvest she uses fire. By boiling leaves and bark women prepare natural medicine to be used
for minor diseases.
Juang women also rely on forest to maintain many parts of their household. Women
always do minor household repairs. Trees provide nearly all that is needed: poles for building
shed, leaves for thatch beta (canes) and steams of large grass for hatia (wattle), fibers for daudi
(twine). hatia (wattle), kathi (brushing stick), tupuli (bawls), dhenki and kuta (mortar and
pestles), kula (used for cleaning grains), tokei (used for keeping things) are things prepared by
women by materials collected from forest for use at home and sale at market. Small-scale forest
based enterprises such as the collection and processing of raw materials into useful products are
a major source of income for Juang women. They use canes for making furnitures, fibers for net,
ropes and mats, bamboo for basketry, gums and resins and kendu leaves for making bidi.
Women collect the beads for necklace, flowers for decorating hair bun from forest. Ireson
found that, in Laos, women in the Bolikhamsai province gather or hunt 141 different forest
products, including food plants, medicinal products, household items and small animals for
domestic consumption and sale (Ireson, 1991: 23-26). I have not calculated each item of MFP
used in the Juang community, but I feel it may cross the number stated by Ireson. For collecting
these forest products women have to cover 0 to 11 kilometers.
Juang women who provide a major contribution to family economy through agriculture and
M.F.P are now overburdened as deforestation has made them to cover more distance to meet
their needs that was an easy task for them in the past. Whatever it may be, the invisible
contribution of women to Juang economy cannot be overlooked as portraying their work, a duty
for family maintenance. The foregoing analysis shows a clear picture of the contribution of
Juang women to household economy.
173
One may at the outset feel that issues like rest, leisure or holidays have no meaning for Juang
women. But any discussion on women in general, and working women in particular, is likely to
be left incomplete if an important question like leisure time is not raised and answered.
Work and leisure are the two aspects of human life, which is found among Juang women in
the form of dwelling at home, farm, forest or construction site and leisure when they sleep.
Learning the Skill to Work
Whenever a reference to work is given there the question arises how women learn these
skills, and the answer is that the environment in which they grow gives them the opportunity to
learn themselves in the process of doing these works. Though there is lack of formal education
to learn the skill to work, in a Juang society a woman's education is a lifelong learning. It is a
lifelong process by which every female starting from childhood till old age acquires and
accumulates knowledge, skills, attitudes, and insights from daily experiences and exposure to the
environment. Continuous learning is enforced through: stories, songs, observation, social
interaction, speech and conduct towards elders. They transmit knowledge and social customs,
and define relationships and belongings in the society. Here the lines written by Riesman very
well fits into the Juang women's learning the skill to work where he quotes, "proverbs are one
means of sharpening adult consciousness and of fixing in memory the truths that seem necessary
for social life" (Riesman, 1992: 150). The traditional attitudes of the Juang very well mesh with
their economic activities. The division of labour between men and women makes their
knowledge base gender-specific according to their roles and perceived responsibilities.
Understanding the indigenous knowledge system is key to understand skill acquisition among
women in the Juang social structure. This is because there is transfer of skills from the
household and culture to work. Skill acquisition integrates with household relations. The idea of
education in the Juang tradition cannot be separated from that of training. Women learn by their
socialization process from key figures in their lives (mother, aunt, or any other older female
relative) and through the long-standing traditional apprenticeship system in the Juang social
structure. All of these are embedded in the everyday life of their society. The system itself
174
teaches both specific skills for social behaviour and working ability. It provides internal
structure for ways of knowing and a means to transfer that knowledge.
No specialized training course is needed for a Juang woman to learn the household and extra-
household activities. She learns by visualizing and accompanying her elders doing those
activities. It is always associated with the environment where the girl is brought up. Taking care
of the younger brothers and sisters, works related to agricultural operations, washing clothes and
fetching water all become a daily schedule of activity as a girl grows up in the Juang social
structure. Thus, she experiences of doing all the household and farm activities before marriage
that continues as a routine work after her marriage.
Concluding Remarks
There have been a number of studies on the tribes, their culture on the impact of acculturation
on tribal society. There have also been studies on the status of women relating to their socio-
cultural problems, their economic rights, their participation in management, their access to
employment, food, health, etc. but these issues have not been properly focused in relation to the
tribal women and their social inclusion. There are only a few studies on the status of tribal
women in India. Thus the study of tribal women cannot be ignored. It becomes important
because the problems of tribal women differ from a particular area to another area owing to their
geographical location and historical background.
For this, there is a need for proper understanding of their problem specific to time and
place so that relevant development programmes can be made and implemented. the present paper
tries to make a humbles attempt for undertaking a region –specific study of the status and role of
tribal women, which alone can throw up data that will make planning for their welfare more
meaningful and affective. We need to create legal, regulatory and policy frame works that
promote social inclusion of tribal women.
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Perspective. International Journal of Rural Studies, Vol, 16, pp.1-11
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Challenges and the Road ahead.Intenational Journal of Interdisciplinary and
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Ireson, Carol. 1991. “Women’s Forest Work in Laos,” Society and Natural Resources, 4: 23-
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Institute, H.T.W. Department Orissa.
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THE SOCIO-CULTURAL PRACTICES DURING MENSTRUATION

AMONG NEPALI WOMEN IN NORTH-EASTERN INDIA
Pooja Chetry
Abstract
Menstruation or monthly cycle is the biological phenomenon of a woman’s body which signifies
that her body is healthy. However the stigma, shame, fear, taboo and religious beliefs associated
with it even in present times, sidelines all the health concerns and hygiene surrounding
menstruation. The patriarchal stigma around menstruation is indoctrinated in our minds, that no
conversation or discussion takes place around this topic in open or public spaces. It is a topic
which is discussed only behind closed doors or whispered about, symbolizing it to be a matter of
shame and embarrassment, even in today’s time of advancement and development. The paper
therefore, attempts to study the religious and cultural practices followed by the Nepali women
during menstruation and its associated belief systems. It argues that the cultural taboo, violence
and exclusion practiced during menstruation are embedded in these religious beliefs and
practices. The paper also tries to examine, if any, the changing social norms and methods
adopted by the working class, migrated Nepali women who juggle and tries to fit-in between
modernity and religious practices. It looks into her changing belief system, family orientation,
job and location. The study is based on qualitative method, using tools such as personalized
interviews and discussion with Nepali women between the age group of 20-50 years. They are
housewives, working ladies, students; and are selected through snow-ball sampling method.
Key words: Menstruation, Nepali Women, Taboo, Shame, Religion
Introduction
Menstruation is a biological cycle of women’s body signifying that she is healthy and
reproductive. Scientifically menstruation occurs because of ovulation, followed by missed
chance of pregnancy that results in bleeding from endometrial vessel (Garg and Anand, 2015).
Bleeding is a way of body’s saying that it has got rid of unused eggs and is now preparing itself
for next cycle. Globally all girls bleed for the first time at the age group of 11-14 years (Garg and
Anand, 2015), marking the onset of her puberty. It is across all culture and religion that myths
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surrounding menstruation are developed to control a woman’s sexuality, movement and beliefs
system. The perceived causes of menstruation across cultures is said to be curse, impure state,
dirty blood coming out of women’s body which act as a carrier of bad omen. It brings sufferings
and harm to others around them. Women is said to be impure and unclean during menstruation
and anything coming into close vicinity or contact with them becomes dirty. These gives rise to
menstrual myths and taboos.
Menstruation is a taboo subject which is not considered to be worthy of discussion in

households. In India, it is so much tabooed that other related issues around menstruation such as
health, menstrual cramps, hygiene, mental depression and anxiety during the menstruation is not
considered worthy of discussion. The culture of shame and silence associated with menstruation
puts the health of a woman at high risk. If she faces any kind of health issues regarding her
menstrual cycle, she becomes hesitant to speak about it and ignores the symptoms. Only when
the matter escalates towards worst, she sees a doctor. A girl, who needs special attention and
dissemination of knowledge about her body, when having her menarche, is primarily educated
about the socio-cultural taboos and religious practices to be followed while menstruating from
day one. The understanding of puberty, menstrual hygiene or reproductive health becomes
secondary knowledge imparted to her. The concept of purity and sacredness is so much
internalized in our thought process that women are considered to be impure and untouchable
during their menstrual cycle. The discriminatory and exclusionary attitude towards women has
been openly proclaimed by the religious associations and priests. Scholar such as Judy lever
states, it is societies attitude where it has treated menstruation as something to be ashamed of and
hidden away, in contrast to pregnancy which is proud moment to be announced and welcome
(Lever, 1979). Women learn to hiss away her menstrual problem unlike pregnancy, if there was
no healthy menstruation cycle, the pregnancy would not have taken place in women’s womb.
Traditional Indian society considers motherhood and reproduction to be the very essence
of womanhood. However, this same traditional society constructs the idea of shame, vulgarity
and stigma around menstruation and womanhood. The Sabrimala temple of Kerala is one such
institution, which believes that menstruating women should not be allowed to enter the places of
worship. The temple prohibits entry of all women in between the menstrual age group because
they believe that bleeding makes a woman impure (Kumar, 2016). Different religion such as
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Hinduism, Islam, Judaism, Buddhism, Christianity etc. talks about menstruation differently and
imposes restriction on women’s movement. However there is a common point of belief among
these religions where woman are consider being impure during menstruation. Prohibition
imposed upon women during menstruation are- worshiping, cooking food, no physical intimacy
with husband, living in separate room or house away from man are common among all religion.
The Vedas talks about menstruating women’s body and its impurity in the Hindu religion. The
origin of menstruation within Hinduism historically dates back to Vedic times when lord Indra
out of anger beheaded a Brahman named Vishwaroopa because ostensibly he could not
pronounce the Brahman name. Therefore according to Vedas women have taken the sin and guilt
of lord Indra upon themselves and to immaculate Indra from this guilt for which woman bleeds
every month.
Each culture and religion has their own dos and don’ts for women during menstruation.
These dos and don’ts vary massively according to cultural and religious traditions, age groups
and social class. The data for this work is though collected within the Nepali community but the
research is an exploratory work where the response of the entire respondent varies. The
respondents had different stories to tell. New ideas and value system emerged from their self-
narratives and lived experiences which gave seed to new discussions on subjects such as
interchangeable gender roles among the parents, presence or absence of father and male
members in the family during their menarche, which determined the religious practices to be
followed or not to be followed during menarche.
The current study is therefore undertaken to highlight the cultural practices during
menstruation among the adolescent girls and women within the Nepali community. The cultural
and religious practices within the Nepali community vary on the basis of the caste system. The
location of the Nepali community, assimilation of cultural practices among different
communities also impacts their belief system and religious practices. The study therefore brings
out the changing norms and notions about menstruation among the adult woman and girls who
have migrated from their hometown because of different factors such as education, job and
marriage. The paper argues that the religious and cultural practice during menstruation affects
the mental health of the adolescent girl and young woman because of seclusion faced during
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their time of menarche. It creates a culture of shame, silence, violence, taboo and exclusion
among girls and women from a very young age.
The paper is divided into four sections, where the first section is title Myths, Beliefs and
Cultural practices among the Nepali Community. This section addresses the different cultural
practices followed by Nepali women during her menstruating days and the rational adopted for
following this rituals. It is observe that the male member of the family enjoys supreme authority
and position in the family which governs the actions of a woman who is in her periods. The
second section deals in narratives of Nepali women about menstruation. This section is
titleDifference of narrative within the women of Nepali community regarding menstruation. It
basically highlights how the family settings in terms of nuclear or joint, presence of male head
member and man-woman ratio in a family change the whole ritual practices at a household. The
age group women think differently regarding menstruation practices.The third section deals with
concepts such as violence and exclusion and is title Perpetuation of violence and exclusion
during menstruation on Nepali women.These sections try to bring out violence and exclusion in
embedded norms which is followed without questioning during menstruating days by women. It
also brings out different emotion a woman or a girl undergoes when she is force to practice
certain rules and restriction she does not believe in. The last sections talks about Migration and
changing norms within the Nepali community. Due to moving out of traditional family system,
living in nuclear family where it’s just husband and wife in another city, or being a student or job
goers who lives away from home, the rules and restriction gets demolished or becomes hazy. The
location and time constraint in daily life rigs the rules during menstruation and the migrant
Nepali community starts to form their own set of rules which becomes mix bag of old norms and
new thought process.
Methodology
It is a qualitative research where purposive snowball sampling methods has been used to
select the subject of study. Snowball is a tool of research where one respondent led me to another
respondent by contacting their peer groups or close associates. The respondents helped me
develop a communication with another respondent thereby helping me to get consent for
conducting interview. The sample size is 20 between the age group of 20-50 years. The entire
respondents belong to Nepali community. The group interviewed belong to different caste such
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as General, Other Backward Caste, Schedule tribe etc. holding surnames such as Sharma, Chetry,
Rai, Thakuri, Pandey etc within the Nepali community and are Hindu by religion. As Nepali
speaking Indian are historically a migrant community, they have settle in different corners of
India. Therefore, the respondents are not from a particular region but are chosen on the basis of
their Nepali lineage for the purpose of the research. They belong to Assam, Nagaland, Sikkim,
Meghalaya states of north-east and are students, research scholars, school teacher and
homemakers. Some of the respondents live as single unit away from family and home. The data
was collected in form of personalized interviews, discussion. The question was in open-ended,
semi-structure format where the respondent was asked about her first menarche, the cultural
practices she follows while in menstruation. Her experience when she had her menarche. How
did her ideas and notion about menstruation changed, if it has? Does she still practice those
norms and rituals when she is staying outside her home independently as adult? How seriously
does she take her menstruation problem, if any?
Myths, beliefs and cultural practices during menstruation among the Nepali community
The Nepali community majorly follows Hindu religion and according to the majoritarian
Hindu traditions, there are number of social and cultural restrictions and taboos concerning
menstruation. The most common social and cultural restriction concerning menstruation among
the young girls and women are not entering thepuja room, not entering thekitchen, not looking
into themirror and not attending the guest during menstruation (Kumar and Srivastava, 2011).
These are common rituals followed by all women and girls irrespective of communities in the
Hindu culture.Young girls and women during their time of menstruating days are forbidden to
take part in kind of holy activities; their movement is restricted and is outcast for generally 7
days. However the Nepali communities have some specific rituals to be followed during the first
time of menarche. The girls having menarche specifically have to maintain parda(have to hide
themselves) from the male members of the family for seven days. On knowing that the girl has
got her menarche, the mother secretively takes her to a relative’s home, and keeps her hiding till
seventh day in a room without the knowledge of her brother or father. The girl is advice to not
look into the rooftop of her house during menarche and for this reason she is kept in a relative’s
home. She has to wake up before sunrise and take bath, use washroom before wakening of any
male member of the family where she is kept hiding. Once she uses the washroom in the wee
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hours of morning, she is restricted to come out of the room. If she has to use washroom during
day time, she have to wait till all male members have left the house for some work or the other.
In the presence of the male member she has to secretively use the washroom hiding from their
eyesight. Mostly, the doors and windows of the room are kept closed to keep her invisible from
the sight of the male members. Only the women of the family are allowed to visit her in her
room. Her food is delivered in her room. She is given a particular utensil which she has to use. It
was said that if the male member sees the girl in her first period days, his pride or masculinity
would be hurt, also it would bring him bad luck. One of respondent answered upon asked why
the girl was kept under parda, she replied in nepali “Shir dhalcha” meaning he have to bow his
head down and have to compromise on his ego and avoid eye contact with the girl, be it his
daughter or sister. The concept of purity and male honor is so much embedded within the rituals.
The necessary ritual which Nepali community follows before the hitting of menarche is called
Guneo- Cholo, where a girl when reaching the age of menarche is gifted Saree by her parents
and a puja is performed. Close relatives and friends are invited for the puja. It symbolizes that
the girl has reached the age of puberty and has attained marriageable age. Sometime the ritual of
Guneo-Cholo is also performed after 21 days of the girl hitting her menarche.
The upper caste Nepali families are very much stringent with the rules to be followed
during menstruation. While the girls are kept at the relative place during her menarche, the rules
and restriction during every menstrual cycle is very hard on the girls. A girl or women during her
menstruation is in literal sense outcaste. She has her separate utensils which are not to be mixed
with the utensils used by other family members especially male. She has to sit separately
avoiding any kind of physical contact with other members. She has to sit and sleep in the ground
avoiding any kind of contact with other members. Her sitting and sleeping mattress would be
separate; she cannot pass by the side of other members. She cannot enter kitchen, touch any
food, nor even water. She has to depend on other members for survival during these days in
literal sense because all her movements and activities are restricted in name of customs and
rituals. On seventh day she has to take bath, wash her hair, clothes and bed sheets used during
those days in order to be pure. The whole house is to be cleaned and holy water is to be sprinkled
in the whole house. This process is called “chokhiyeko” in Nepali meaning purification.
According Douglas in her book Purity and Danger (Douglas, 1966), bathing is the highest rite of
purification. There are three degree of religious purity- highest is necessary in performing
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worship and in Hindu Nepali culture worshipping one’s kuldevta(ancestral deity) or conducting
puja in puja ghar(place of worship) is restricted during menstruation. In order to be purified one
has to bath, wash hair and clean all clothes to be purified. The second state is the normal times
when menstruating; women’s entry is restricted into kitchen and other community and family
services. The third is a state of impurity. The second and third degree are interlinked with each
other as menstruating women is consider being impure and polluted. She cannot mingle or come
in contact with male members as she is impure and man being the highest authority after god in
patriarchal society is considers being the purest. He would get polluted when come into physical
contact with wife. It is a battle between sexes where one has to maintain the purity of oneself
thereby subordinating the other through exclusionary measures.
Difference of narrative within the women of Nepali community regarding menstruation
Nepali community is patriarchal in nature, yet the power equation and gender-roles
among the husband and wife is changing. This can be understood through the interview collected
while conducting this research. The women in their early 20’s and 30’s who are living with their
partner in another city as nuclear family have a different take on menstruation and its related
norms and rituals. Whereas women in their late 40’s and 50’s think that following the norms and
restriction during menstruation is good culturally and for physical health. Their explanation for
following these norms is to maintain social order and safeguarding the culture. The older women
could not provide any explanation for their beliefs in these norms but reinforced the idea that
observing the rules is good for society. Scholar such as Mary Douglas uses term like medical
materialism or medical materialists in her book Purity and Danger (Douglas, 1966), which was
coined by William James. Medical materialist are people with primitive thoughts where they
justify the ritual actions in terms of aches and pains which would affect them when the rituals are
neglected. Douglas also states that its rituals and rules are supported with beliefs that specific
danger is attended on breach of these rituals. This argument of Douglas stands true when one of
my respondent states that she suffer from guilt for not following restrictions and rituals whenever
something goes wrong in the family or her mother falls ill.
In another interview it was reflected that woman who during her early years of
menstruation was not hardcore essentialist in following the rules during menstruation has turn
out to be vice now. One of my respondent who is in her early 20’s mentioned that her mother
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who is a working lady and a nurse by profession was very informative, cautious and not so
restriction imposing during her initials year of menstruation, but now she have become
ritualistic. Though she (mother) does not observe much rules and cooks food during her
menstrual cycle, yet she restrict herself from going to temple thereby keeping her religious
practices intact and pure. The respondent says, she get perplex of her mother behavior, a lady
who was progressive in thought in her early 30’s, now seems to be conservative after entering
her 40’s and her circle of friends have changed. The groups and the company she keeps now
might have affected her thought process for which she has turned more ritualistic.
Another respondent who is in her early 30’s and is Brahmin by caste has another
narrative of her childhood days of menstruation. She say’s because there was no male figure at
home and her mother herself did not follow any rituals or restriction because of her medical
condition and removal of uterus, she as a child had no restriction during menarche. It was just
like any normal and usual day for her when she had her first period. She kept playing, going
school, entered kitchen etc. the only restriction she faced was worshipping. She was restricted
only going to temples and doing puja. Another respondent in her late 20’s, married and lives in
another city with her husband says that in her maternal home she did not follow much of the
rules. The only rules she had to follow was not doing puja and entering kitchen. Other than that
she could move freely, go to school, sit in the same dining table and have food. This was done
because her father was away from home and her brother was small who did not know much
about menstruation and its practices. However in her husband’s home her mother in law who is
in her late 50’s is stringent about the menstrual norms. Whenever she is with her in-laws she has
to be particular with restriction. She cannot enter kitchen, have to sleep separately from husband,
cannot go out or visit relative during menstruating days. Her mother- in-laws take on imposing
this restriction is that she says why to impure someone’s home when you are menstruating. The
concept of purity is embedded in the fear or belief of a human that horrible disasters might occur
when the forbidden lines are cross.
Perpetuation of violence and exclusion during menstruation on Nepali women
Pollution is used as analogies for expressing a general view of social order

(Douglas,1966). In case of menstruation, the social order being established through hierarchy
between man and woman which leads to perpetuation of trauma and mental violence upon
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woman. The practices such as leaving one’s home and staying away from family for 7 days
because of natural body function leaves a mark in a child mind of being outcast and excluded.
No proper reasoning is provided to the child for her menstruating body. She is forbidden to see,
talk or meet her own father and brother, making her believes that they are superior being and her
presence around them during menstruation might hurt or hamper masculinity and ego. She starts
considering herself to be a bad omen during those days and starts practicing separation from
family. These generate different emotions within a child mind. Violence in women’s body and
mind are of different kind. A woman who because of her progressive thoughts and challenging
attitude might question the rituals of seclusion but she cannot change the society’s attitude and
her husband’s behaviour towards her. There are man who negates the restriction impose on
menstruating women thereby deconstructing the gender role and help their wives in childrearing
but when it comes to taking charge of the household during his wife menstruating days, he
breaks the rituals and asked the women to cook, clean and stay in same room according to his
own convenience. Reflecting upon the emotion a woman and girl child undergoes during this
days I quote two of my respondent. To quote my respondent- she says “I used to feel hurt and
angry when my father allowed my mother to keep me at another’s house. I was not able to see
and talk to him”. “I was angry when my maternal uncle was sent back home without allowing
him to meet me”. Another respondent take on trauma is different, she is married lady in early
40’s, she says- “in joint family you can take rest during menstruation and not do household work
but in nuclear family you have to work even if you have menstrual cramps or mood swings. It’s
so paradoxical; you have to bath in morning, and go to kitchen and cook but not do puja. My
husband says when I have given permission to cook during this time; it will not be considered as
sin. At times I feel so annoyed and helpless”.
Migration and changing norms
Breaking up of the joint family system, coming of urbanization where different

community people stay together, assimilation of culture taking place, and family members
moving out of home states and city have brought significant changes in the menstruating norms.
Nepali community is historically a migrant community settled in different parts of India, the
customs and traditions therefore have undergone some form of assimilations and customization
according to the place and surrounding. Today the rituals and restrictions surrounding
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menstruation is more in self-decisive form than impositions of a society. The woman according
to the suitability of her family structure decides to follow certain rules such as not worshipping,
going to temples and cleaning all household clothes as primary restrictions rather than
completely out casting herself from family structure.
Conclusion
The ritual and restriction followed by Nepali women during menstruation varies
according to the location and age group of the women. Though with changing time rules such as
cooking food, cleaning home, touching objects, or taking drinking water oneself, free mobility
etc are being overruled by women irrespective of caste or age. This change in the thought
process has come because of nuclear family units. When in a family there is husband, wife and
small children, being the only women, the wife cannot afford to impose restriction upon herself
during menstruation. This is also because of assigned gender role a society imposes upon women
where she has to mandatorily do household work. As there is no other woman in the family, she
chooses to overrule the ritual and continue with household work and feed the husband and
children. Here the interesting point is a man, who acts as the guard of culture and customs at
other time is ready to overrule the menstruation rules where he have to work and do household
work during his wife menstruation days, which at normal time he does not consider his work.
Secondly, all Nepali women had a common restriction of not doing puja or going to temples.
They had a common belief that worshipping would bring bad omen. So with religious sentiments
and beliefs such as why to angry god or bring bad omen menstruation rules were followed. A
younger generation woman who lives independently decides to negate the rules when living
alone but prefer to abide by some rules such as not worshipping or entering “Puja Ghar” in
order to not hurt her parents religious sentiment. The absence of male members in the family had
major significance in observing or negating the norms. It came out from the interviews that the
norms were majorly followed for the well being of the family and for the head of the family, who
is a male and a patriarch. The belief system and conceptualization of menstruation is now no
more static in nature rather it has become more dynamic. With the changing status of women and
girls in Nepali society, inter-caste marriages, education, job and change of location etc, the
notions surrounding menstruation is also changing. Menstruation belief now has become a mix
bag of old traditional belief and modernity concept of hygiene and health concerns.
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References
Douglas, M. (1966).Purity and Danger: An analysis of concepts of pollution and taboo. London:
Routlegde & Kegan Paul.
Garg, S, Anand, T. (2015).Menstruation related Myths in India: Strategies for combating it.
Journal of family Medicine and Primary Care. 4:2. 184-186.
Kumar, A. (2016). Menstruation, Purity and Right to Worship.Economic and Political

Weekly.51:9.
Kumar, A., Srivastava, K. (2011). Cultural and Social Practices Regarding Menstruation among
Adolescent Girls.Social Work in Public Health. 26:6, 594-604.
Laws, S. (1990). Issues of Blood: The politics of Menstruation. London: The Macmillan Press
LTD.
Lever, J. (1979).PMT: the unrecognized illness. London: New English Library.
Geeta, V. (2009).Patriarchy.Kolkata: STREE.
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A SOCIO – ECONOMIC ANALYSIS OF MALAI PANTARAMS AT

ATTATHODU
Priya Soman
Abstract
Tribals are considerdas a social group existing outside of or before the development of states. A
tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land for their livelihood, who are largely
self-sufficient, and not integrated into the national society. Tribal’s in Kerala are living on the
hill ranges, mainly on the Western Ghats bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The
mountainous regions of Kerala are inhibited by the tribal communities. They are reckoned as the
descendants of the Negrito race. Malai Pantarangal is one of the most important tribes in Kerala.
The Malai Pantaram was mainly found in the deep forest near by Achankoil in central
Travancore. They had their own socio – economic problems and government’s effort didn’t be
sufficient to overcome their problems.
A Study on the Social and Economic Condition of Malai Pantarams at Attathodu
Tribal areviewed, developmentally or historically, as a social group existing outside of or

before the development of states. A tribe is a group of distinct people, dependent on their land
for their livelihood, who are largely self-sufficient, and not integrated into the national society. It
is perhaps the term most readily understood and used by the general public to describe such
communities. The tribal people are entitled to many importances in the tradition and the history
of India. As a human society is an active presence in India’s great Ithihasa and Puranas. In the
story of Mahabharata, Vyasa revealed Hidumbi as the lover of Bhima, she and her son
Khadolkhlajan were tribes and the Ekalavya traced in martial arts was also a tribe. And the great
monk and the author of Ramayana, Valmiki was also a tribe named Ratnakara.The tribes in India
from an important part of total populationThe tribal population of India constitutes nearly 8% of
the total population.
India has the largest concentration of tribal people in the world. Tribal administration was
a central subject under the government of India act of 1935. The government classified
aboriginal into excluded and Partially Excluded Areas which did not leave any jurisdiction and
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control to the provisional Government. In India the tribal peoples were mainly settled in north
eastern India and South.
Tribals in Kerala
Tribals in Kerala or Adivasis of Kerala are the indigenous population found in the
southern Indian state of Kerala. Most of the tribal people of Kerala live in the forests and
mountains of Western Ghats, bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. Tribals in Kerala are living
on the hill ranges, mainly on the Western Ghats bordering Karnataka and Tamil Nadu. The
mountainous regions of Kerala are inhibited by the tribal communities. They are reckoned as the
descendants of the Negrito race. A majority of these tribes of Kerala build their settlements in the
forest grounds and also on the top of the mountains. Kerala was popularized in the settlements of
tribes the names Adiyan, Arandan, Eravallan, Malapulaya, Irula, Kadar, Kurichyas, Kurumba,
Malayaraya, Malavedar, Malankurava,Mannan, Muthuvar or Mudugar. The tribal people who
have settled down in different landscape even before 1000 years in all over the world are called
the Gothra janatha. From the different stages of the old era and also in various places like the
forests, plateaus and plains these tribal’s had started their settlement. The nature has very
important role in every tribe’s life.In Kerala there are still 37 Scheduled Tribes out of 48 tribal
communities; their number is only 1.26% of the state’s population. What this figure indicates is
that the rate of the assimilation of the aboriginals of Kerala has been extremely rapid. In the past
few years 11 tribal communities have been declassified on account of the social and cultural
porgress they have made.
Among the Scheduled Tribes of Kerala the numerically dominant ones are the Pulayans,
Paniyans, Maratis, Malayarayar, Kurumans, Kurichiyans, and Irulas. The numerical strength of
each remaining tribes is more or less 1,000. .
Most of these tribes are forest-dwellers and food-gatherers. Increasingly, they are found
living on the fringes of the forests near the highways and the villages of the plainspeople, yet
apart from them. This frontier existence of the tribals is highly symbolic. They are caught
between two worlds. Their forest home cannot support them any longer, for food in forests is
getting scarce because of the state policy against deforestation.
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There are fewer and fewer wild animals to hunt; there is also a legal ban on hunting. For
rice and clothes they have to depend on the plainspeople who continue to exploit the helplessness
of the tribals. The few tribesmen who go to towns looking for jobs soon find it difficult to cope
with the demands of civilization and return home to jungles to live on the edge of culture and
nature.
Tribal people groups who are food-gatherers (without any habit of agricultural practice),
with diminishing population and very low or little literacy rates can be called as Primitive Tribes.
Cholanaikkans, Kurumbas, Kattunaikans, Kadars and Koragas are the five primitive tribal groups
in Kerala. They constitute nearly 5% of the total tribal population in the State. Cholanaikkans
can be said as the most primitive of them and found only in the Malappuram District. Only a
handful of families are living in the Mancheri hills of Nilambur forest division. Kattunaikans,
another lower-hill community related to Cholanaikkans, are mainly seen in Wayanad district and
some in Malappuram and Kozhikode districts. Kadar population is found in Trisur and Palakkad
districts. Kurumbas are living in the Attappady Block of Palakkad district. The Koraga habitat is
in the plain areas of Kasaragod district
The native Adivasis of the district belong to various sects like Paniyas, Kurumas,
Adiyars, Kurichyas, Ooralis, Kattunaikkans and Uraali Kurumas. They are mostly physically
distinguishable with darker skin and stout built physique. They often live in houses made of
thatched roof, mud, bamboo and brick houses set in swampy valleys and plateaus. Though many
of them said to be primitive tribes all of them have a story of migration to the hills. It is likely to
believe that these tribes were living there for several centuries! "The story of tribes on the
Western Ghat mountainous ranges have is less than 300 years", says Philipose Vaidyar who had
visited and stayed with several of these tribal groups. Cholanaikkan is said to be the most
primitive and a vanishing tribe. "Discussions with them and the history during the British times,
the capture of local kings and their fights have much to reveal about their migration from the
valley to the hills" he says. Read more about Tippu Sulthan and Pazhassi King and learn how
some people were lost in the deep forests. The Irular people of Idukki districts complaint about
the heavy taxes they had to pay to the kings which resulted in their exodus from the Kochi
kingdom to that of an animal kingdom. History of British period approves this.
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Malai Pantarams in Attathodu
Malai Pantarangal is one of the most important tribes in Kerala. The Malai Pantaram was
mainly found in the deep forest near by Achankoil in central Travancore. These tribes mostly
settled in the areas of Attathodu and regions along with it in Pathanamthitta district. Attahodu
area is a small village filled with beautiful forest in the district of Pathanamthitta. It is
surrounded by Pathanamthitta Taluk towards south, Elenthoor Taluk toward west, Konni Taluk
toward east and Kanjirapally Taluk towards north.
Malai Pantaram, which are isolated families, they became wandered in the forest solitary.
Generally the Malai pantaram live in families of two or three in a locality. For decreasing the
distribution of food items, in which they gained by hunting. A major part of Malai Pantaram tribe
of Kerala was placed in the Pathanamthitta district, which are in the area of the place Attathodu
and their nearby region which are: Muzhiyar, Nilakkal, Chalkkayam, Plappali etc there were
scattered.
Social and Economical Conditions
The tribal’s living in the tribal colony called Attathodu, in the 9th ward of Sabarimala
forest region in Pathanamthitta district is called Malai pantarangal. There were not more than 6-7
families. The knowledge of the outer society about these societies is very limited. Most of the
people in both the rural and urban area don’t know about the existence of this tribe living in the
Attathodu. It is since 2005, that this isolated tribe, living in the forest has been found out and we
tried to get in contact with them. The tribal’s spread among the areas of Attathodu, Calakkayam,
Nilakkal, Muzhiyar, Plappilli, Rajampara, Angammodi had a traditional way of dressing till the
time they were being found out by the other world. The modern way of dressing like saree and
mundu were adopted by them, the modernist society entered to their Zone. Earlier they used leafs
and bark of trees for dressingi.
They battered and then dried the Antiracism toxic-aria bark ( Arayanjili tholi) and they
cut out the Vanda testate (Maravazha) and then wilt it and used these as their dress. The contact
of several social associations or departments and the countnous company of the people outside
the forest made the way for them to choose the present mode of dressing. This tribal living is
small huts keep migrating to other placesii. This is for their living and well-being
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The collection of Frankincense (kunthirikkam), forest honey, yam (kizhangu) ponnambu

are there main way of making money for their living. During the earlier stages they collected
food only for single day (daily use up to date use). And it’s after that they began the collection of
honey and Frankincense knowing the behavior and features of the forest, they go to forest during
March (Meena masam) to collect the Honey. As some times this requires a long period of
journey, they took their families with them. The Malai Pantarams move from place to place with
the quantity of money, water, frankincense, Kuttamanthal that they get from that placeiii.
Their huts are made of bamboo, straw and grass. They usually keep footwear outside the
house. Leather made of cow-skin is considered as polluting and not used. They are good hunters
and are skilled gatherers of forest products such as wax and honey. They use to breed pigs, goats
and poultry. They are non-vegetarian in food habits but do not eat beef. Drinking alcohol is
occasional. Cultivation is a recent development among themalai Pantarams. The forest
Department used to employ them as guards and for labour. Malai Pantarams are animists and
worshiped trees, rocks, hills and snakes. Due to interaction with the outside communities, they
also worship primitive Hindu deities and celestial bodies like sun and moon.
If the month of march is the period of prosperity for them then the month of monsoon
(june,july) is a period of distraction (ruin), loss, diseases, risk and danger. During monsoon the
tribal’s in the colony of Attathodu face starvation and diseases. In contrast with attathodu the
tribes living in chalakkayam, Nilaykkal, plaappailli, Rajampara face more starvation than the
former.
Even though they use Rise, salt and Chilly, the main food of Malai Pantarangal in
Attathodu is Panambodi, Manthal (Kaatumathal/Kattukachi/noora), which is a traditional food
item. They dig out, fried (smoked) and then eat the Kattumathal. Without having any utility of
plates and due to the lack of knowledge about the plates, in the earlier period these tribal’s used
to fried the Kattumanthal and then this came to be their main food. For this technique they still
use the primitive fire starting method. This is a piece of bamboo. They fill this with the cotton of
Elave tree. They place a piece of iron bar in one of its end and they rub it with a white stone to
make fireiv. This technique is used by Malai Pantarangal for baking.
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Grant from government is available for the tribal’s in their present social condition.
Govterenment of Kerala` has organized rice, pea and rupees 450 for each month for their food
safety. Even though govt. has organized such plans, these were not available to them. The things
that they get sometimes by the organization were mostly being destroyed by wild animals. The
people of Attathodu knew a special hymn to protect them from the attack of wild animals. This
knowledge of hymns has been transferred to generation after generation. These hymns are
learned by the children from their childhood itself. They grew and feed pet dogs in each homes
to know to the presence of wild animals and to stop them from entering near their zonev.
The tribal’s of Attathodu have a great knowledge about herbs for treatment. When they
face body pain they use forest herbs as the primary way treatment. A main medicine used by
them for treating body pain, is called “urappatta”. The bark of Uthira tree, Uruppatta is out
freshly and this being battered and it‘s treated with water and this wetted material is than
converter to pulp. This is then used as medicine. They use the hospital facility if and only if the
primary method of treatment didn’t attain any result.
The Malai Pantarams who are living in forest are illiterate. With respect to this, they face
tolerance in all wayvi. Women in Attathodu are having a pitiful life. These women’s are being
tolerated by men outside the forest. The women’s of Malai Pantaram tribe living in Chalakkayam
face more exploitation and are being attacked by society. These innocent and illiterate tribal
people are largely exploited by the society. The tribal’s in Attathodu, mostly wish to live within
the forest itself. It is mainly because of climatic condition in the modern society that these
tribal’s are not coming to our society. They can’t also afford the change from their forest
atmosphere. These lead too many diseases. Another major reason behind, that not being coming
tour society is due to the fear of attack and exploitation from our society. They didn’t keep
relation.
They prey both the nature and human deities. They also worshiped the trees in
accordance with the tradition. As they have considered both nature and forest as god,
“maladaivam”, they are able to live a peaceful life and with this custom they very less diseases
but when they came out of the forest to the outer society, they would not accept the atmosphere
and the change in climate, causes diseasesvii. Kallel urali or vadakkanpurathurali is a human deity
that change in climate, causes diseases. Kallelurali or vadakkanpurathrali is a human deity that is
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being worshiped by the tribal’s of Attathodu. According to their belief and myth, kallelurali was
a person among their tribe. They believed that he became vanish when his devotional hymns
increased. It is said that the hut and place in which kallelurali lived still exists. This place is
known as “Uralikkala”. Kalleluruli who has once disappeared has then become as Malai Daivam
and the Malai Pantarangal in Attathodu came to warship him. Now they devote alcohol, coconut,
betel leaf, areca nut, rice flakers, and sugar candy to their Gods. Children have diseases they prey
to become mentally matured (4 years of age). When the children have diseases they prey to
Malai Daivangal. They believed that in doing so, the disease will be decreased. Women’s are not
permitted to enter into these worshiping areas. Men wear new dresses while they enter into these
temples. They sing devotional songs to impress the Mala Daivangal.
They didn’t have any type of festivals. They have a simple marriage custom. There exists
system of monogamy and polygamy in the tribe of Attathod. Men have the right to accept 2 or 3
women as their wifeviii. According to their tradition; the groom has to give betel leaf and areca
nut to the bride’s home, to take the bride. This group of people believes in clearness (shudhi) and
fault (ashudhi). The people of this tribe have a customs of isolating the pregnant women’s.
They will make pregnant women’s to live in another small hut built near their own hutix.
This hut is known as “mattaveedu”. The new born baby and the mother will be allowed to enter
their hut only after 90 days, after having religious body clearness (dehashudhi). During the time
of pregnancy women’s have to live alone. Only old women’s are allowed to stay with them. If
there is no old women’s have to live alone only old women’s are allowed to stay with them. If
there is no old women’s in their tribe, then these young women’s have to do all alone look after
themselves and to cook, during their pregnancy period. The entry of the mother and the baby is
conducted like a small celebration; they prepare and give sweets (payasam) and small sadhya
(food) to the people of their tribe. They also follow the custom of keeping girl’s away from the
family at the time when they became physically matured periodx. This house’s which are used by
them are called ‘puraveedu’. This type of cultures makes them different from the modern society.
The leader among the tribes of Attathodu, ‘Urumuppan’ has a very important place
among them. They believe that the main duty or dharma of the muppan is to pray hymns to
Malai Daivangal for treatment to get someone cured. If their present Urumuppan dies, then the
next successors as Urumuppan will be the one who have a grey hair. If there is not an aged man
194
in that tribe, then there won’t be any Urumuppan at allxi. To give a person the place of muppan,
they have special hymns or customs. Dravidian tradition is followed in their culture. As a
traditional custom, the Urumuppan should live an isolated life. Then they won’t have a relation
with their family. Their funeral system is in a different way. A person who dies among them is
cremated without any rituals. Then the hut which they lived is dismantled and put above where
they have been cremated and after they will leave that place behind and will shift to other place.
They will never again return to this place.
Women are treated equally to men, in marked contrast to the Hindu peoples of the
lowlands. While Malapandaram women gather vegetable foods, haul water, find firewood, and
do the cooking, men normally do the hunting and harvesting of wild honey. The divisions are not
rigid, however: men may help gather firewood and assist with cooking meat, while women may
help hunt small animals. The simplicity of their gathering and hunting economy fosters
individual self-sufficiency and economic independence, so social relationships tend to be based
on positive feelings rather than economic dependence. Marriage for the Malapandaram is an
extremely loose monogamous convention: they do not emphasize long-term, binding
relationships. Spouses often exhibit quite warm feelings toward one another—but when the
warmth cools, the relationship ends. Recently, however, Malapandaram women in some
communities are reporting that they live in fear of sexual harassment, both by outsiders and by
their own men.
Infants are held and carried about constantly by their mothers, who nurse them on
demand. Children have the freedom to explore without restraint and to handle sharp tools such as
axes and billhooks. When children in the two to four age bracket cry, they are quickly soothed,
and if the mother is too busy to respond then other adults or children will. However, by the time
they are five or six years old, children have been socialized into patterns of individual autonomy,
they have lost their emotional ties with their parents (though they may continue to show some
affection), and they often live with adults other than their own parents. Adults only limit
children’s autonomy by controlling their expressions of aggression against other children or
adults.
The Malapandaram are very timid, nonviolent, and retiring in their relationships with
outsiders. The agents of forest contractors frequently patrol their territories and attempt to cajole,
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sometimes coerce, and, at times, physically assault the Malapandaram to force them to gather
more forest products for them. The forest dwellers have thus learned their shyness and timidity
as a response to those practices, and they still tend to hide from the agents when they are about.
By conducting awareness classes to them, we can help them to overcome their social
problems. Spread of education only can help these tribes. Besides that, by providing vocational
education, they got a special chance to mingle with the rest of the society and they can earn their
own. The government of Kerala and the Central government should join their hands together to
provides them, necessary grants and aids by the time. If it is possible, we can upgrade the soci0 –
economic backwardness of the Malaipantarams of Attanthodu,without cut their connection with
their habitat.
196
References
Iyer, Krishna L.A. Social History Of Kerala, Madras, Books center Publication, 1968.
Perumpanani, Seelia Thomas, Keralathile Aadivasikalute Jeevithavum Samskaravum,

Kottayam, Current Books, 2010.
Samuel,Bijin, Kadintemakkale Thedi, , Orila, Mal, Thanal, Febin Excel Vennikulam, Issue
1, 2013.
Nellimukal, Samuel, A Study Of Social History, Kottayam, K.S. Books, 2003.
Malayala Manorama Daily, 30 July 2011.
Malayala Manorama Daily, Nov 2011.
The Hindu Daily,(Eng),13th Nov 2013.
197
BANDIT QUEEN: A TESTIMONY OF DALIT WOMAN
Surya Pratap Bharati
Abstract
This paperwork will offer a fresh reading of the Hindi film industry and the problems of Dalit
women. It will help to understand the various issues of filmmaking and the function of
filmmaking in this globalized capitalistic world. It also tries to offer a fresh approach to the
concept of testimony in Hindi cinema and the role of Dalit women. Bandit queen must be treated
as testimony, and this would also create an area for further research about the role of the feminist
methods. This paper would explore the socio-political and economic aspects that have enabled
the rise of such a space for Dalit women's role, and also the opportunity for the Dalit women
rights. This paper explores how the entry of big production houses have contributed to the
formation of space for the underprivileged by trying to create a more multiplex driven audience
and charting the upward mobility in the class structure. This paper aims to try to map the relation
between production with distribution and exhibition and eventually how they lead to the
emergence of space for Dalit women rights.
Keywords:Dalit women, Hindi cinema, Caste, Testimony
The movie Bandit Queen is based on the life of Phoolan Devi, a woman who rebelled
against casteist society and its oppression. The movie was released in 1994 in Hindi cinema
directed by Shekhar Kapur. Bandit Queen is a revenge saga of a Dalit woman who sought to
avenge herself from her tormentors. The movie shows the caste testimony of a Dalit rape victim
and her transformation into a great fighter queen who unites men for the battle to regain the
dignity of her people. The movie also highlights the heart-wrenching reality of lower caste
people in India. The protagonist, Poolan Devi, was born to a poor lower-caste family, later she
has been sold off at the age of 11. Phoolan lived in a very exploitative and repressive
environment which made it hard for her to survive. In the history of the world, it was challenging
to tolerate the hierarchy in a caste-based society. It is not good for humanities. Phoolan got raped
198
by her upper caste master. She then runs away from there and goes to her home where she is
treated like the other, someone who does not belong to that family. The trouble of her life she has
been suffered by her parents and refused to take her in-home by advising her to go back because
she has no place in that home which also makes her become a bandit. Still, she stays for a while,
but things get more complicated when an upper-caste Thakur attempts to rape her. She opposed
it and then, brought in front of the sarpanch who was the rapist’s father. There, she gets
embarrassed publicly. The trial is an open attempt to repeat every rape trial across the world, and
how as the entire village supports therapist. She is then exiled for being 'trouble' with the village
boys, and start to live with her cousin Kailash. But this doesn't last soon, and his wife asks her to
move out, and she has nowhere to go but return home. Then, she is arrested for returning despite
her exile and is gang-raped in a police cell by two policemen. She gets bailed by paying Rs
25,000 from Thakurs, but they sell her to Babu Gujjar's dacoit gang to recover their money. One
day when she was returning her home for shelter, somehow policemen and Thakur get news
about her presence in the village. They all come to her home to capture her but her father, despite
his unfaltering sexism, tries to hide her, but when her brother's life is endangered, she gives
herself up. She knew the outcome of her surrender, but she comes out. Babu Gujjar rapes her
multiple times and also beaten-up. Ultimately, a member of the gang, Vikram Mallah Mastana,
who is becoming infamously irritated by her victimization, kills Gujjar and joins Phoolan as their
gang member.
Their new gang pulls off daring attacks, always careful not to molest women or children,
and to target only the rich as she is raiding, she shouts, "If any man marries a little girl, I'll kill
him!" Phoolan has decided to become a protector from a victim seeking out for people who are
restricted by unethical cultural practices.
At one point, after Vikram is betrayed by an upper-caste Thakur – Shri Ram – and shot,
the pair flees "to a doctor, who they cannot pay... and so Phoolan takes Vikram back to
her village. Her family tells her it is only proper she go back to her husband. Seething,
she does, and it doesn't end well for Puttilal the Pedophile. She parades him around his
village on the back of a donkey, then lashes him to a post and beats him (ostensibly) to
death in a state of high agitation – one can understand the real Phoolan's objection to the
state of unrestrained emotion she is portrayed in if it isn't accurate.
199
(https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/bandit-queen-phoolan-devi-movie-
review) (website title- Millennials Review Classics: ‘Bandit Queen’ Doesn’t Flinch ...).
The revenge she extracts is epically satisfying. As she talks to Vikram about Puttilal later,
she says, "My whole-body aches... but I feel at peace, like after a pilgrimage." In a
country (and world), where female anger and vengeance is muted and suppressed, this
scene feels like justice. Of course, no good thing can last for long. Vikram is finally shot
and killed by Shri Ram, who is resentful of a woman in a position of power, particularly a
woman who would not submit to his revolting advances. She is captured, taken to a
remote village, and gang-raped by upwards of 10 men.
(https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/bandit-queen-phoolan-devi-movie-
review)
The graphic depiction seems gratuitous, but it "is again the depressing reality. Asked
about the portrayal of her rape in the film, the real Phoolan tells
(https://www.thequint.com/entertainment/movie-reviews/bandit-queen-phoolan-devi-
movie-review)
Poolan Devi interrogates the casteist attitude that prevailing in Indian society. Do you
have any idea what it's like to live in a village in India? What you call rape, that kind of thing
happens to poor women in the villages everyday life. It is expected that the daughters of the poor
family have been used for the rich people and They try to torture them. In the villages, the poor
have no toilets, so we must go to the fields, and the moment we arrive, the rich lay us there; we
can't cut the grass or tend to our crops without being approached by them. We are the property of
the rich.
Paraded naked in public and released after two weeks of persistent abuse, she goes to
Man Singh, a friend of Vikram, to set about avenging herself again. She is given control of a new
gang by a dacoit leader and gets wind that Shri Ram and his men are going to be attending a
wedding at a village. She makes a beeline straight there and lays siege. "She rounds up all the
Thakur men and demands to know where Shri Ram is, nobody screeches. She catches two men
who raped her and she kills them. Expended by rage at their reluctance to reveal Shri Ram's
location, and in an act that makes her infamous, she beats and shoots 22 of the Thakurs dead,
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bringing the state police down on her and eventually leading to her surrender. This paper also
argues that how Dalit women were labouring in the home and that very common kitchen? Who
brought the water? Who cooked the meals? Who birthed and raised the children? But of course,
women's labour is out of the kindness of their hearts, needing no pay or recognition, able to be
swept aside in favour of actual labour in the fields what a happy coincidence for men.
Dalit women are considered to be the most disadvantaged group left out at the bottom of
the hierarchal caste society for years in Hindi cinema. They suffer multiple marginalized; one
being a Dalit and two being a woman, and also being in Hindi cinema. Being Dalit, they suffer
due to caste discrimination and being a woman the patriarchal social order victimizes them both
in their homes as well outside in Hindi Cinema. Dalit women have been denied for their rights,
and to be side-lined at three levels: caste, class, and gender in Hindi cinema. The violence
against Dalit women continues to be believed in several areas. Dalit women have been
misrepresented in Indian Hindi Cinema, and most of the male writers are biased towards Dalit
women to write a film script on Dalit women. They are portrayed as sex objects for the upper
caste men in movies such as Bandit Queen (1994), Shudra the Rising and Manjhi: The Mountain
Man (2015). Dalit women are forced to be biologically weak; a victim of men's sexual prowess
and passive partner in sex. The movie Bandit Queen which is the biographical movie of Phoolan
Devi is a critique of child marriage, men's sexual politics and the double standard of higher caste
upon those who are not a conformist. Phoolan who is assertive about her modesty and integrity
refuses the abusive and imposing sexual advances made by her husband and upper caste men
only to be ex-communicated from the village.
I would like to demonstrate the problem of Dalit women how Dalit women are exploited
in several ways because they are gendered as weak and because they are Dalit women. The
Bandit Queen is a critique of men made evil in patriarchal society. Due to social pressure,
Phoolan is given away in child marriage. Puttilal, her husband abused her physically and
sexually. As a child, it was a traumatic experience. Her condition is worsened when the upper
caste men made the sexual advance on her, and there is no sense of justice for her. Her decision
to become a Bandit is not a choice but something which she was forced to take up for justice,
vengeance and vindication. As a Bandit, she is considered as a social menace, but in fact, she is
reformer threatening to shoot people who advocate child marriage.
201
Hindi Cinemas show how Dalit women are not given social equality; it is social hierarchy
by birth and supported by their community. Historically, Dalit women have been oppressed and
sexually assaulted by the upper caste men and Dalit men themselves. To understand, I would
like to connect with Mulk Raj Anand ‘Untouchables' and The Prisons We Broke demonstrate the
crimes done on Dalit women. Even in feminist discourse, Dalit women issues are hardly studied
along with the writings of upper caste Hindu women, and high caste Hindu has not shown real
sympathy for Dalit women in their writing. It is because for the upper caste Hindu women; the
Dalits are less than human; just as the black women are less than human for the white women.
Dalit women believed to be alienated at three levels: caste, class, and gender. The violence
against Dalit women continues. Dalit women have been misrepresented in Indian literature and
Indian English literature; most of upper caste male writers are biased towards Dalit women. In
this paper, I would like to apply some of the theory which constructs on patriarchy system as
Freudian theory such as the penis envy has denied women a sense of individuality socially,
sexually, culturally and in language. Freud theory regarding the human anatomy has theorized
that women have fewer writing blocks than men because the women's urinary bladder is
designed to release. In psychology, the word ‘lack' has been traditionally associated with women.
Even Lacan's concept of castration is a metaphor for female literary and linguistic disadvantage.
Cinema is the most powerful medium to represent of Dalit women for social justice, but
the problem of Hindi cinema is a very critical condition in its way. It plays a significant role to
bring the challenge in front of the public. It reflects many of the trends, current virtues, social
struggles and patterns of living in a society. Culture is the underlying current of society. A
society thrives on its values and ideology through the medium of culture. As Anil Saari says,
‘Hindi films have always reflected the prevailing mood of the society'. "Bollywood has always
tried to represent Indian culture and its ramifications. There are lots of movies on women, dowry,
corruption, poverty, Hindu Muslim unity, Diasporas but only some names are there when it
comes to Dalits. 'Dalit' word originated from Sanskrit which means ‘oppressed’, ‘suppressed’, or
‘broken to pieces'. This term was first used by” (http://www.researchscholar.co.in/downloads/32-
Manoj-kumar.pdf) Mahatma Jyoti Rao Phule for those who were untouchables. These people call
themselves ‘Dalit' because this word is indicative of their consciousness of the oppression and
their demand for dignity and right to self-determination. Movies on Dalits women caste divisions
have formed the backdrop of some Hindi films such as Achhut Kanya, Shudra Sunrise, Majhi the
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Mountain Man. Achut Kanya (1936) was one of the most respected social films to come from
Bombay Talkies. It was probably the first representative features of the Indian social film of the
first decade of sound. The central story is of the unhappy love affair between Kasturi, the
Harijan.
Hindi Filmmakers have not a possible activity to Dalit society bringing out social issues
through movies. There is a lot of discrimination in Hindi movie. But Anil Sari, a famous critic,
says, whenever society itself has seemed to have lost a sense of direction, cinema has been
equally afflicted by the social confusion.
Finally, I would like to conclude my paper by stating that cinema is an essential medium
of culture. According to Raymond Williams, it is a whole way of life.' Cinema not only reflects
culture, but it also shapes culture. Cinema is always affected by contemporary issues, and it can
open up the viewers for discussions.
203
References
Bhave, Sumitra. Pan on Fire.Trans. Gauri Deshpande. New Delhi: Indian Social Institute, 1988. Print.
Bama, Karukku. Trans. Lakshmi Holmström. 2ndEd. New Delhi: OUP, 2012. Print.
Bama.Sangati.Trans. Lakshmi Holmström. New Delhi: OUP, 2005. Print.
Bama, Vanamam-Vendetta. Trans.Lakshmi Holmstrom. New Delhi: Oxford University Press, Print.
Kamble, Baby. The Prisons We Broke. Trans. Maya Pandit. Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2008.
Pawar, Urmila. The Weave of My Life.Trans.Maya Pandit. Kolkata: Stree, 2008. Print.
Sivakami P. The Grip of Change. Trans. The Author. New Delhi: Orient Blackswan, 2006.
Print.
Anand, Mulk Raj. Untouchable. New Delhi: Arnold Heinemann, 1947. Print.
Rege, Sharmila. Writing Caste and Gender: Reading Dalit women's testimonios. New Delhi: Zubaan
Publications, 2006.
Gokulsing, K Moti and Wimal Dissanayak., Indian Popular Cinema: A Narrative of Cultural Change.
Orient Longman: New Delhi, 1998.print.
Web Sources:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bb2NA90LS7c (film)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eq8uw-E0yOY (film)
204
PERFORMANCE IN THE TIME OF DISPLACEMENT
Anupama Priyadarshi
Introduction:
In the dark times
Will there also be singing?
Yes, there will also be singing.
About the dark times.
--Bertolt Brecht55
This paper, Performance in the Time of Displacement explores displacement,

dispossession, and performance in the context of performance culture of an Indian Santhal
adivasi community. This paper tries to understand displacement of culture, in relationship to the
performance of Sohrae. Sohrae, also known as ‘Got-Puja’, is a popular cultural festival of
Santhal adivasi communities in the Santhal Paragana, Jharkhand. It is a traditional agricultural
festival, which is performed annually in the Hindi month of Magh (December-January) in
Jharkhand.for this study I have immersed myself with the community to understand displacement
in context of culture and performance through the cultural festival of Sohrae This work is based
on a three month’s field study in Godda district in 2012 and 2013 of north-east Jharkhand,
around 350 kilometer from the capital city Ranchi. I have seen different communities of adivasi
students as well as nearby villagers celebrate this festival in the college campus and their
respective villages. As students said that they did not go to their home because their families are
away from home for their livelihood to other places. But my focus is of the festival celebrated in
boys’ college, so that we can understand how young generations react to their displacement of
culture. Boys also invite adivasi girl from Mahila College, Godda to participate in this festival.
These students live in the hostel or in rented room nearby college. They, during festival season
55
http://www.poetryfoundation.org/bio/bertolt-brecht - retrieved on 5th June 2014.
205
won’t participate in the festival at home due to study and their families have gone out of the state
for livelihood. So they celebrate this festival in the college campus itself.
Displacement and Development:

‘Popular’ imagination about adivasi community generally comes along with two
prominent imageries: firstly, as a community languishing in cultural backwaters, uncivilized and
primitive, who live in jungle and survive on hunting and gathering; secondly, in a romanticized
version as a forest dwellers and a self-self-sufficient community who are extension of forest and
on the mountains. This is to be noted that a major section of land in Jharkhand state falls under
the forest category regulated by the Indian Forest Act (IFA) of 1927.56IFA classified these forest
areas into three categories: reserved forests, protected forest and village forests. The
classification was based on propriety rights. Reserved forest is the land, which is property of the
government, and the government is entitled to use the forest product the way it wants. The same
rule also applies to the protected forests. This distribution of forest can be understood by the
sheer fact that while reserved forest constitutes 18.5 per cent of the forest, the protected forests
constitute 81 per cent, so altogether they constitute 99.5 percent of the total forest in Jharkhand57.
It means adivasi only have right on 0.5 percent of the forestland. Even in the rest of 0.5 percent,
the enactment of Bihar Land Reform Act of 1950 has declared a significant part of them as the
Gair Mazurua Khas (GMK).58For example, the Santhals’ worshipping place Jaher-Than and the
community land having the worshipping tree, Sal and Palash are put under the GMK. Through
these laws and manipulative acts, the state establishes a clear monopoly to sell these lands to
private companies and firms.59Following these laws, the state has sold out Sundar Pahari,60 one
among the Panch Pahadi61of the Santhal Pargana region. Recently, the Government has leased a
significant part of this hill to the Jindal Power project.62This PanchPahadi was very important
56
The Indian Forest Act, 1927 largely based on Indian Forest Acts implemented under British Rule. It defines
the procedure for declaring an area to be Reserved Forest, Protected Forest and Village Forest.
57
Chhota Nagpur Tenancy Act was passed in 1908 and Santhal Parganas Tenancy Act was passed in 1949.
58
GMK means the land belonging to the government in which local residents may still have customary rights
to use (Vasan, 2009: 122).
59
The Hindu May 1, 2013.
60
Panch Pahad is a plateau in Sahebganj district and is Situated in east of Godda district.
61 The Panch Pahad is constituted of Five major hills:- North-Jognisthan, South-Trikut, East-Sunder Pahad,
West- Mandar hill, North East-Rajmahal Pahadi.
62 http://pd.cpim.org/2013/1222_pd/12222013_jharkhand.html
206
for the Santhals residing in this region. This region also has a coal field, Lalmatia, which is
Asia’s biggest open cast coal mine and mountain Rivers, which is attracting companies to
purchase land in these areas. This geopolitics changes has an immense impact on the
community’s imagination of their landscape as this pahadi used to be an important centre of
Sohae celebration.
Here, I argue that this displacement needs to be understood not only in terms of
geographical and physical displacement but also in term of cultural displacement. Imagination,
memory, and landscape are deeply interconnected and one cannot be thought without other.
Since cultural landscape is product of the land, forest, and mountains, the displacement of them
is also the displacement and dispossession of memory and imagination. Paul Connerton has
rightly argued that the state systematically deprives its citizens from memory (Connerton 1989).
Connerton elucidates that,
Despite this independence from social memory, the practice of historical

reconstruction can in important ways to receive a guiding impetus from,
and can in turn give significant shape to, the memory of social groups. A
particularly extreme case of such interaction occurs when a state
apparatus is used in a systematic way to deprive its citizens of their
memory (Ibid: 14)
In recent years, Jharkhand and other adivasis regions have witnessed unprecedented
displacement and migration. Violating all the constitutional rights and the basic human rights
laws, the government has been forcefully removing these adivasi communities from the land of
their inhabitants for the interest of big corporate and foreign direct investments (FDIs). Adivasi
regions have the biggest deposit of minerals which have drawn much interest of the government
and corporate. Not surprisingly, the question of displacement has emerged as the major issues in
the contemporary development discourse. Many eminent scholars have discussed these issues of
displacement and dispossession in the context of land, law, occupation, and livelihood (Shah
2010), (Prakash 2001). More so, their major focuses have been on the economical and material
aspects of displacement (Jal, Jangal and Zameen).
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Displacement of Culture:
Here in Sohrae, adivasi students of Godda College, Godda and Mahila Mahavidyalya,
Godda organize festival in the college campus. They make, clean and decorate the place of ritual
of festival. They place three eggs, Pochai (rice beer), five chicken, Sal leaves and Arwa rice on
the festival place. Three eggs represent Jaher Era, a fertility deity and a primal spirit Bongaan
ancestor and family spirit that stand for the nature both in animated and unanimated forms (land,
mountain and forest)and Bonga is supposed to represent both benevolent and malevolent spirit
and often functions as an energizing power for the community Jaher, Era, Bongaan and Bonga
are supposed to reside in Jaher-than (also known as Manjhi Than) adivasi temple, the
worshipping place of the community. As most of adivasi villages in this locality have a Hindu
temple in front of their village’s entrance suppress adivasi temple with chanting of bhajan over
loudspeakers.
Both adivasi girls and boys when they unite for festival in the college campus they visit
nearby adivasi village and its temple as well. Students are in their traditional dress and with their
traditional musical instruments so to remember their culture as a community. They along with
villagers sing adivasi songs and dance along.
As Connerton says that the method of “organized forgetting” apart from displacement
includes Hinduization and corporatization of cultural values. After 1990s, when neoliberal
globalization has entered India in big ways, then this process of ‘organized forgetting’ on the
behalf of state has further accelerated. Against this political and cultural backdrop, Santhal
community is feeling threatened and culturally marginalized. These areas have flourished with
opening of schools like Gayatri Vidyapeeth, Saraswati Shishu Mandir, and many huge temples
of durga and shiva. Concentrated attempts of rightwing forces such as Rashtriya Swayam Sewak
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Sangh (RSS) to Hinduise adivasis communities through the various education and cultural outfits
have further put a new challenges for the community. With mobilization of adivasi identity
politics and adivasi consciousness, the sense of loss of culture and community are getting
aggravated. Here it is noteworthy that on the one hand the cultural process of Hinduisation is
taking an aggressive turn, on the other new indigenous politics is preparing new strategies and
politics to counter this kind of attempt. And for both Soharae becomes a site of struggle and
appropriation to establish cultural and political claims. In this research, my focus is primarily on
the Santhals’ celebration of Sohrae by the activists, students and the local village community.
This politically conscious celebration needs to be situated in the larger struggle of indigenous
communities in India which is asking for greater autonomy and rights on their land and region.
For instance, Ram Dayal Munda and other prominent adivasis leaders have taken concentrated
attempts to enter the spaces of these festivals to make political and cultural interventions and to
create self-consciousness among the community. Adivasis students of College have initiated the
celebration of their festival in the campus. They visit nearby adivasi villages invite villagers to
their campus and with them they celebrate their festivals. Students are taking an effort to spread
conscious in the community about their culture. Amit Prakash writes that this self-consciousness
is not inherent among members of ethnic groups. Intellectuals from with the ethnic groups, who
are deprived of desirable positions in society by the dominant ethnic groups, create it (Prakash
2001). The activists have understood the importance of this cultural festival, therefore, during the
festival they are not only performing for the emerging new educated middle class among them to
assert their identity but also performing for the larger community to assert their culture and
identity. This shows, what Diana Taylor argues, that performance can play an important role in
strengthening the network and communities that can bring about social change (Taylor,
Performance and/as History 2006).
The concerns mentioned above are nevertheless very important. However, one needs to
think about displacement in a much broader term aptly in contexts of cultural dispossession and
displacement of memory, imagination and the sense of community. It is apprehended that
scholars might have not given enough attention to the question of displacement of cultural
elements, but the community, which are being displaced, seems to understand the importance of
culture and performance in their struggle for survival. Indeed, performance has emerged as one
of the most basic strategy and survival tactics for these communities. In this backdrop, Nachi
209
sebecomes a performance strategy to survive, resist, and imagine a ‘performance of possibilities’

in the time of displacement. Remarkably, Sohrae along with other cultural festivals such as
Sarhul and Karma have emerged as the sites of cultural resistance against this displacement. This
research argues that for these marginalized communities ‘struggles over cultural meanings are
inseparable from struggles of survival’ (Rege Mar. 16-22, 2002). For this reason, Nachi se Bachi
bears the shades of what McKenzie (Mckenzie 2001) has indicated, ‘perform or else’ in his
acclaimed work. It is to be noted that Nachi se Bachi does not exist either in reality or in rhetoric,
it has been rather created as a part of strategy and as an evidence to resist this nature of
displacement and dispossession.63 I have argued that in recent years, cultural festivals and
cultural symbols have been recreated and re-strategized to assert certain kinds of political
cultural identity to resist the ongoing displacement. However, this is not the first time that Sohrae
has emerged as a performance of cultural resistance for the Santhals. Even during the historical
Hool movement (upsurge) of 1855 in which almost 30,000 adivasi was killed by the colonial
64
government, Sohrae emerged as the major site of political activities. It has become the site of
imagining the resistance and building the community against the Britishers, local Zamindars and
moneylenders. The memory of Sohrae celebrated during the Hool revolt in 1855 is still lived in
the community and embodied memories of that time. The memory of Soharae is invoked time to
time in the time of crisis. This primary question leads to the related questions of memory,
imagination, and performance. There is a strong connection between the performance of memory
and imagination and building of a “political community” in Sohare. In this regard, Paul
Connerton has argued that ‘images and recollected knowledge of the past are conveyed and
sustained by ritual performance’ (Connerton 1989).The performance of memory or performance
as the reservoirs of memory not only gives the sense of struggle toto a marginalized community
but also helps them to revitalize their identity. This research is not about the anthropological
meaning of Sohrae rituals or about its evolutionary formation, but rather engages the actual
meaning of the performance in a volatile political situation where Sohrae works as a
performative site. Broadly, It is into the ways marginalized communities perform and imagine
their struggles against dominant practices and ideologies. For instanceduring Sohrae, college
63
In an interview with Carol Babiraci, Ramdayal Munda, one of the leading scholar and activist
acknowledged that Nachi se Bachi as a saying was never there. The saying was used by an outsider, which later has
turned to be a performative rhetoric and slogan of the adivasi movement (Babiraci 2000/2001: 37).
64
The SanthalHool was a led by four brothers Sidho, Kanho, Chand and Bhairav of Bhogandih in Dumka
district of Santhal Parganas. This was happen in 1855 against British rule, landlords and moneylenders of this area.
210
students go to the village streets to perform. Through the cultural performance of Sohrae, the
questions of what society perform and why society performs.
Sohrae as Performative sites:

Sohare, Sarhul and Karma festivals of adivasi became the major cultural sites to mobilize
community. Sohrae helped community to build up the sense of community with a new energy
and vigor. In this way, Sohrae festival becomes, what Soyini Madison says that the cultural
performances are not only a reflection of what we are. They also shape and direct who we are
and what we can become (Madison 2005). Sohrae becomes an act of becoming by celebrating
Sohrae in a particular way. The question is here why a community on periphery has to perform in
the time of crisis at the time of their displacement from their own home and dispossession of
identity. Sohrae is not merely an annual festival or a ritual for the sake of ritual but it is alive and
creates a platform where community can share and recreate and reinterpret memory for the
community strength. During this festival, college students leaf rosary to their head, Tamad
(tradition drum) and whistle to call other students to place of worship. Adivasi community
usually calls any community gathering in this way. Villagers and community associate this
calling to the “hool” movement. This performance of calling community relates its present crisis
with historical event so that community could stand as united (Taylor, The Archieve and the
repretoire: Performing Cultural Memory in the Americas 2003).
Secondly, art and cultural festival are considered as leisure activities in the elite
discourses. There have been some works around the questions of how does a society remember
and how does a society perform, but there is no such work on why does a society or community
perform, especially those communities who are pushed to the survival level. Based on my
fieldwork and some existing writings, I could see five major reasons on why an adivasi
community performs. This includes the process of community building, reclaiming land and
forest, and resisting hegemony.
Performance in the time of Displacement:

The Sohrae of Santhal’ is the efforts to look into the displacement of adivasi in Godda
district of Jharkhand. Generally, the existing works have/had the tendency to see displacement in
context of land, economic and geographic displacement of indigenous community and indicative
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of the physical displacement. However, certain morals of community also cause the ‘youth’ not
to manage with those morals. Such displacements certainly have affected the culture of the
adivasi community. The intricacies of cultural displacement could not become the major part of
such displacement discourse. I looked the cultural displacement especially displacement of
cultural memories. In this way the celebration of festival by adivasi students of Godda College
becomes an important site to locate their community’s memories. The students are conscious
member of their community and they have come from different parts of the district. Celebrating
Sohrae they uphold their community hood. In the ‘performance in the time of displacement’ I
looked into the cultural practice done by adivasi students. The right wing forces and Hindu
practices have created an environment where adivasi community feel displaced. Hindus not only
captured their community spaces but also built towering Hindu temples in front of their village.
This method of “organized forgetting” apart from displacement includes Hinduisation and
corporatization of whole cultural values. Santhal adivasiare now facing great challenges and
hegemony from dominant communities like the Hindus. The Hinduisation process has becomes
more aggressive. However, the cultural performances like Sohrae remained performance of
recollecting and asserting those memories. The cultural symbols they used in the festival are
epitome of their associated memories. They have selectively used those symbols of the
community.
Developmental activities
The intricacies of cultural displacement could not become the major part of such
displacement discourse. I looked the cultural displacement especially displacement of cultural
memories. In this way the celebration of festival by adivasi students of Godda College becomes
an important site to locate their community’s memories. The students are conscious member of
their community and they have come from different parts of the district. Celebrating Sohrae they
uphold their community hood.
Today, Jharkhand is going through lots of turmoil. Adivasi populations are being
displaced and dispossessed. Forced migration has become a common practice. The predominant
factor for this is the loot of natural resources through mining projects, power projects and
crushing of mountains. Along with the corporate, the Jharkhand state government is also
involved in anti-people policies/activities. It is not only renewing old leases but also giving new
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lands to new lease (Sunder Pahari to Jindal). The government till recently has signed more than
hundred leases with private companies.
Jharkhand is witnessing a number of socio-cultural and political interventions these days.
Many rightwing organizations are working in Jharkhand from cities to remote areas to
implement their policies, program or ideology. In this respect RSS which is well known Hindu
right wing organization is working there in the name of development and serving ‘nation and
nation hood.’ These rightwing consider adivasis as Adi-Hindus. But this usurpation is creating
many religious and social tensions. Adivasis feel cheated by these Hindu fundamentalist. Hindu
right wing forces are trying hard to pull them in their fold to expand their ideologies. These
fundamentalist forces are also working in tandem with the state and helping it in its mainstream
‘development’ programs. So it is very much evident that the right wing Hindu forces are working
there as an agent of state. These exercises are making adivasis,economically, culturally and
ideology dependent thus slaves of the state. Sate is exercising its power to control people’s life
according to their need. So it can be safely argued that state which has responsibility to protects
culture, art, livelihood is for every segment of society is directly engaged in destroying people’s
livelihood and felicitating the loot of their resources. Plunder, uncertainty of life, state repression
is now the everyday experience. The entire fabric of traditional socio-economy is destroyed by
the state. So it need of the hour to problematize the role of state in ‘developmental activities’ of
the region.
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SIGNIFICANCE OF RURAL FEMALE FOLK DEITIES- RITUALS,

CULTURE, BELIEF SYSTEM AND CELEBRATIONS IN TAMIL NADU
Padmini Rangarajan
Abstract
India is a country of cultural inspiration and amusements. It is the land of folklores, folktales,
temples and tourism. Again it is the beautiful fabrication of inter-culture and intra-culture, belief
systems and people that paves ways towards research explorations and opportunities. Recent
visits to ‘Amman’, ‘Gramadevis and Gramadevata’ temples, in rural areas near Chennai pushed
me to study the significance of rural female folk deities and the rituals associated with it. The
following paper is an attempt made to study the predominance of female deities worshipping
especially by women folk with vigor as religious routine for daily life existence in rural Tamil
Nadu.
Introduction:
India well known as a country of villages with the majority of population living in
villages and semi-urban settings backed with strong rituals and cultural belief system. The belief
system vested in powerful divine presences of the Gramadevis/Gramadevatas, a deity who is
chiefly identified with the villages and the villagers. It is not uncommon, to witness several
village deities in a village, each of whom have been attributed with a specialized function.
The Gramadevis/Gramadevatas or village deity concept is prevalent all over India from
the time immemorial. State of Tamil Nadu has more temples for Gramadevis/Gramadevata than
any other states in India. So is with other temples and temple architectures.
Who is Gramadevi or Gramadevata?
Gramadevis/Gramadevatas the manifold manifestations of the supreme reality described

as 'Brahman' in Upanishads as described by H. Krishnasastri (1986). Gramadevata or Gramadevi
is a chosen deity for the entire village or the rural setting whose primary duty is to ‘safeguard’
the interests of the villagers. People often have a special affection and gratitude towards the
deity.
Thus every family in the village has a special kind of emotional attachment or bonding
towards deityand the temple. Many of these village deities are deprived of well-built temple a
structure which again has a story rolling connecting to folk mythology. These village deities are
not necessarily to be represented in anthropomorphic images-can be in the form of a stone, a tree,
a pillar, totem, and bunch of feathers, mound of earth (anthill), or with a proper form of human
or animal. It could be a sacred space with absence of shrine. It is during special festivals the
temporary structures arebuilt to house or represent the deity. These manifestations have been
nurturing the strong faith and belief system of the illiterate masses.
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Periodical mass congregation prayers and celebrations to these deities are for seeking to
control epidemics, for good health, for mansoon rain, good harvest and so on. The names of the
gramadevi or devatas advocate varied characteristics and functions of them. These deities have a
regional status too.
The names of a certain gramadevatas are popular throughout the region. The goddesses
‘Mariamman’, ‘Karumariamman’, ‘AngalaParameshwari’ ‘Pachaiamman’,
‘Muthumariamman’, ‘Pachaiamman’, ‘Muthumariamman’, ‘Ponniyayi or Ponnuthayi‘,
‘RenukaParameshwari’, ‘Bhagavathiamman’, ‘Kaliyamman’, ‘Karumariamman’, are quite
popular
rural Tamil Nadu.
Some deities enjoy the status of monopoly recognition in one region like
‘AngalaParameshwari’ of ‘Melmalayanur’ near Chennai, ‘SamayapuramMariamman’,
‘Banniamman near Satyamangalam’ and so on.
The most prominent characteristics of rural Tamil Nadu are the multifaceted Hindu
religious beliefs and ritual associated with the worship of the Goddess-‘AMMAN’. Amman is a
common name which suffixed with other names like ‘Mariamman’, ‘Karumariamman’,
‘Pachiamman’, ‘Muthamariamman’ and so on.
‘Amman’ in Tamil means ‘mother’. According to studies, a considerable number of

goddesses are known from various Hindu scriptures and the Vedic hymns. However in the
contemporary periodnumbers of goddesses are remarkable with popularity associating right from
birth to death. The beliefs' system, rituals and worshipping is backed up with a rich source of
mythology, tradition and diverse history of each goddess.
My little exposure to some parts of rural Tamil Nadu helped me to conduct a baseline
study not only the appearances of Goddess but also the significance of her being worshipped
with faith. I borrow the lines from David Kinsley (1998) conveys better that the rural female
deities are more exhaustive in numbers and nature than the restricted numbers visible in Vedic
literatures and schools of thoughts of the Hindu tradition:
The goddesses, who are usually associated with popular Hinduism, often illustrate important
ideas of the Hindu tradition, ideas that underlie the great Hindu philosophic visions. Several
goddesses, for example, are unambiguously identified with or called prakrti, a central notion in
most philosophic systems. Prakrti denotes physical (as opposed to spiritual) reality. It is nature
in all its complexity, orderliness, and intensity. The identification of a particular goddess with
prakrti is a commentary on her nature. At the same time, descriptions of her nature and behavior
are a commentary on the Hindu understanding of physical reality.
The beauty of many goddesses wide spread over geographical areas of subcontinent
establishes a relationship of sanctified universe and spiritual freedom. The core philosophic texts
and beliefs rests that ‘all gods / goddesses are one ultimate truth or universal power’ with
215
extended diversion appearance, nature and forms to be fitting to the geographical setting, people,
customs and rituals. The basic nature of these gods and goddesses are diversified. In most cases
it is either interchange of roles or intra changes of roles between gods and goddesses. For
instance, ‘Sita’ establishes the nature of devotion and divine relationship of human.
Whereas,some of the rural goddesses are as strong as masculine in nature, some are
potent maternal in nature and saver, powerful warriors and destroyer, some identified with male
deities, some goddesses are identified with wild and wildlife, multifaceted, some are
personification of art, literature and culture.
Despite the variation of these village deities with respect to names, number, and nature,
there are some similarities too. Firstly predominantly, most of rural deities are female deities/
goddesses. Speaking of South India, Henry Whitehead (1976) says that the village deities, with
few exceptions, are female all over Southern India... the village deities are almost exclusively
female. It is quite common to find, Male Deities like‘Karuppanna samy’ also known as ‘Karuppu
samy’ or ‘Karuppar’,‘Munieshwar samy’, ‘ Muniyandi’, ‘Munisami’ and ‘Muniappa’ and so on
are the twenty-one associate folk deities of ‘Ayyannnar’ and thu popularly known as ‘Kaval
daivam’- meaning ‘protecting gods’.
In the rural Tamil Nadu, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and even in Kerala states, one can
find these ‘Kaval daivam’ –male protecting deities or male attendants to the female deities and
the village as a whole. They are believed to guard the shrines and carry out the commands of the
goddesses. Huge –gigantic statues of these male deities with wide opened horrifying large eyes,
opened mouth with a long tongue protruding out, holding weapons like Aruval-the sword and
Sangili-the iron chain andseen along with white horse and ‘veetai nayi’-the hunting dog. The
male deities are also offered with a cigar and a bottle of alcohol.Even the worshiping pattern of
these temples are non Vedic and non- agamic (agamic of agama Shastra). Folk tales, folk songs,
‘Villupattu’, ‘Karagam’ and ‘Koothu’ are the main folk forms through which the worshiping.
Yet another significance feature to note here is that these deities of goddesses are
worshipped with full vigor and devotion than the main Vedic gods and goddesses with an
exception to ‘Pillayar’ or ‘ ‘Ganesha’ and ‘Murugan’ who are considered as the children of the
goddesses. Again ‘Murugan’ is believed to be in the snake form residing in the snake nesting
burrows or also commonly called anthills. It is not surprising to find heap of Mud Mountain like
snake nesting burros nearAmman Koil or Kovil or temples. Also one can find ‘Margosa’ trees-
Neem trees in the temple premises. It is the margosa leaves considered sacred and of medicinal
value for intake consumption and for external application with turmeric powder.
It is the month of Aadi Masam (Masam-month) is the fourth month in Tamil Calendar
which an auspicious month for the festivity celebrations called ‘Aadi Thiruvizha’ in all the
Amman kovil or koil or temples throughout Tamil Nadu. It is an auspicious month of celebration,
fulfillment of vows for Tamilians, unlike for Telugu and others who call it as Aashadam or
Aashada who consider this as inauspicious. However it is also considered as an inauspicious
month for humans’ personal celebrationsor engagements like weddings and house warming as
such.
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Edible and other Offerings to Amman
The offerings to Amman are mostly non-Brahminical in nature. Nevertheless, offerings of

camphor burning, flowers and coconut breaking are commonly seen in Amman kovil. The
offerings offered in the form of materials and food to folk and Vedic deities differs significantly.
The Vedic deities are offered with expensive materials of expensive metals like gold, silver,
sandalwood, silk, precious stones and so on whereas, inexpensive materials are offered to the
folk deities. However, today one canfind even expensive articles like sword, crown, body and so
on are done in silver and gold studded with precious gems even for the folk deities. These are
used during annual festival celebrations or Aadi and Tai masam or months or during Navaratri
celebrations.
Koozhu Ootharadu and Sweet Pongal Padayal
Koozh or Koozhu is the porridge cooked of country millets in earthen pots in and temple
premises which is offered with delight in almost all the Amman Kovil. Women and children
carry an earthen pot on their heads decorated with margosa (neem) leaves known as the
Amman’s favorite leaves. Some even carry pot of charcoal fire burning on their heads. The
typical koozhu is mixed with buttermilk, salt and raw onion and is partaken as health drink. Apart
from offering koozhu, even ‘Sweet Pongal’- pudding kind prepared by cooking rice, green gram,
jaggery and milk in earthen pots.
Other edible materials forms of offerings offered to Amman deities are as part of type of
worship and fulfillment of vow. Folk deities are commonly worshipped with animal sacrifices.
Buffaloes, sheep, goats, pigs and fowls are offered to Amman. Black fowl offering is considered
very special and as sign of good reward. These animal sacrifices are signifies the defeat of evil or
demon/s. The blood of the sheep or goat offered to Amman is to appease her. The offerings of
animals like goats or chickens,which are sacrificed in the name of Amman (killed) in the vicinity
of the shrines and then consumed in communal meals by families and friends.
During the annual festivals and Aadi Thouvizha large numbers of animals referred above
are sacrificed. Pallu refers fish, dry fish, goat, sheep and egg as common non-Brahminical
offerings along with sugarcane, banana and coconuts considered as Brahminical offerings.
There is a belief that not a single drop of blood should be shed on the floor when the
animals are beheaded so the possessor sucks all the blood of the sheep/ goats and then in an
anger mood utters the future predictions with regard to the village, rainfall and prosperity in
general and also to individuals who approach them with regard to future welfare or present
sufferings. Nevertheless this practice is slowly changing in some of the Amman kovil due to the
influence of the Vedic and Brahminicalcustoms and ritual practices.
In addition to this, the devotees have to undertake torments like ‘fire walking known as
‘Pookkulithal’ or ‘Poomedikkaradu’. ‘Pookkulithal’ means walking on bed of flowers. However
here burning charcoal and firewood chunks are symbolized for flowers. Some even go to the
extent of carrying fire pots on heads and palms as part of the ceremonious ritual too.
217
Next is piercing a metal rod called ‘Alagu Kuthikaradu’ or ‘Vel’ at the middle of one's
tongue, passing from one cheek to another through mouth or through lower jaw in order to fulfill
their vows. Some even hook swinging on the back of their body. Offering heaps of cooked rice
or by carrying Karagam. ‘Mavu Vilakku’- lighting of rice flour lamp on once abdomen is yet
another popular ordeal practiced even today. Each and every deity gets either vegetarian or non-
vegetarian offerings accordingto the established traditions in the culinary tastes of the village.
In order to carry out the ordeal successfully the individual who intends to perform needs
to observe a strict ordeal ritual observation this commences by wearing a ‘Malai pottukarddu’-
wearing of scared garland and need to follow with adherence for twenty-one days during Aadi
Masam. For this period, the devotee eats just a single meal a day or consumes koozhu, sleeps on
the ground and avoids sexual pleasure. Some put themselves through a special tribulation of
having one of the sacred weapons,dagger, trident, or a spear, inserted through their cheeks or
tongues.
Form of the Female Deity
The female deity is usually seen with four arms, three eyes, red or yellow complexion,
holding a skull mace known as ‘Kattuvanga’ or holding a pot or a cup with blood, prominent
teeth like fangs, a long garland of skulls around her neck-‘rundamala’ or ‘mundamala’, a snake
or hood of five snakes behind the main deity, a toddy cup, a demon lying underneath one of her
legs, mostly in a sitting positing and sometime also seen in standing position.
The goddesses ‘Mariyamman or Mariamma’ or even ‘Mariyathal’ in Tamil Nadu and

‘Manasa’ in North India and ‘Shithala’ in West Bengal and North-Eastern India are the most
common deities of regional popularity associated with small pox, chicken pox, measles, and
rashes. The word ‘Amman’ means mother and ‘Mari’ means ‘rain and small pox’. Common mass
worship her in order to beget good rain fall which is directly related to the fertility and
agricultural crop growth and harvestand so on. Also, to protect from epidemics related diseases.
This is due to the direct association with the deity without discrimination and for the well being
of the whole village.
In most of the temples the priest is from lower caste community known as ‘Pallis’. In the
‘Karumariamman’ main temple in ‘Thiruveerkadu’ near Chennai, and in ‘Mariyamman’ in
‘Samayapuram’ near Trichirapally, the priests are from Brahmin community whereas, in rest of
the Mariamman temples across Tamil Nadu one can still find priests from lower untouchable
community and caste.
Another significant feature of these temples is annual festival congregation which lasts
from three days to nine days celebration. During this period the main priest or the member of the
priesthood family from the lower caste is dressed like a ‘Bridegroom’ and stays in the temple for
till the commemoration of the festival and ties the sacred thread called ‘Tali’ a symbol of
marriage of the female deity.
218
The traditional folk story narration of ‘Mariamma’ and ‘Yellamma’ or ‘Renukamma’ is

quite similar and one and the same. Mariamma is who is said to have a Brahmin head and an
untouchable’s body. In most of the Mariamma temples only the head portion is installed in the
temple sanctum sanctorum.
Thus to conclude, Amman or Mariamman is the ancient Dravidian female deity who is
the chief village deity of prominent importance and popular among common masses.
Nevertheless the Brahmanization of Amman is also visible in major temple cities where the chief
Vedic deity is either Shiva or Vishnu. Further, it empowers every rural woman to participate in
temple activities and carry out the traditional rituals, customs and belief system by upholding
their rights. The quotes found in one of thestudies rightly points out that “Women perceived in
traditional religion and enhancing the status of women within that religion”.
219
References
Hawley, J.S., & Wulff, D.M.(1988). Devi: Goddesses of India. Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass
Publishers.
Dube, S.C.(1967). Indian Village. New York: Harper & Row.
Whitehead, H. (1976). The Village gods of South India. Delhi: Sumit Publication.
Krishnasastri, H. (1986). South Indian Gods and Goddesses. New Delhi: Asian Educational
Service.
Hanumanthan, K. (1980). THE MARIAMMAN CULT OF TAMIL NADU—A CASE STUDY

IN CULTURAL SYNTHESIS. Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, 41, 97-103.
Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/44141830
Yesudhasan, V. & Jeyadhas, I. R (2002). History of Tamil Society and Culture Since 1336.
Marthandam: M.C. Roy Publications.
Maclean.C.D (1987). Maclean’s Manual of the Administration of the Madras Presidency. New
Dellhi: Vol. I. Pp.20.
Younger, P. (1980). A Temple Festival of Mariyamman. Journal of the American Academy of

Religion, XLVIII (4), 493-517. DOI:10.1093/JARREL/xlviii4.493
Whitehead, H (1921). The Village gods of South India. London:H.Milford.
The Village Gods of South India (London, 1921) by H. Whitehead
Sri Putru Mariamman, B.Mutlur (http://sites.google.com /site/putrumariamman)
http://sites.google.com /wikipedia.com/Amman
Balusubramani (2018, April-June).Amman temples, rituals, culture, belief system and

celebrations.(Personal Interview).Mr. Balusubramai and his family members are regular visitors
to Angala Parameshwari, Maariamman and other Amman Temples. Mr. Balusubramani has
visited almost all the temples irrespective of Vaishnava sect, Shaiva sect, Madhwa peetam and
Shakto peetam. Of all according to him visit and partcipation to Amman temples during Aadi
masam is of prominent importance. His family also makes offerings to the Goddesses and also
undertake ordeal of piercing metal rod "Alagu Kutikaradu" and "Pookkulithal".
220
LANGUAGE IN PEDAGOICAL PRACTICE
221
PRONOUNS OF POWER AND SOLIDARITY IN NEPALI: A

SOCIOLINGUISTIC STUDY
Dr. Neelam Singh
Dr. Hemanga Dutta
Abstract
This paper attempts to analyze the pronominal systems in Nepali along the dimensions of power and
solidarity. Pronominal systems and the honorific values associated therein always play a crucial role in
understanding the linguistic and cultural nuances of a speech community in a systematic manner. The data
were collected from forty native speakers of Nepali and the methodology used in this paper were not only
confined to questionnaire approach but also Normative Behaviour task, Cloze test, Translation task and
Text Improvement Task etc to determine the usage of Nepali pronominals. All the tasks had one thing in
common: elicitation of patterns of the second person pronoun “timi” in Nepali in different social contexts.
The findings suggest that age is given priority over intimacy in choosing the honorific pronominal terms.
However, the most honorific pronominal “tapain” is exclusively used while addressing the younger
males, not the younger females which show explicitly gender bias in Nepali speech community. It is
interesting to note the patterns of pronominal change in terms of non- intimate asymmetrical relationship
governed by Text Improvement Task designed to see the change in patterns of pronominal usage during
the past thirty years. The three tasks based on the play ‘paytalaamuni’ showed that most of the informants
avoided the usage of impolite form –ta in situations where the author considered its use as appropriate.
Besides, they also avoid using the most honorific form “tapain” in several situations. Interestingly, we
thus find a shift towards the use of “timi.”
Key words: pronominal system, Nomative task, Text improvement task, Translation task
Introduction
The choice of pronominal forms in the Nepali speech community is undoubtedly an interesting theme to
explore the elements of power and solidarity of the social group. Pronominal system bears the traces of
cultural and linguistic repertoire of a particular speech community.
222
This paper is divided into five sections. Section one discusses about Nepali language and its linguistic
features in general. In section two, we focus on the pronominal system and its correlation with the notion
of power and solidarity. Section three attempts to apply the concepts of power and solidarity reflected in
social relationship of a speech community with reference to Nepali language in particular. It also
elaborates upon the methodology carried forth in this paper. Section four is dedicated to the observations
and analysis of the data elicited in the target language which is followed by a summary of the findings
and limitations of the research in the final section.
Nepali language and its linguistic features
Nepali is a modern Indo Aryan language and is listed in the (VIII) schedule of India. It is the chief
language of Nepal and is also spread countrywide. It is widely spoken in Sikkim, the northern districts of
West Bengal, in many pockets of North- eastern states like Manipur, Assam etc and in Northern India in
Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Uttarakhand etc (Clark 1963). In assessing the relation of Nepali to other languages
of the Indian subcontinent, its full development of status / honorific registers both in pronouns and
verbs, that range from intimate / abusive usage to forms of address for royalty, cuts above the rest, across
all languages of the Indo Aryan language family.
In Nepali, certain usages of pronouns show that pronouns are important vehicle of politeness. It may be
noticed that politeness consists not in using an honorific pronoun as generally assumed but in choosing
the appropriate pronoun (whether honorific or not) according to the relationship between the participants
both in terms of status and intimacy, the setting, speakers intuitions etc (Mishra 1977). As the language
passed through different changes in its history, it was bound to come under the influence of many Indo-
Aryan languages to the South and especially of the speeches of the Tibeto-Burman family which it was
rapidly replacing. (Agnihotri et. al 1988)
Due to contact with other languages, however some features in terms of vocabulary, have evolved both
from Indo Aryan languages like Sanskrit and Hindi and words from Tibeto – Burman origin.
Overall in assessing the relation of Nepali to other languages, some chief peculiarities involves the total
loss of gender and plural marking with reference to nominal forms, its frequent use of in-fixation to form
the negative, the full development of status both in pronouns and verbs that range from intimate / abusive
usage to forms of address for royalty and the variety and complexity of onomatopoeic expressions
(Brown and Gilman 1960).
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Pronouns of Power and Solidarity
Power and Solidarity and the related concepts were introduced into sociolinguistics by the social
psychologist Roger Brown (1960). Power is an unequal relationship between two people and it is non -
reciprocal, which means that only one of the two or more people in the conversation has the power over
another. The criteria of power in any society exhibits age, sex, wealth, status, occupation, etc. Solidarity
on the other hand, concerns the social distance between people and is symmetrical and denotes a mutually
equal status between any two people, which means that it is a reciprocal relationship characterized by
intimacy, region of origin, sex, race, occupation and interests etc. (Subbarao et.al, 1991). Thus, power has
to do with controlling others, superiority, and social status, and solidarity dealing with our desire to be
friendly and create a rapport. It concerns the social distance between people – how much experience they
have shared, how many social characteristics they share (religion, sex, age, region of origin, race,
occupation, interests, etc.), how far they are prepared to share intimacies, and other factors (Brown and
Gilman 1960). Power - Solidarity relations between speaker and addressee may be considered as a special
case of a general phenomenon, concerning the speaker’s relations of power and solidarity with the world
at large. It seems that language often encourages, or even forces, us to define our relations with what we
talk about. For instance, Grice (1975) examines the various maxims of communication such as the co-
operative principle, maxim of quality and quantity, maxim of relevance and maxim of manner in order to
maintain an effective communication. Besides, there are two important criteria that determine the nature
of communication, Context and People involved, followed by sub –criteria such as sex, age and status.
Each society sets some rules which are / to be ruled followed by everybody and the whole
communication occurs keeping in mind each other’s FACE. Every time two people talk there is a constant
risk of FACE- LOSS. Goffman (1967) notion refers to an individual’s self esteem / image in a society.
And there is a need to keep the other person’s face in order to maintain yours. There are two Faces of an
individual: Positive Face: want of an individual for his / her wants to be recognized, acknowledged. i.e.
never ignore an individual’s needs and wants. On the other hand, Negative Face wants of an individual to
be free i.e. having freedom of action, thought, space and time. That nobody should impede his/ her action
is the prime concern of everyone. If we look at various Speech- acts; they normally are made keeping in
mind the ‘Face’ concept, i.e. they invariably address Positive Face or Negative Face. Further, they could
be Face – keeping or Face- Threatening Acts ( FTAs) depending on the context.
Fraser (1990) defines politeness as a ‘property associated with an utterance in which, according to the
hearer, the speaker has neither exceeded any right nor failed to fulfill any obligation. He stresses that it is
a property of an act and not the the act itself. Whatever the intention of the speaker may have been, it is
the hearer who assigns politeness to any utterance, within the situation in which it was heard. This simply
224
means that politeness is a property of utterances and not of sentences, so that assigning politeness to any
particular structure cannot be done out of context.
In a plural society such as India, the analysis of politeness patterns in Indo Aryan and Dravidian
languages shows that genetically unrelated and geographically separated languages may share certain
politeness strategies having parallel linguistic correlates and that common socio- psychological pressures
may lead to parallel linguistic developments. (Subbarao et. al, 1991).
Over the ages, linguists have concentrated heavily on the formal aspects of pronoun use usually on the
formal aspects of pronoun regarding semantic and functional issues as either of marginal relevance or
simply as straightforward extension of formal analysis. The fact that pronouns are indexical has not been
taken sufficiently seriously and this partly accounts for the lack of attention to the use of pronouns in
social discourses’ (Peter Muhlhausler and Rom Harre, 1990). Class divisions are essentially based on
status of power and solidarity in a society. Status refers to whether people are respected and deferred to
by others in their society or conversely, looked down on or ignored and power refers to the social and
material resources a person can command, the ability and social right to make decision and influence
events.
Power– Solidarity relations between speaker and addressee may be considered as a

special case of a general phenomenon, concerning the speaker’s relations of power and
solidarity with the world at large. It seems that language often encourages, or even forces,
us to define our relations with what we talk about.
Many linguists have tried to give the explanations of the usage of pronouns as a device to
manifest the power and solidarity. The studies by Brown and Gilman 1960) show that
there have been considerable changes through time in the norms for using the French
pronouns, which derived from Latin pronouns where the distinction was one of number
only (tu ‘you, singular’, vos ‘you, plural’). For a number of complex historical reasons
vos and its historical derivatives came to be used to refer to someone with greater power
(especially the emperor), without regard to solidarity, but later solidarity became
increasingly important until nowadays it overrides power in determining which form to
use. For instance it was normal until quite recently for French children to call their fathers
vous, in recognition of his greater power but now it is usual for them to call him tu
because of high solidarity. Similar changes have taken place in many Western European
languages such as German and Italian (Brown & Gilman 1960), and also in Russian
(Friedrich 1972). It has been noticed that the use of two different forms for the second-
person singular pronoun, reflecting power and/or solidarity, is an ‘areal feature’ of
Europe and it is also found in non-Indo-European languages such as Hungarian (Hollos
1977). It has also been traced in Persian (Jahangiri 1980). It is not hard to relate changes
in relative importance of power and solidarity in choosing pronouns to concurrent
changes in social structure, and such connections are in fact made by the linguists
mentioned above. A survey of the use of tu and Lei by members of both middle and lower
classes in Rome (Bates & Benigni 1975) showed that, those who used Lei most often
225
were lower class male youths, who might have been expected to be in the lead in
extending the use of the ‘democratic’ form tu. In interpreting these finding, they suggest
that middle-class youths are moving nearer to what they think is the more democratic
usage of the lower class, while lower-class youths are moving towards what they consider
a prestigious middle-class usage. If the process continues, we might expect middle and
lower classes simply to exchange norms, to the bewilderment of many Roman!
Pronouns in Nepali: A linguistic tool to understand power and solidarity
Linguistic signaling of power and solidarity is a very interesting area of study in the Nepali context. It
involves the study of the social profile by focusing on the linguistic features such as the ones we have
discussed earlier namely the multiple tasks involved in order to find out which pronominal forms
(“tapain” (HON), “timi” (you) and “ta” (least formal) are employed by the Nepali speech community.
The pronouns of power and solidarity have been neglected area particularly in the Asian context. The
present work is intended to look at various usages of pronouns in Nepali.
In Nepali, certain strategic usages of pronouns show that pronouns are important vehicle of politeness.
The exact balance between power and solidarity in resolving intermediate categories is “timi” in Nepali
speech community. This category has emerged in the urban area recently as lower pronoun “ta” in the
urban usage is now being associated with it. Thus, the three tier address system “ta”, “timi” and “tapain”
is again being reduced to two tier systems “timi” and “tapain”.
The usage of these pronouns is governed by the social relationship existing between the
two interlocutors. For example, it would be interesting to look at the exchange of
pronouns of address between master and servant, an officer and his subordinate, a
husband and wife, between friends, brothers and sisters. While the first three examples
manifest power semantics, the last three reveal instances of solidarity semantics.
Master- Servant:
The master addresses the servant as timi ‘you 2’ while he is ordering his servant to do something:
Master: timi ka gakotheo?
You 2 where go+past
Where did you go?
Servant: ma tapai ko kapda linu gakothe
I You 3 clothes to get go+ pst
I went to get clothes for you
But when the Master shows his irritation to the servant, he uses ta ‘you 1’ as in:
ta lai kati khep samjhaunu
‘you1’ how many times remind
How many times should I remind you?
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Officer - Subordinate:
The subordinate official always uses tapai ‘you 3’ in all situations. Even if his
superior official is talking to him informally and about something personal and is using
the solidary timi ‘you 2’, he (the subordinate official uses only ‘you 3’):
Officer: timro chuTi kaile bata cha
‘you 2’ holiday when from is
When does your leave commence?
Subordinate: tapaiko aashirbaad le sanchai chhu
‘You 3’ blessings INST fine is
With your blessings, I am doing fine.
Husband - wife:
The husband usually addresses his wife by the pronoun timi ‘you 2’, while the wife uses the
pronoun tapai ‘you 3’ in all the situations:
Husband: timi kaile bazaar jane?

You 2 when market go
When will you go to the market?
Wife: tapai ko kapda dhuira
You 3 GEN clothes wash+ Fut
After washing your clothes.
Between friends:
The use of pronouns is reciprocal as given below:
Friend 1: timi mero ghara kaile auchau

You 2 my GEN house when come Fut
‘When will you come to my house?’
Friend 2: timi paila aao, pheri ma auchu
You 2 first come, then I come Fut.
‘You come first then I will’.
Brother- Brother:
If the difference between the ages of two brothers is not much then they address each other by
name and use the pronoun timi ‘you 2’ reciprocally:
Brother 1: Dada timile mero kitaab lai deu?

Brother you 2 my book acc bring
Brother did you bring my book?’
Brother 1: timile bhaneko thenau
You 2 ask Pst ERG be NEG
You never asked me.
Sister – Sister:
Sisters address each other in a reciprocal form with ta – you 1, which is the most
intimate and casual term of address
227
Sister 1: baini ta kaile janchas

sister you 1 when go-pres.
Sister, when will you go?
Sister 2: jaba ta kaam khatam garchas
When you 1 complete work-Fut
‘When you complete your work’.
It may be noticed that politeness consists not in using an honorific pronoun as generally assumed but in
choosing the appropriate pronoun ( whether honorific or not) according to the relationship between the
participants both in terms of status and intimacy, the setting, speakers intuition etc. (Goel 1982).
Nepali has first, second and third person pronouns both singular and plural. Second person pronouns are
graded according to status and respect. The use of ordinary or lowest grade pronouns often indicate
familial intimacy, inequality or even abuse. The other pronoun shows varying degrees of respect, from
use among equals to a full set of expressions for royalty.
Among the second person pronouns, “ta” is the most intimate as well the most abusive “timi” is used
between family members who are equals or inferiors in relationship or age. For the second person, the
pronoun “tapain” is commonly used as a sign of respect or remoteness among perceived equals or to a
superior.For example, the relationship between a husband and a wife, a teacher and a student etc can
better reflect such patterns. In Nepali speech community where “ta” can be used reciprocally as a sign of
intimacy and high informality,i.e. where age is the crucial factor and no sense of inferiority is involved,
“ta” is the normal usage and the use of plural pronoun “timi haru” could not convey any respect. On the
other hand in situations where “ta” can be used and it signals a sense of inferiority as in between a master
and a servant “ timi” will be considered polite and “tapain” can also be used depending on the age of the
addressee as a form of politeness.
Observations and Data Analysis
The proposed work covered the usage of Pronouns in Nepali in terms of Power and Solidarity and the
sample and instrument designed to elicit social- psychological and linguistic data and the work restricted
itself to the synchronic study.
Sample: The informants for the present study were forty native speakers. The sample is broken down on
the basis of mother tongue, age and sex. (N= 40). We collected the sociolinguistic data in the form of
questionnaires as included in the Appendices II (A,B,C,D). The purpose behind this was to elicit patterns
of pronominal usage in asymmetrical relationships in four major linguistic tasks: Normative Behaviour
228
task(extremely formal), to least formal such as Cloze test, Translation and Text Improvement Task). All
the tasks had one thing in common: elicitation of patterns of the second person pronoun – timi in Nepali
in different social contexts. The variables were: age, gender, relationship, place of interaction and the
variants were old and young, male and female, intimate and non intimate and Home and outside
respectively . (Appendix 2)
In the Normative Behaviour Task , the informants were asked to tick one of the alternatives from the three
second person pronouns used in Nepali, ( ta, timi, tapain) taking into considerations the above given
relationships and place of interaction, (home / outside).
In order to show the asymmetric but intimate relationship, e.g., the special case of mother and son
interaction, a sample of the same play were given by modifying the original and deleting some pronouns
and some words here and there.
In the final task, i.e., Translation, was designed to examine asymmetric intimate relationships. Here, the
informants were asked to translate English text to Nepali. It consisted of a conversation between two
friends of unequal rank so that the occurrence of ‘you’ would be translated to Nepali either by one of
these pronominal forms ( ta/ timi/ tapain), respectively.
All these tests hold one objective in common: elicitation of patterns of the use of Second Person Pronouns
in different contexts. Our focus here is to observe which pronominal form (- ta, -timi, -tapain) would be
extensively used by the informants. A story like passage were given to them and similar other tasks taken
from Kadka Raj Giri’s play ‘ Paytalamuni’ where the informants were asked to select any one of the
alternatives based on the three pronominal forms stated.
Major Findings and Limitations
Based on an extract of khadka’s Paytalaamuni (1976) where the author extensively uses the least
honorific form –ta throughout the play, the four linguistic tasks such as Normative Behaviour Task,
Translation, Cloze Test and Text Improvement Task were contextualized. In all the three tests, excluding
the Normative Behavioral Task analysis we excluded Normative Behavior Task since the reciprocal usage
of the different pronominal forms could not be ascertained and analyzed in this task. Therefore, for a
specific case of non-intimate asymmetrical relationship, the Text improvement task was designed and for
intimate asymmetrical relationship, modified Cloze test and Translation were taken into account. The
informants were asked to retrieve the pronouns they found to be most appropriate. We found that ‘age’
supersedes the intimacy factor no matter whatever level of intimacy one holds, for we would generally
address an old person by the most polite form “tapain”. Though some people might address an elderly
229
male by slightly lesser polite form “timi” but they never use the least honorific form “ta” in any case. For
instance, an intimately known female for example, a mother or an aunt are addressed by “tapain” and
mostly by “timi” largely out of affection but never with the least honorific “ta”. The pronominal form “ta”
is never used to address a mother or an aunt under any circumstances in Nepali speech community.
However, when we observe the address terms of intimacy used for young males and females, we noticed
that ‘sex’ of the addressee became an important variable. The most honorific term “tapain” is never used
for younger females as it is exclusively reserved for the male counterparts. It shows explicitly the genders
bias prevalent in the speech community of Nepali. It is interesting to note the specific patterns of
pronominal change in terms of non- intimate asymmetrical relationship governed by Text Improvement
Task designed to see the change in patterns of pronominal usage during the past thirty years. For instance,
we found high usage of “timi” used by the informants where the author has used “ta” in order to strike a
balance between the supreme power the doctor holds and the servant. Not a single token of “ta” token was
used by our informants throughout this task. With regard to the intimate asymmetric relationships carried
out in Cloze Test and Translation, in the former case, the informants showed their preferences for the
more polite forms between the mother and son. However in the latter task, i.e. Translation, it was
observed that in intimate- asymmetrical relationships, the informants preferred to use more polite form
“timi” for addressing two friends despite of unequal status. It clearly shows that a significant change has
taken place in the use of the pronominal forms from then to now. The three tasks based on the play
‘paytalaamuni’ showed that most of the informants avoided the usage of impolite form –ta in situations
where the author considered its use as appropriate. Besides, they also avoid using the most honorific form
“tapain” in several situations. Interestingly, we thus find a convergence towards the use of “timi” is
clearly noticeable. Our conclusions are tentative as it is not based on natural speech and all the three
situations were fully contextualized. Thus, a movement towards equalitarianism and reciprocal
pronominal usage should be addressed in order to explore the validity of these findings in natural speech.
230
APPENDIX -I
QUESTIONNARES
A. NORMATIVE BEHAVIUOR TASK

Tapaiko gharma daaju ko bia cha ani dherai manche aako chan..aphno ra taarai ko. Unaru sita kasseri
bhet garnu huncha…ta / timi/ tapai ko bisai ma.
1. Euti tapai ko najeeko saathi sanga …………………………ta/ timi/ tapain

2. Euta tapaiko purush saathi sanga…………………………..ta/ timi/ tapain
3. Euta tapaiko najeeko saathi………………………………..ta/timi/tapain
4. Tapaiko saathi ko bhai……………………………………ta/timi/tapain
5. Tapaiko bahine ko saathi………………………………..ta/timi/tapain
6. Euta chorri……………………………………………….ta/timi/tapain
7. Euta chorro………………………………………………..ta/timi/tapain
8. Euta bideshi chori………………………………………….. ta/timi/tapain
9. Euta bideshi chorro……………………………………….. ta/timi/tapain
10. Tapaiko ghar ko nokar…………………………………… ta/timi/tapain
2. MODIFIED CLOZE TEST
Tala ko kahaani padera kunai pani ta, timi ra tapai ko prayog garnuhola
Tulki ko choro ahyepugio ani ule bhanin …………..mero pyaaro kancho lai mero samjhana awethiyo
ki…………..thyio. Chorro le bhanyo malai ta gharighari ………….samjhanna aye rakhthyo.Tulki
bhanin……ke kaam ma byasta huntheo.Mora …… ke asadhi bhayo ke ……mero kaile yaad ayena.Mora
………..jasto chorra paonu bhanda ta bori chorri nai thikai thiyo. ………………kaile pani sacho baat
gardenas……khali ………………..khushi ma jewcha
231
3. TEXT IMPROVEMENT TASK
Yo kahaani padhda –ta,-timi ra –tapain ko prayog garnu hola jata pani aesko praayog huncha. Kahaaani
esto cha ki euta doctorle aphno patient lai sochchan ki tapaiko biye na bhako bha ke garnu hunthyo.
Patient le bhancha ki mo ajai padhthe. Pheri doctor le bhancha ki tapai ta dherei padhai garne naani thena
syano ma. Doctor le sochcha pheri ki tapaiko baaba ko gaadi cha ra. Paitent le bhancha ki talai ke ko
matlap mo hindai jam ki na jam talai ke ko matlab.
4. Translation
Tulki and Meera are best friends. Tulki belongs to a rich family and Meena is a daughter of a farmer, Few
months ago, Meena had borrowed a notebook from Tulki. Now she wants it back They are having a
conversation as given below:
Tulki: How are you? Did you get my notebook today?
Meena: Oh, I have forgotten completely about it.
Tulki: That means I have to copy notes in a paper again. Tell me, why are you so careless?
Meena: I will get your book tomorrow.
Tulki: When will your tomorrow come? You often fool me like this.
Meena: Please, I will get your book tomorrow.
Tulki: You’ve been saying this since ages, you are so careless. You often fool around like this. Enough of
your tricks!
Meena: Please don’t be so rude. I promise, I will get your book by tomorrow.
Tulki: Listen, you should never make a promise unless you are sure of yourself. I will accept your request
provided you would bring tomorrow else I will never forgive you.
232
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Peter Muhlhausler, Rom Harre (1990). Pronouns and People: The Linguistic Construction of Social and
Personal Identity. Applied Language Studies.Blackwell Publising House.
Misra, K. S. (1977).Terms of Address and Second Person Pronomianl Usagein Hindi. New Delhi: Bahri
Publications Private Limited.
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IMPACT OF TEACHER’S ACADEMIC EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING

ON CLASSROOM DYNAMICS: AN EXPLORATION
Nittala Noel Anurag Prashanth
Abstract
Classroom dynamics refers to the wide variety of skills and techniques that teachers use to keep
learners organized, orderly, focused, attentive, on task, and academically productive during a
class. When classroom-management strategies are executed effectively, teachers minimize the
behaviours that impede learning for both individual learners and groups of learners, while
maximizing the behaviours that facilitate or enhance learning. In general effective teachers tend
to display strong classroom-management skills, while the inexperienced or less effective teacher
has a disorderly classroom with learners who are not working properly or not paying attention.
Introduction
Although the importance of classroom management is widely recognized, its definition is

elusive. Given below are some of the definitions of classroom management by eminent scholars
in the field.
Walter Doyle (1986) defines classroom management as “covering a wide range of teacher
duties from distributing resources to students, accounting for student attendance and school
property, enforcing compliance with rules and procedures to grouping students for
instruction…”(p.394)
Daniel Duke (1979) defines classroom management as “the provisions and procedures
necessary to establish and maintain an environment in which instruction and learning can occur”
(p.xii)
Jere Brophy (1996) defines classroom management as “……actions to create and

maintain a learning environment conducive to successful instruction (arranging the physical
environment of the classroom, establishing rules and procedures, maintaining attention to lessons
and engagement in academic activities” (p.5)
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While a limited or more traditional interpretation of effective classroom management

may focus largely on “compliance” rules and strategies that teachers may use to make sure
learners are sitting in their seats, following directions, listening attentively, etc. a more
encompassing or updated view of classroom management extends to everything that teachers
may do to facilitate or improve learning, which would include factors such as behaviour (a
positive attitude, happy facial expressions, encouraging statements, the respectful and fair
treatment of learners, etc.), environment(for example, a welcoming, well-lit classroom filled with
intellectually stimulating learning materials that’s organized to support specific learning
activities), expectations(the quality of work that teachers expect learners to produce, the ways
that teachers expect learners to behave toward other learners, the agreements that teachers make
with learners), materials(the types of texts, equipment, and other learning resources that teachers
use), or activities (the kinds of learning experiences that teachers design to engage learner
interests, passions, and intellectual curiosity). Given that poorly designed lessons, uninteresting
learning materials, or unclear expectations, for example, could contribute to greater learner
disinterest, increased behavioural problems, or unruly and disorganized classes, classroom
management cannot be easily separated from all the other decisions that teachers make. In this
more encompassing view of classroom management, good teaching and good classroom
management become, to some degree, indistinguishable.
Teachers play various roles in a typical classroom, but surely one of the most important is
that of classroom manager. Effective teaching and learning cannot take place in a poorly
managed classroom. If learners are disorderly and disrespectful, and no apparent rules and
procedures guide behaviour, chaos arises in the classroom. In these situations, both teachers and
learners suffer. Teachers struggle to teach, and learners most likely learn much less than they
should. In contrast, well-managed classrooms provide an environment in which teaching and
learning can flourish. But a well-managed classroom doesn't just appear out of nowhere, it takes
a good effort to be created and the person who is most responsible for creating it is the teacher.
Background to the Problem
Classroom management (CM) involves organizing learning space to create a stimulating

learning environment. It is affected by the classroom teacher and depends on teacher
characteristics such as the teacher academic and professional qualifications, teacher experience,
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age and gender. The components of CM include planning for the lesson, class control, seating
arrangement, management of time, management of learning resources and management of
learner’s records. Dorit Sasson (2007) points out that good teaching is a mix of CM strategies
and interesting teaching approaches that motivate pupils which enhance the achievement of
teaching objectives in a pre-school class. Using a variety of CM strategies such as maintaining
learners’ discipline, a teacher can improve quality of a lesson (Sasson, 2009). To achieve class
control the teacher has to maintain learners’ discipline by setting class rules.
A skilled pre-school teacher (PST) who prepares well for lessons ends up with an
effective class and positive results. Good seating arrangement for pupils in a preschool ensures
that the classroom is an environment of fun instead of chaos. Effective PSTs organize learning
materials well ahead of time and keep them within reach to the learners as well as to themselves.
For the PST to fully understand pupils well, it is necessary for proper classroom records to be
maintained. Time management in a classroom ensures that maximum time is spent on
instruction.
Literature Review
It is probably no exaggeration to say that classroom management has been the primary
concern of teachers ever since there were teachers in classrooms. However, the systematic study
of effective classroom management is a relatively recent phenomenon. Some of the relevant
studies on classroom management that have been conducted in the recent past are:-
Arguably, the first high-profile, large-scale, systematic study of classroom management

was done by Jacob Kounin (1970). He analyzed videotapes of 49 first and second grade
classrooms and coded the behaviour of learners and teachers. It is worth noting here that he
identified several critical dimensions of effective classroom management. Those dimensions
(among others) are (1) “withitness,” (2) smoothness and momentum during lesson presentations,
(3) letting learners know what behaviour is expected of them at any given point in time, and (4)
variety and challenge in the seatwork assigned to learners. “Withitness” involves a keen
awareness of disruptive behaviour or potentially disruptive behavior and immediate attention to
that behavior; of the four dimensions, it is the one that most consistently separates the excellent
classroom managers from the average or below-average classroom managers.
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In 1976 Brophy and Evertson reported the results of one of the major studies in
classroom management, up until that point, in a book titled “Learning from Teaching: A
Developmental Perspective.” Their sample included some 30 elementary teachers whose learners
had exhibited consistency better than expected gains in academic achievement. The comparison
group consisted of 38 teachers whose performance was more typical. Brophy and Evertson's
study, then, might be considered a comparison of exceptional teachers with average teachers.
Although the study focused on a wide variety of teaching behaviours, classroom management
surfaced as one of the critical aspects of effective teaching. Much of what they found relative to
classroom management supported the earlier findings of Kounin. Brophy and Everson (1976)
mentioned in their study:
“Much has been said….in the book about our findings concerning classroom
management. Probably the most important point to bear in mind is that almost all surveys of
teacher effectiveness report that classroom management skills are of primary importance in
determining teaching success, whether it is measured by student learning or by ratings. Thus,
management skills are crucial and fundamental. A teacher who is grossly inadequate in
classroom management skills is probably not going to accomplish much.”(p. 27)
The Classroom Strategy Study conducted by Jere Brophy was the next major study
addressing classroom management. It involved in-depth interviews with and observations of 98
teachers, some of whom were identified as effective managers and some of whom were not. The
study presented teachers with vignettes regarding specific types of learners (e.g., hostile-
aggressive learners, passive-aggressive learners, hyperactive learners) in specific situations.
Among the many findings from the study was that effective classroom managers tended to
employ different types of strategies with different types of learners, whereas ineffective
managers tended to use the same strategies regardless of the type of learner or the situation. One
of the study's strong recommendations was that teachers should develop a set of “helping skills”
to employ with different types of learners.
In spite of the profound impact of these various studies, classroom management received
its strongest endorsement in a comprehensive study by Margaret Wang, Geneva Haertel, and
Herbert Walberg (1993). They combined the results of three previous studies. One involved a
content analysis of 86 chapters from annual research reviews, 44 handbook chapters, 20
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government and commissioned reports, and 11 journal articles. This analysis produced a list of
228 variables identified as having an impact on learner achievement. The second study involved
a survey of 134 education experts who were asked to rate each of the 228 variables in terms of
the relative strength of their impact on learner achievement. The third study involved an analysis
of 91 major research syntheses. The end result of this massive review was that classroom
management was rated first in terms of its impact on learner achievement.
Statement of the Problem
According to Dorit Sasson (2007) good teaching involves CM strategies. The strategies
include learner’ seating arrangement, management of learner’ discipline, management of
classroom time, organization of learning resources and keeping of classroom records. Using such
a variety of CM strategies helps the learners to learn what the teacher intends to teach while lack
of the strategies denies the learners the chance to learn. The PST should apply skills of CM to
make learning a success. PSTs have the role of implementing pre-school curriculum through CM
strategies. In RangaReddy District, Telangana, India PSTs have different teacher characteristics,
as each teacher has his/her own characteristics, which influence their performance in CM. The
characteristics include the teachers’ academic and professional qualifications, teachers’
experience, teachers’ age and gender. As far as training is concerned, there are diploma holders,
ordinary certificate holders and also untrained teachers in the country. Teacher training programs
continue to be implemented to improve some of the teacher characteristics but little has been
done to assess the effect of these characteristics on CM.
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of teacher’s academic experience
and training on classroom management in pre-schools in RangaReddy District, Telangana, India.
Research Objectives
The study was guided by the following specific objectives:-
 To determine the effects of a pre-school teacher academic and professional

qualifications on Classroom Management.
238
 To establish the effects of a pre-school teacher experience on Classroom

Management.
Research Questions
The study seeks to answer the following questions:
 1. What are the effects of pre-school teachers’ academic and professional

qualifications on Classroom Management?
 2. In what ways does a pre-school teacher experience affect Classroom
Management?
Definition of Key Terms and Abbreviations
The following operational definitions are adopted in the study:
 Classroom Management (CM) refers to organization of learning space to create

a stimulating learning atmosphere. It involves such components as discipline,
teacher preparation, seating arrangement, organization of learning materials,
organization of classroom records and classroom time management.
 Pre-school Teacher (PST) refers to a teacher who teaches at the preschool

level.
 Teacher Characteristics refers to the teacher qualities that may affect the
performance of the teacher. Teacher characteristics include qualification,
experience, age and gender.
 Untrained teacher refers to a teacher who has not undergone any of the teacher
training programs. The teacher has no certificate, diploma or university degree.
Methods used to Collect the Data
At the first stage of data collection preschools in the district of RangaReddy, Telangana
were identified. At the second stage appointments were taken in order to meet the school
management, after meeting permission was taken to observe the classroom. The teachers were
informed well before the classroom observation was conducted, avoiding any sort of
239
inconvenience to the teachers which might have influenced the data. At the third and the final
stage while observing the class, the observer made use of a classroom management checklist.
Data was collected using a checklist which was adapted after considering many checklists which
focused on CM given by various experts in the field. Likert scale was used in order to assess the
data.
Sample Group
The sample group for the study comprised of five PSTs’. They were divided into two
groups depending upon their academic and educational qualifications, experience in teaching and
whether the teachers were trained or untrained. Group 1 had three teachers who were not trained,
inexperienced and had no proper qualification for teaching, where as Group 2 had two teachers
who were trained experienced and qualified.
Findings
The data collected aided in answering the research questions. It had been observed that
the manner in which the classrooms were managed by the untrained PST’s, who belong to Group
1 was different from that of the trained PSTs’ who belong to Group 2, where it was observed that
the trained PSTs’ had an edge over the UTs’. The different aspects involved in CM such as
control of the teacher, preparation of lesson, declaration of the objectives, organizing activities,
using materials, learner importance, time management, giving opportunity to all learners and etc
was observed to be better in the trained PSTs’ when compared to the untrained PSTs’.
Experienced teachers who belong to Group 1 were able to handle things appropriately without
causing much disturbance to the other learners by not focusing on a single learner for a long time
during a class hour. It was also observed in the study that the experienced teachers were efficient
time managers when compared to the novice teachers who belong to Group 2 as they lacked
proper time management skills.
After analyzing the data collected from the checklists which had three untrained and
inexperienced PSTs’ and two trained and experienced PSTs’ it was evident that the trained and
experienced PSTs’ differed qualitatively in the way they manage a class. The results of the study
prove the fact that PSTs’ academic experiences and training does have some kind of influence on
the strategies used by them for CM. It was found that the PST’s who were qualified are better
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than the PST’s who are not qualified in CM. The experience of the PST’s also affects CM, as it
was observed that experienced teachers were able to manage the classroom efficiently when
compared to the novice teachers.
Conclusion
Hence, it can be concluded that the PSTs’ belonging to Group 1 were better classroom
managers than the PSTs’ belonging to Group 2. The study conducted might be beneficial to
evaluate the efficiency of the PSTs’ in identifying the required teacher characteristics to manage
a classroom better. After the evaluation the managements of the schools concerned will be able
to make decisions concerning the recruitment of the teachers to their respective programs. It may
help them assess the efficiency of the teachers. The organizations may also benefit by setting a
standard criteria when recruiting, training and mentoring the prospective candidates. The results
might be useful to the teacher trainers, pre-school management committees and also aid in
guiding the pre-school management committees in employing pre-school teachers who have the
right mix of required teacher characteristics.
241
References
Callahan, S.G. (1996). Successful Teaching in Secondary schools. Atlanta: Foresman
and Company.
Dorit Sasson. How to build a classroom management plan. Retrieved from https://suite.io/dorit-
sasson
Duke, L. D., & Rehage, K. J.(1979). Classroom Management. Chicago: The University of
Chicago Press.
Honey Ford, R. (1982). Starting Teaching. London, UK: Croon Helm Ltd.
Laslett, R., & Smith, C. (1984). Effective Classroom Management: A Teacher’s Guide.
London, UK: Croon Helm Ltd.
Robert J. Marzano.(2003). What Works in Schools: Translating Research Into Action.
Alexandria VA: Association for supervision and curriculum development.
Sadker, P. M. & D .M. Sadker (1997).Teacher school and Society. Inc, New York, USA:
The McGraw-Hill Company.
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READING AND INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY ACQUISITION
Dr. P. Sunama Patro
Abstract
The literature pertaining to incidental vocabulary acquisition has invariably highlighted the role
of L2 readingin the lexical development of language learners.A good number of studies have
already been conducted to examine the effects of extensive reading, graded readers, and
authentic texts in this regard in EFL contexts.However, the present study under the spectrum of
incidental vocabulary acquisition investigated the possible acquisition of six selected aspects of
target word knowledge from reading of three teacher-prepared texts (graded).In order to dissuade
the participants,ninety Odia ESL learners of class XI, from paying attention to the individual
words and working on them for meaning, the nature of reading was kept meaning-focused. Soon
after the reading they were administered an immediate post-test. The descriptive analysis of the
data suggests that a significant amount of learning, in terms of acquisition of the target word
properties,occurred from meaning-focused reading.The findings suggest that learners’ ability to
recognize and produce the target words in meaningful contexts was effective. Moreover, it was
observed that some aspects of word knowledge couldeasily be acquired before other aspects.
Hence further research can be conducted to explore patterns of L2 lexical development in ESL
learners from reading.
Introduction
It is a factuniversally acknowledged that increasing second language proficiency largely
depends on the knowledge of the target language vocabulary.This L2 lexical knowledge is
believed to be the result of exposure to L2 texts in formal instructional settings or autonomous
vocabulary development contexts. Primarily, vocabulary development seems to follow two
processes: explicit or intentional and incidental vocabulary acquisition. Though researchers
argue in favor of explicit or intentional approach to learning L2 vocabulary for short term lexical
gains or comprehension, the effectiveness of the approach is yet to be proven when the
considerations towards long-term retention and productive use of vocabularyare in focus.
Likewise, a similar argument can also be madefor incidental vocabulary acquisition. The rate of
lexical acquisition is believed to be slow and incremental regardless of the processes followed to
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acquire L2 vocabulary. Yet researchers have argued in favour of incidental vocabulary

acquisition for the space and pace it provides for autonomous L2 vocabulary development
among learners .In literature, incidental vocabulary acquisition has been defined as ‘picking up’
of unknown words while engaged in meaningful activities such as reading, listening, speaking or
writing (Schmitt, 2000; Rott, 2013). Moreover, lack of commitment or consciousness or
intention to transfer the word into the memory is considered integral to incidental vocabulary
acquisition(Hulstijn, 2001).
The process of acquisition of a word is believed to be a fairly complex one since a single
word entails a plethora of knowledge or properties such as orthographic structure, meanings,
syntactic category, phonetic realization and the like. However, advanced language use largely
depend on knowledge of words’ pragmalinguistic functions, their syntactic frames, and their
“meanings in conventionalized and metaphorical expression” (Nation, 2001; Schmitt & Carter,
2004; Rott, 1999).And acquisition of all these aspects seems impossible from formal and
intentional study of words, from dictionaries or word lists available, with regard to the number of
words one needs to know to attain advanced language levels. Hence, in ESL contexts written
texts couldprove to be facilitative to acquire these aspects while learners are engaged in
comprehending the text.
Traditionally, reading texts are believed to provide betters contexts to acquire the said
properties of a ‘word’, and several factors such as context (guessing from texts using contextual
clues or word-forms), task-type (learning word-meanings to complete a communicative task),
and repetition of words (multiple encounters in speech or written texts) significantly contribute
to the process of incidental vocabulary acquisition (Nation, 2011; Laufer&Girsai, 2008; Webb,
2008). In second language vocabulary acquisition research, the effects of these factors have been
studied extensively to understand their effects on incidental vocabulary acquisition from reading.
However, the first two factors offer a narrow focus for the objective is limited to short-term
lexical/communicative gain compared to repetition of words. Repeated encounters with target
words in readingcould be effective in consolidating the previously learned lexical knowledge of
the same words to the next level, and learners might be able to retain and retrieve them for long-
term productive use. Hence, in the context of the present study, incidental vocabulary acquisition
has been defined as ‘acquisition of unknown words through multiple exposures from meaning-
focused reading’ (Rott, 1999; Chen & Truscott, 2010; Heidrari-Shahreza&Tavakoli, 2012).
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However, it might be intriguing to explore how learners ‘intentionality’ works while

working on a text used to examine how learners’ acquire vocabulary incidentally. Just as there
are degrees of attention, intention to learn can be seen as a continuum (Barcoft, 2004). There
could always be individual variances in terms of attention level with regard to “the nature of
lexis present and the cognitive demand of the task” (Doczi&Kormos, p.119). And it is possible
that some of the word(s) might not go unattended.Hence a careful consideration must be built
towards text preparation to keep the nature of learning incidental. The coverage of known words
must be high in the texts so as to enable them view the target words, unknown in nature, in a
larger context in order to construct meaning of the text rather than meaning of the individual
target words.The present study adopted several such criteria to prepare the texts which would be
discussed in detail under the heading reading materials.
Vocabulary Acquisition from Graded Readers and Authentic Texts
Reading is believed to enhance communicative competence and general language ability

of learners with its contextualized and meaningful input (Coady, 1997; Gu, 2003; Nassaji, 2003;
Horst, 2005).From two of the most used reading strategies, intensive and extensive reading, in
reading instruction programmesthe latter one has the potential to contribute significantly to the
developing general language proficiencyas the objective of this nature of reading solely remains
meaning-making. And the possibility to acquire new words results from a meaning-making
process such as reading as the case may be for acquisition of L1 vocabulary. Learners’
engagement with the text as a meaningful unit creates rich semantic contextsto acquire
vocabulary; and this learning condition has been understood and viewed as ‘incidental’ in SLVA
research. Several studies have tried to examine this nature of vocabulary learning from reading
of authentic texts and graded readers as part of the extensive reading instruction
(Waring&Takaki, 2003; Horst, 2005; Pigada& Schmitt, 2006; Kweon& Kim, 2008; Pellicer-
Sánchez & Schmitt, 2010; Rashidi&Piran, 2011; Daskalovska, 2014; Zaboli&Bozorgian,2016).
Mostly, these studies have credited repeated occurrences of target vocabulary in reading texts to
have played a role in incidental acquisition of new words.
Waring and Takaki (2003) tried to investigate the rate of acquisition of new vocabulary,
by fifteen Japanese female participants, from reading of a 400 headword graded reader, A Little
Princess, using several retention measures unlike the previous studies who only measured
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retention of meanings of target words and word-forms. The results suggest that a number of
words can be learned incidentally, however, majority of the new words remained unlearned. In
addition, the meanings of frequently occurring words were remembered and more resistant to
attrition compared to words which occurred less than eight times. Moreover, the tree types of
lexical gains were decreased over a period of time and the rate of acquiring new words remained
poor as one hour of reading could only help learning one new word. However, the target words
occurred at different frequency levels were manipulated and were substitute words which
reduced the ecological validity of the words (Patro, 2016). In contrast, Horst (2005) reported
stronger lexical gains from reading of four 20 page-long extracted graded reading materials by
21ESL learners. The participants could learn well over 17 previously unknown words which
represented more than “half of the unfamiliar words they encountered in this reading” (Pellicer-
Sánchez & Schmitt, 2010). Unlike the previous studies which only focused measuring meaning,
this case study by Pigada and Schmitt (2006) sought to give credit to the partial lexical
knowledge, believed to have been enhanced from the reading of simplified graded readers (level
1), involving meaning, spelling, and grammatical features of 133 unknown target words. The
results indicated that the knowledge of 65% of the words was enhanced on one of the three
aspects with spelling being the most effective one compared to the others. However, for most
part of the gains only spelling seemed strongly enhanced than meaning and grammatical
characteristics of the target words. Rashidi&Piran (2011) in a comparative study tried to check
the effectiveness of intensive and extensive reading on 120 Iranian EFL learners’ vocabulary size
and depth using graded readers at two different levels of proficiency (intermediate and
advanced). The data suggested that both reading strategies impacted vocabulary growth,
however, the learners at the intermediate level benefitted from intensive reading than intensive.
On the other hand, for the advanced group extensive reading was more beneficial than intensive
reading. In an experimental study with 30 EFL female learners Zaboli and Bozorgian (2016)
tried to examine whether extensive reading of intermediate graded readers (stories) accompanied
by vocabulary enhanced exercises could enhance incidental acquisition of vocabulary. The
participants were administered an affective questionnaire to gain insights into learners’ attitude
towards incorporating extensive reading (ER) as a component into the reading instruction
programme. The findings suggested that ER can enhance incidental vocabulary acquisition when
followed by text-based vocabulary exercises and can promote positive attitude towards L2
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reading. However, the pre-test and the post-test used to measure primarily measured the
meanings of the target items and overlooked other aspects of word knowledge. Moreover, there
was no control exerted to keep the learning incidental as the learners in the experimental group
were very much aware that they would be tested on some selected target items prior to the
reading activity.
Several researchers engaged in examining the role of reading in incidental lexical gains
have argued in favour of use of authentic materials to examine the same in contrast to the use of
simplified graded readers (Kweon& Kim, 2008; Pellicer-Sánchez & Schmitt, 2010; Daskalovska,
2014). They suggested that authentic materials provide EFL/ESL learners with opportunities to
acquire novel vocabulary and words that are less frequent from better contexts. Kweon and Kim
(2008) used authentic texts (chapter books) meant for native speakers to measure acquisition of
both higher and lower frequency words by 12 Korean EFL learners in an experimental design.
The analysis and comparison of the participant’s responses obtained from the three tests (pre-
test, immediate test, and post-test) showed significant lexical gains between the pre-test and
immediate test and most of the words were effectively retained after 4 weeks. Moreover, words
with most frequently occurring were learned easily than less frequent words, and lower
frequency words were better learned when their meanings were crucial for comprehension.
However, the study lacked measures which could have been used to capture small lexical gains
representing different aspects of word knowledge. The participants’ responses on the three tests
seemed to have only captured their partial knowledge of the target words. With a more updated
design Pellicer-Sánchez and Schmitt (2010) conducted a study in which 20 Spanish EFL learners
read an authentic novel (Things Fall Apart) andencountered 34 African target words at different
levels of frequency. Later, after the reading they were tested on their knowledge (spelling, word
class, meaning, and meaning recognition) of those 34 words and the analysis indicated that the
overall learning ranged from 14-43% though not consistent on all the four measures. The
findings were in congruent with the findings reported by several studies who concluded that
incidental lexical gains were reportedly small. The role of multiple exposures was significant and
more exposures resulted in significant vocabulary learning. However, the target words were
culturally different from real English words with unusual spelling patterns which could possibly
have caused learning difficulty. On the other hand, the highly salient nature of the African words
might have invited learners’ attention limiting the notion of ‘incidental learning’.In yet another
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study,Daskalovska (2015) with 18 advanced EFL learners demonstrated that 24% of the
previously unknown words were learned out of 24.1 target words (TWs) from reading of a few
chapters of an authentic novel (Pride and Prejudice). However, the use of the pre-test and post-
test modeled on the Nation’s (1990) Vocabulary Levels Test could only measure their
knowledge of meanings of the TWsand ignored other related aspects. Unlike the previous
studies, the present study concluded that frequency of words did not play any significant role in
the acquisition of the target words.
Often authentic materials do not help learners acquire low frequency words as their
frequency of occurrence is relatively less in comparison to high frequency words. Frequent
encounter with unknown words in regular intervals help learners notice and attend them when
crucial for reading comprehension.However, in extensive reading learners do not get enough
time to attend to and work for meaning as the purpose of reading differs from that of intensive
reading instruction. Hence to help learners acquire words, considered to be essential for
academic use and to deal with tasks meant for language learning, teachers propose use of graded
readers for short term lexical gains as they offer meaningful and better contexts and are designed
to suit their existing level of proficiency. However, reading authentic materials enable learners
experience vocabulary used in real-life like contexts and can possibly help them acquire and use
the same in similar contexts. With regard to the advantages of using graded readers for
acquisition of foreign vocabulary, the present study tried to examine the effectiveness of reading
graded readers in acquisition of selected target words and some of their aspects.
1. To what extent can meaningful-reading of graded readers help ESL learners acquire
selected target word features?
METHOD
Participants
The sample selected for the study comprises of ninety ESL learners of Odia aged 15-16
from class XI. They shared a common linguistic, economic and social background with
minimum seven years of exposure to English as a second language in formal contexts. Their
ability to recognize and use the target language vocabulary was considered as a measure to
establish homogeneity (linguistic) among the learners. For doing this, results from the
administration of 3000 world level Vocabulary Levels Test (VLT) were obtained, and learners
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who scored 27.5 or more were selected as the participants of the main study out of a total of 214
students.
Target Words
Selection of target words (TWs) has always been a concern for researchers investigating
acquisition of second/foreign language vocabulary as the degrees of knowledge (partial
complete) related to each individual target word may vary for each individual learner. Hence it
becomes very difficult to ensure that the target words are within the learners’ existing level of
vocabulary proficiency and at the same time unknown to them. Second, every language is
endowed with a huge number of words, and the availability of such number poses a practical
problem in terms of selecting a few potential target words which might be considered as essential
for learners in their academic as well as personal sphere. Therefore, a total number of twenty
words (see table 1) were selected as potential TWs from the first 1000 frequent words of the
3000 Core Academic Vocabulary List (Gardner & Davies, 2013)prepared from the analysis of
the Corpus of Contemporary American English. Later, these twenty words assumed to be
unknown to the learners were embedded in sentential level contexts where the learners were
supposed to match their meanings in a matching type task as part of the diagnostic test.
Table 1 Potential target words
Verb noun Adjective

Implement Abandon Dilemma Fragment Apparent
Constitute Advocate Instance Perspective Subsequent
Attribute Comprise Prejudice Precision Strategic
Endeavor Manipulate Dichotomy Constraint Substantial
Reading materials
The reading texts(appendix A) used to investigate the above stated issue were very
crucial for several reasons. First, the saliency of the target words needed to be controlled for
overall meaning of the text(s). Second, the texts must be prepared in such a way that the learners
should be able to comprehend the texts on their own with regard to their vocabulary level. Next,
the texts must be interesting and familiar and should not be lengthy and complex. Hence three
texts were prepared around 200 words eachwith 90% of the words from the first 2000 words in
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English and the rest from the next 1000 level. Each of the reading texts contained 150-200
words. All the three texts were run through lex-tutorfor the analysis (appendix b).
Instruments
Word diagnostic test
The word diagnostic test was proposed to select target words unknown to the learners
butwell within their existing level of proficiency. Therefore, each the twenty potential target
words was contextualized at sentential levels followed by matching type task where the learners
were supposed to match the words with their corresponding meanings. The test was administered
to twenty learners believed to be similar in all respects with the sample of the main study. A total
number of eight words (see table 2)on which seventy percent of the responses found correct were
selected as target words which featured in each of the reading texts.
Table 2 Target words
Verb Noun Adjective

Implement Endeavor Dilemma Precision Strategic
Constitute Manipulate Prejudice Perspective Substantial
Immediate post-test
The immediate post-test was designed to measure possible acquisition of six selected
aspects of word knowledge. It consisted of six sub-tests each representing a particular aspect of
lexical knowledge involved in the target words. The selected aspects are believed to be crucial
for any learner to develop depth of vocabulary knowledge involved in a particular word. The
selected aspects included both the receptive and productive dimensions to aspects such as
spelling, parts of speech, lexical meaning and association (synonymy).
Table 3 Aspects of word knowledge
Order/Sub-test Word knowledge Item type

1 Productive knowledge of spelling (PS) Dictation
2 Receptive knowledge of spelling (RS) Objective
3 Receptive knowledge of parts of speech (RP) Objective
4 Receptive knowledge of meaning (RM) Matching
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5 Receptive knowledge of association (RA) Objective

6 Productive knowledge of parts of speech (PP) Sentence formation
In sub-test 1, the learners were supposed to listen twice to the dictation of each target
word and write its spelling. In the following sub-test they had to ensure that they chose the
correct spelling of the target word from three options. In sub-test 3, learners’ receptive
knowledge of the parts of speech was measured by instructing the learner choose the correct
grammatical category of the target word (whether a noun, adjective or verb) from contextualized
phrases taken from the texts they just finished reading. The following sub-test intended to
measure whether the learners would be able to match the target words with their corresponding
meanings in a matching-type task. Next, sub-test 5 aimed to test learners’ ability to find a word
closest to the target word in meaning (synonym) from three given options. In the final sub-test,
the learners were asked to use the target words in their proper grammatical category, as used in
the texts, in sentences of their own. The sub-tests were all stapled together except the first sub-
test just to ensure that the learners do not crossover to other sub-tests to get the correct spelling.
Pilot study
The pilot study was conducted with twenty learners, assumed to be parallel with the main
sample, to check their response to some factors related to the texts and sub-tests. In the first
instance, they were provided all the three reading texts and were asked to rate whether the texts
were interesting, lengthy, complex and unfamiliar. This was followed by the administration of
the immediate post-test. In this case, the learners were asked whether the sub-tests were familiar
in format and too difficult to respond. In addition, responses were also sought from them
regarding the instruction provided to respond to each sub-test. Moreover, they were asked
whether they had some knowledge of the eight target words previously to which all of them
responded negative. Hence based on their positive response on the factors related to the texts and
tasks and on the target words, they were retained for the main study without any modification.
Procedure
From the administration of the 3000 word level VLT a total number of ninety students
were selected from 214 based on their score (27.5 or more from a maximum score of 30). Next,
they were provided the three texts to read and to ensure that the learners avoid paying attention
251
to the target words and work on them for meaning they were told that the reading would follow a
reading comprehension test. In this was it was supposed that the reading was kept meaning-
focused. Soon after they finished reading all the three texts, they were given the immediate post-
test instead of the reading comprehension test as told earlier.
Data analysis
In order to answer the research question regarding the acquisition of selected target word
properties, the participants’ scores on the six vocabulary sub-tests were submitted to Microsoft
excel for the descriptive analysis. The analysis would show the mean scores and the standard
deviation calculated for each sub-test and would show on how effectively learners acquired each
aspect of word knowledge.
Results and Discussion
The below table (table 4)provides the mean scores and SD calculated on each sub-test
which carried a total maximum mark of eight. At the level of orthography, learners’ performance
on the productive aspect of spelling seemed to be lower compared to their performance on the
receptive one. This could be due to the fact that the sound-symbol correspondence in the target
language often does not match and production requires a lot of mental manipulation. However, in
the case of parts of speech, learners’ performance on the productive aspect remained better than
the receptive test. This might be possible for learners experienced the target words in contexts
they were familiar with; and the co-text surrounding each target word might have also helped
them to come up with their own unlike the receptive test where the learners were supposed to
find out their grammatical category from isolated phrases. At the level of semantics, learners
could acquire the lexical meanings of the target words relatively better than finding words closest
in meaning to the target words. However, it should be noted that on all the sub-tests learners
displayed a better rate of acquisition considering the time allotted to them and the task condition
under which they performed.
The discussion of the results provides significant facets to our understanding of how
learners acquire vocabulary. First, learners learn better when words are contextualized and
repeated. This helps learners extend the use of the newly learnt words to novel contexts, thus,
enabling them retain the words for a longer period of time. Second, reception precedes
production. In order to use the target word features productively one must ensure that the said
252
knowledge has been consolidated well into the mental lexicon which is possible only when the
learner encounters and experiences the word in written and spoken discourses first. Third, the
level of cognitive load and involvement required to acquire a particular aspect of word
knowledge varies from aspect to aspect. As evident from the analysis, the cognitive load required
to acquire the orthographic properties of a word seem to be lesser when the acquisition of the
sematic properties of the word is in question.
Table 3 Mean scores (M) and Standard deviation (SD) calculated on each sub-test
Order/Sub-test Word knowledge Mean SD

1 Productive knowledge of spelling (PS) 4.80 2.11
2 Receptive knowledge of spelling (RS) 6.86 1.37
3 Receptive knowledge of parts of speech (RP) 5.07 1.93
4 Receptive knowledge of meaning (RM) 4.80 2.67
5 Receptive knowledge of association (RA) 4.56 1.54
6 Productive knowledge of parts of speech (PP) 5.91 1.59
Conclusion
The acquisition of vocabulary is not an all or nothing phenomenon. There are several
cognitive processes and conditions which make acquisition a complex process. Reading is just
one of the modes of acquiring vocabulary in which learners are exposed to target vocabulary
several times and in contexts which demand construction of meaning. In view of the significant
amount of learning occurred through reading of graded readers, it can be argued that such
practice should be introduced in classrooms or similar contexts to enable learners enhance their
repertoire of target vocabulary. The scope for research is undoubtedly large when it comes to
investigate the relationship between reading and acquisition of vocabulary. It is possible that
learners can go beyond what is expected of her to acquire; and eventually, it becomes difficult to
be accountable for that learning in research. Hence the need to bridge the gap between
instructions and acquisition in teaching-learning contexts becomes inevitable. Research to
understand the possible strategies and the various knowledge sources learners make use of to
acquire vocabulary can be promoted in second language vocabulary acquisition (SLVA)
research, and reading as a skill can help researchers build insights into the said proposition.
253
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Appendix A (Sample text)

For some people science and religion have historically been in conflict. So, man finds himself in
a dilemma of choosing the one over the other. If he chooses religion, he will take pride in it and
in the subsequent moments will develop bias against science and vice-versa. This growing gap
between science and religion has led both to constitute two different groups of people with
opposing views. What contributes to the gap between science and religion is the practice man
holds. He surrenders to religion but will always endeavor to live by science. Clearly, science
makes substantial contributions to life and its comforts; and religion provides a divine
perspective. But in some cases clever godmen can manipulate him as he lacks precision in his
thoughts. Therefore, there is a need for a strategic choice combining science and religion. The
need is to implement a plan with a right mix of religion and science.
Appendix B
(Lextutor analysis of the sample text)
256
LINKING WRITING DEVELOPMENT WITH EMOTIONS: TOWARDS A PERSON-
CENTRED FRAMEWORK OF TEACHING WRITING
Dr. Rukulu Kezo

Dr. Barkha Chhetry
Abstract
In the domain of language learning, there has been an upsurge of learner-centric pedagogies
derived from the realization that emotions play a significant role in enhancing learning. The
understanding that positive emotions is the foundation of learning, informs most of the recent
innovative strategies. However, a reading into the literature on writing skills reveal that despite
the growing body of research into the issues relating to writing, there is a dearth of research in
the area of emotions and their influence in writing. Consequently, this paper is intended to be an
inquiry into the affective dimension of the writing process. It seeks to arrive at a conceptual
framework of teaching writing which would embed the emotional aspects of learning.
Introduction
The importance of effective writing skill cannot be ignored in today’s era. In both the
academic and professional contexts, the ability to write well positively correlates with success.
While proficient writing skill is continuously becoming recognized as a job requirement in the
competitive job market, writing is the underlining performance that determines the students’
overall academic achievement. However, it is also a skill that is difficult to master. Even great
writers have often mused on the difficulties of writing. One of the most celebrated American
novelistHemingway says that ‘We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a
master.’
In the educational domain, writing is a skill that is very challenging for both students and
teachers. Universities worldwide share the same concern of poor academic writing skills among
students. This is because of the complexities involved in the process of writing. Writing is a lot
more than presenting accurate grammatical features and choosing appropriate vocabulary. It is a
process that involves the act of giving life to the inherent ideas with the right choice of words
257
while trying to avoid ambiguity. Unlike speech, writing is a highly demanding task which
requires writers to pay attention to various aspects to achieve clarity and purpose.
‘Writing’ continues to be a problem area that students and teachers alike grumble about
in almost all institutions. Students’ attitude towards writing is often ‘avoidance’, which greatly
increases the teachers’ problem of dealing with writing. In our own classrooms, we have
encountered students who would keep the writing tasks in abeyance until the last date and those
who would completely boycott the writing classes. Such behaviours are a result of a negative
attitude towards writing where writing is viewed as burdensome and strenuous, which can be
altered, but only, through encounters with writing. The challenge then is in making the ‘students-
writing’ encounters as variedly interesting as possible, with each encounter giving them a sense
of achievement and development.
An Overview of the Domain of L2 Writing
There is undoubtedly a huge body of research in the domain of L2 writing, but ‘writing’
continues to be a problematic area for students and teachers alike. The dilemma of making
students write better continues to plague teachers and educators in schools as well as colleges
and universities. Historically, the domain of teaching writing has seen the product approach and
later the process approach. The product approach viewed and treated writing as a mechanical
writing exercise and followed the traditional approach of learning. The process approach to
writing emerged as a reaction to this traditional approach of writing with the understanding that
writing could be much more than simply putting down structures on paper, that it could actually
involve a process through which students need to brainstorm, generate ideas, negotiate meaning,
organise details and revise their drafts around the late 1970’sto the 1980’s. The process approach
in the words of Brown (2001) allows students to manage their own writing by giving students a
chance to think as they write. There is no doubt that the process approach to writing has roped in
a lot of benefits in the field of L2 writing but it has also been criticised on various grounds.
Till date there has been no consensus on the most effective methodology or approach for
teaching L2 writing. In other words, no single approach had been able to achieve the desired
outcome as the weaknesses or limitations of each approach seem to impede learners’ writing
skills. One undisputed reason is because of the complexity of writing skill itself. Another reason
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would perhaps be the failure of the existing approaches in recognising key issues concerning
learning. The contention here is then, that writing approaches should recognise the affective
factors at play in the writing process instead of placing so much emphasis on cognitive factors.
The Role of Emotions in Writing
Thomas (1992) in a study explored the emotional experience of ESL writers and
concluded that emotions can have either a “facilitative or debilitative” influence on the writing
process of ESL students. Further, in an L2 writing study, Hassan (2001) found a significant
negative relationship between writing apprehension and the quality of compositions. In another
study Balemir (2009) pointed out that writing anxiety occurs due to language complexity in
general and the complexity of writing as a skill in particular. Lin and Ho (2009) went further and
identified some of the anxiety provoking factors such as time constraint, evaluation, peer
competition, writing subject and writingformat.
On the other hand, McGroarthy (1996) stated that learners with positive attitudes and
motivation towards writing for academic purposes experience success unlike those with negative
attitudes. Similarly, Myles (2002) identified factors such as motivation and attitudeas influencing
second language writing while stating that if students are motivated to write in L2, they will
develop a higher level of proficiency and positive attitudes, which can have a positive effect on
their writing.
The place of emotions in the process of writing implies the importance and need for
teaching methods and environments that can trigger positive emotions in the student writers, an
approach that is concerned with the learner as a whole and a classroom in which students learn as
a whole person, with mind and emotions in harmony with each other. Writing is a task that
demands an active thought processing which is dependent on the affective state. The teaching of
writing should therefore take into consideration both the cognitive and affective state of learners
so as to achieve more desirable results.
An Overview of the Person-centred Approach
The person-centred approach developed by Carl Rogers(1969) is widely known and

adopted in the field of psychology, counselling and education. In the field of education, this
259
approach emphasises that the goal of education should be facilitation of change and learning
which goes beyond cognitive and intellectual education to include the education of the whole
person. It has its roots in humanism and has been developed out of humanistic values and
principles. It is an approach which shares similar themes of learner centeredness with the recent
innovative changes in the field of education at large. It views people as striving towards
meaningful growth and development wherever possible. In the words of Thorne (26), “the whole
conceptual framework of Carl Rogers rests on his profound experience that human beings
become increasingly trustworthy once they feel at a deep level that their subjective experience is
both respected and progressively understood’.
The Person-centred approach to learning places importance on the emotional
environment of learning, a climate of trust in which willingness to learn can be nourished and
enhanced. Such an environment, according to this approach will promote significant and
meaningful learning. The implication here is that teaching should involve facilitation of learning
rather than direct instruction, involving learners in problem-solving which may require them to
hypothesise, ask questions and discuss lines of enquiry and to achieve this, it is fundamental for
teachers to provide an emotionally warm environment.
Establishing a Person-centred Framework of Teaching Writing
It may be stated that the teaching of writing is a domain that needs to integrate the
learner-friendly approach. One viable way of making the writing classrooms more learner-
friendly is to adopt the person-centred approach towards teaching of writing. Below is a
conceptual framework for introducing a person-centred framework in the writing classrooms;
1. Emotionally Safe Classrooms

Writing is a skill that cannot be instantly mastered and hence the writing environment
should instil confidence in the students to take risks in their writing. The possibility of
improvement is greatly increased when students are allowed to make mistakes and learn
from them. If the learning atmosphere provides positive experience, then they can
gradually learn how to take control of their negative emotions in an attempt to overcome
obstacles in their learning.
260
2. Authentic and Engaging writing tasks

Teaching writing authentically simply means teaching within the context of the students’
interest. If writing tasks are authentic or are attached with authentic qualities then student
engagement will increase in which process, learners’ motivation will be enhanced, and
they will feel empowered to write. Authentic writing is all about making writing more
meaningful and more relevant to the learners
3. Makingwriting as an active classroom activity

In the traditional classroom, writing had often been viewed as an individual activity that
should be done in silence and was evaluated only by its degree of grammatical
correctness. In most classrooms writing is rarely integrated into the lesson plan and is
relegated to homework. The obvious need and our argument here is to view writing as a
communicative process and transform mere writing activities to communicative
activities. It simply implies making writing a real communicative activity which allows
learners to engage in the tasks through brainstorming or interaction with peers to
negotiate the meaning of the tasks.
4. Personalised Teacher Feedback
Most teachers usually follow the traditional feedback style which is very general, vague
and mechanical such as “need improvement”, “rewrite”, “not satisfactory” along with
red-ink marks all over the students’ writing without any specific guidance as to where
and how they can improve. These kinds of feedback are not only vague and insufficient
but also de-motivating to the students. The contention that this paper makes is that
teachers can make use of their feedback as a guideline for improvement at the same time
as a source of encouragement and motivation for students. The feedback can begin with
acknowledging what the student is good at followed by advice on what should be done
for improvement. It takes into consideration issues relating to the students’ writing at the
same time seeking to motivate them.
261
5. Alternatives in assessment
Alternatives in assessment may include self-assessment, peer-assessment, portfolio
assessment, self-reflection essays and so on, which allows students to reflect upon their
own learning process and to understand learning strategies or styles that they need to
embark on. Such techniques in assessment allow students to evaluate themselves while
reflecting on their own learning process. The ultimate purpose is to embed learning with
assessment and evaluation and to increase student-centeredness in the teaching-learning
scenario.
Conclusion
In conclusion, it may be reaffirmed that writing is a skill wrought with many problems,
but it is also a skill that can be taught and developed. Teachers can help students write better by
motivating and encouraging them towards the ‘write’ direction. While there is no ready- made
recipe for making students effective writers, writing consistently and constantly is the key to
effective writing. This paper is an attempt at exploring the ways in which students can be
provided writing opportunities to develop their writing skills. It has attempted to establish the
undeniable relationship between the cognitive and affective dimension in L2 writing while
raising the need for approaches in the teaching of writing to be more learner-centred. It sought to
address the continuing dilemma of making students writer through the inclusion of person-
centred approach within the framework of teaching writing. Recognizing that writing is a skill
that needs to be treated with more seriousness and attention in the classrooms, this paper has
sought to make a call to teachers and educators to embed the learner-centric paradigm in the
teaching of writing to help the writing classrooms become more vibrant and engaging.
262
References
Balemir, S.H. (2009). The sources of foreign language speaking anxiety and the relationship
between proficiency level and the degree of foreign language speaking anxietyBilkent
University.Retrieved September 29, 2014 from,
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1877042813001079
Brown, H. D. (2001). Teaching by Principles: An Interactive Approach to Language Pedagogy,
2nd ed., Longman.
Hassan, B. (2001). The Relationship of Writing Apprehension and Self-Esteem to the Writing
Quality and Quantity of EFL University Students.Mansoura Faculty of Education Journal, Vol.
39, pp. 1-36.
Lin, H. C. &Ho, M.S. (2009), An Exploration into Foreign Language Writing Anxiety from
Taiwanese University Students’ perspective. NCUE, Vol. 10, pp. 307-318.
McCroarty, M. (1996).Language attitudes, motivation, and standards: Sociolinguistics and
language teaching. Cambridge University Press, London.
Myles, J. (2016). Second language writing and research: The writing process and error analysis
in student texts. TESL-EJ, vol. 6, no. 2.Retrieved March 9.Retrieved from http://www-
writing.berkeley.edu/TESL-EJ/ej22/toc.html
Rogers, C. R. (1969). Freedom to learn, A view of what education might become. Merill.
Thomas, J. (1992). The Affective Experience of ESL writers.Dissertation Abstracts
International, vol. 53, no. 7.
Thorne, B. (1992). Carl Rogers, Sage.
263
CHILDREN LEARNING THE WAYS OF LIFE IN THE JUANG

COMMUNITY: A CASE STUDY OF TWO JUANG DOMINATED VILLAGES OF
KEONJHAR, ODISHA
S.C.Pujari
Jharana Mishra
Every child is gifted, gifted with the inalienable right to explore the world, to seek
information, to go beyond what he knows empirically, into the realm of imagination. Foster this
with stories and songs with poems and parables; with love and laughter and in the course of
growing up he will also develop a lively imagination. The various games played by the children
of the Juang society cannot be considered as mere play of games; but it is a source of learning
apart from being a source of pleasure. All the games have got some social significance. Children
become intimately acquainted with their socio-cultural fabric and learn how to play appropriate
roles in upholding their age-old traditions. It also helps them in finding their own identity within
the ambit of their socio-cultural surroundings.
The ST population is estimated to have reached 88.8 million in 2001, which is 8.6 per
cent of the country’s total population. Of this, 1.32 million (1.95%) belong to Primitive Tribal
Groups (PTGs) who are more marginalized than other ST population. They have a
heterogeneous cultural and economic pattern of life, largely conditioned by the ecological
settings and ethnic environment. Inevitably, these leave the effect upon socio-economic
development, as well as education. For centuries, the tribal communities lived in isolation from
the social mainstream, maintaining the cultural identity and transmitting their skills and
knowledge through oral traditions from one generation to the other. However, in India, during
the course of the last hundred years or so, the rapid advancement in transport and
communications affected these tribes to some extent. It is impossible to isolate these
communities from the effect of cultural and technological changes taking place around them. The
Juang is one of the primitive tribal groups exclusively found in Orissa. Linguistically they are
Munda speaking people (Munda being one of the Austro-Asiatic language families) Each Juang
village is an autonomous socio-political unit managed by a set of traditional leaders and a
corporate body of village elders called barabhai. Their economy centers round shifting
264
cultivation, which is the main source of livelihood. To a large extent this is supplemented by
some other economic pursuits such as food gathering, hunting and wage earning. Food crisis is
one of their major problems. The Juang family needs the contribution of each and every capable
family member in this struggle for their existence and in the struggle the contribution of Juang
children cannot be undermined. The Juang are far away from the mainstream. They still stick to
their traditional pattern of life style.
Studies of Indian Psychology stress that the child grows up in intimate emotional contact
with the mother and other mothering persons, because conjugal martial relationships are de-
emphasized in the joint household, a woman looks to her children to satisfy some of her intimacy
needs. Her bond to her children, especially her sons but also her daughters, becomes enormously
strong and lasting. A child is suckled on demand, sometimes for years, sleeps with a parent or
grandparent, is bathed by doting relatives, and is rarely left alone. Massaged with oil, carried
about, gently toilet-trained, and gratified with treats, the young child develops an inner core of
well- being and a profound sense of expectation of protection from others. Such indulgent and
close relationships produce a symbiotic mode of relating to others and effect the development of
a person with a deeply held sense of involvement with relatives, so vital to the Indian family
situation. Because children have proved that when they are involved, they can make a difference
in the world around them. They have ideas, experience and insights that enrich adult
understanding and make a positive contribution to adult actions. When the drive is neither
respected nor nurtured, when children are excluded or ignored by adults, their potential to
contribute to their communities is compromised. Such children are likely to act as they have
been treated, i.e. as social outcasts – with their energies and creativity directed into subcultures
and away from creating a cohesive community. It is not if children participate, but how they
participate, that is a critical issue now, when so many millions of children are hungry, diseased
or exploited. It is quality of their interactions with their social environment that is vital and the
paper tries to find out how external forces are influencing the rich Juang tradition, the paper
makes a humble attempt in understanding the socialization process of the Juang children,. This is
part of my ethnographic research that was conducted in a two tribal dominated villages namely
Guptaganga and Gonasika of Banspal block of Keonjhar district of Orissa.
265
Growing up
Close knit communities like the Juangs interweave their forms of cultural expressions.
Painting, wood carving, songs, festivals, birth, death, animals and forests are components of a
cycle which metamorphose together to give their philosophy and understanding of the cosmos a
holistic dimension.
Ninjiya Gaon - (Our Village)
"Uli tulia nal kantua ninjiya san gaon

Ale, alsam, bangru, jambu lagare swad.
Sang jalare man kusire dulite kaleke anje.
Majadang duwar dal adaj kusire ande anje.
Pathsala the padhke path eanch anch jala.
Gadag bilte lakuke kiti jati jati pasal"
English:
On the foothills besides the stream lies our small village. Mango,
jackfruits, grapes and flowers are so sweet. With a joyous heart I play
with my friends. The sound of the changu from the mandaghar makes
me happy, I go to the school along with my friends and I also
participate in agricultural activities and reap a rich harvest.
This is how a Juang child describes his social life in the village. The children love their
natural surrounding and growing-up in a natural environment makes them capable of playing the
future role of an adult. . For the Juang there is an invisible link between the fertility of crops and
fertility of their womenfolk. Both are engaged in continuing the creative act that not only
brought human life into being, but also made land productive. If a young wife conceives she
becomes reciprocally a symbol of blessing to her husbands family land.
The mother has received blessing of her husband’s ancestors. The marriage is now
secure. She is now pregnant. Her dread of barrenness is removed, for were she barren, after
some years the husband would have been within his rights to send her back to her parents and
266
take a second wife. Nevertheless, for nine months (or “ten months”) she is creature of two
worlds, the bridge between the living and the unborn, who is now known only to the ancestors.
Certain safeguards must, therefore, surround her in the form of taboos.
Since food is very limited for most of the year, the Juangs observe very few food taboos
during the time of the pregnancy. She may not eat meat from either of the community’s source,
i.e. from an animal sacrifice or from a kill in hunting. She must also avoid anything that might
startle or frighten her, these being “little deaths”. She must, in fact, keep away from any
reminders of death, for then a pregnancy may lead to a miscarriage, a still-birth or even the death
of the mother. These tragedies are believed to be due to the activity of evil spirits. If at any
point the pregnant women becomes sick, suffers from debility or has any antenatal problems, the
priest or the traditional village medical practitioner may prescribe further taboos and rituals to
safeguard her well being. Otherwise she continues her strenuous daily work in the home, the hill
fields or gathering wild produce from the forest until the final stages of pregnancy. She also
continues sexual relations with her husband until close to her confinement.
The birth of a child is a matter that requires no assistance from outsiders. At the time of
childbirth the husband’s mother is usually in-charge along with at least one other woman from
the village who is call a traditional birth attendant. She does the more minor jobs for the mother
and infant, but it is also her privilege to announce the sex of the child to the waiting community
and to name it after a deceased member from the paternal grandparents’ generation. The paternal
grandmother or great-aunt severs the umbilical cord. This is done with a knife. The father
buries the placenta behind the house. The birth attendant smears the stump with turmeric paste
and ties a protective cord round the infant’s neck and another round the mother’s neck. These
are worn for about two weeks. If the child dies before the umbilical cord has fallen off, it is not
cremated but buried without the usual rites because it is not yet fully recognized as a family
member. Age-grade plays a vital role in Juang society. The baby is now given a warm bath, and
after that is massaged near the fire. The birth attendant receives payment in the form of paddy, a
chicken and food. If the child is a male the payment is double. This highlights the preference
for a male child. In case of a difficult delivery, the patient squats while the attendant messages
her abdomen. That failing, the traditional medical practitioner is called in. He offers prayers and
tries herbal remedies. If these also fail, it is a sign that an evil or evil spirits are at work. After
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surmising on what exactly may be the cause – may be an offended ancestor spirit – he takes the
necessary steps to remedy the situation. An ancestor is pacified through a chicken sacrifice or
offerings of liquor, tobacco and rice; otherwise through reversal procedures directed towards the
person believed to be sending out the evil eye.
The birth makes both the parents ritually unclean, so they are not allowed to enter any
home, or touch anyone in their homes, or handle things of common use. During and
immediately following the birth, the mother must not cook; which is done for the two of them by
the husband. Both attend a ritual of purification the next day when they bath and wash their
cloths in the stream, and the mother also washes the mat she has been sleeping on. She also
throws away her old cooking pots, replacing them with new ones. On return from the stream the
father does the Juangs’ traditional act of self-purification by placing a copper coin in a pot of
water. He sprinkles this water around and inside the house and over himself and his wife. Then
he offers husked rice and turmeric to the two deities, the Creator (sky) and the Mother (earth).
He may also make the sacrifice of a chicken to the ancestors and local deities on behalf of the
new born child and his other children if they are already there. Then the parents ceremonially
greet the child by dipping their fingers in turmeric powder and very lightly pinching its forehead
and chin. The mother duly purified now may resume cooking, but she must observe certain food
taboos; she must eat only rice, greens and fried salt, and certainly no meat or fish. She stays in
seclusion and is restricted from doing any hard work. She resumes her normal diet and routine
work only about four or five months or when the child begins to crawl. These months give her
enough leisure to feed and care for the child constantly. The taboos, the baby would suffer from
stomach trouble and diarrhea, which are common. These are the most common cause of infant
death, because they result in rapid dehydration.
By Juang rule, the child’s parents must observe continence until the child begins to stand
and tries to walk. Though a name may have been given to the child earlier, a public name giving
ceremony marks the end of this probationary period. By staying alive for several months, the
infant has proved itself to be no temporary or destructive interloper from the spirit world, but a
genuine human birth into the family. Family membership cannot be recognized, however,
without a rite of integration for the child and alongside this, the end of the required period of
segregation of the mother. Part of the reason for her remaining separate until then is not simply
the belief about her earlier physical impurity, but is due to her close tie with the infant during its
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period of marginality between the two worlds. Difficult labour is ascribed to the evil eye of the
enemies or to the ill will of some malevolent spirits dwelling on hills, forests and streams. If
displeased the ancestral spirits also create countless troubles in case of childbirth. To counteract
the evil eye and to neutralize the effect of sins or ill temper of the ancestors a number of magical
rites are performed. The Raulia (ghost-finder) is summoned to perform rites to expel the ghosts.
He first gives a few medicinal herbs to the expectant mother to help ease delivery. If this fails
the Raulia gets confirmed that some evil spirits are creating troubles. The Raulia measures three
reeds to detect the spirit or the person obstructing the delivery. If the evil maker is detected to be
a sorcerer the Raulia performs magical rites to counteract or to neutralize the evils played by the
sorcerer. If the labour pain is believed due to the whim of some displeased ancestor sacrifice of
chicken, tobacco, liquor and cooked rice are made to avert his ill temper. The other spirits
causing troubles are also properly propitiated to help easy delivery.
If the baby is male one the sutrunihari shouts saying that the child is sengan or firewood
(meaning male child); and it case of a female child she is referred to as alak (leaves). The
midwife cuts the naval cord of the newborn, anoints turmeric paste and bathes the baby in tepid
water. She cleans the mother and the apartment, and lights a fire to warm the baby and the
mother. The mother is advised not to expose herself to rain or cold. The midwife is given
remuneration, which consists of five to ten pai of paddy; one chicken, and leaf cupful of cooked-
rice and curry. In case a son is born she may be given extra amount of one to two rupees and a
brass bangle for her services. Though Juangs hail the birth of a child as a happy event, there are,
however, situations when a birth is not considered desirable, as before a marriage or too soon
after a previous birth. But there are also certain elderly women in some villages who supply a
root, which can prevent childbirth.
Fostering a Child
In order to avoid the premature death of a child whose elder brother and sisters died
young the parents may ceremonially hand over the child to the bara bhaiki (village elders) and
mabhouniki (village women). The Juang believe that if the child is ceremonially made over to the
care of the villagers it restores health and happiness. On a particular day the father intimates his
intention to the villagers, and all the elderly men and women assemble in his house. The Raulia
reads omens and detects the agency creating troubles to the family members of the affected
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person. An earthen doll is made representing the evil maker and the nagam (priest) makes
offerings praying Basumata (Earth Goddess);Dharma Devta (Sun God), Gramsiri (Village
Deity) and other deities. He first draws a circle on the floor with turmeric powder. The doll of
the troublemaker is placed inside the turmeric circle and the nagam offers husked-rice grains,
molasses and liquor to him praying for the health of the child. Three pairs of split sal twigs,
measuring three to four inches in length and about an inch in diameter are kept on the hands of
the image and the nagam tilts the image to make the split twigs fall down on the floor, while
doing this he pours liquor before the image and prays the image to forget anger and take back his
curse. All the three pairs of the sal twigs are thrown from the hands of the image pair by pair
until all the three pairs fall down in a definite manner that is viewed to be auspicious. Of the two
split pieces of the twigs one should fall down with the flat surface down and the other one
reversely in order to indicate good luck. After this the women bath the child in turmeric water
and make him to sit on the lap of women. They contribute one or two beads from their necklace
and make a necklace for the child that is tied around his neck. They put turmeric powder on the
cheek of the child and bless for his good health. They give a new name to the child and
announce him to be their son. The elderly men and women assemble together and perform a
liquor ritual. They pour liquor on the ground in the name of the deities and the pitruki
(ancestors) and sprinkle a little over the head of the child wishing him a smooth life. While
performing the liquor ritual they pray:
“O Basumata, Dharam Devta, Gramsiri, Pitru Pitaki (ancestors). From today the
child ceases to be the son of his father; he becomes the son of the villagers. From
to day we pour all our blessings over him. Let him be free from all diseases and
let him lead a happy life, if any body tries to endanger him, let that person be
eaten by tiger, and let his heart burst; and let his tongue be uprooted.”
Though the child is ceremonially handed over to the villagers he still retains all his
normal relations with his family members. He continues to remain with his parents, and is fed
by them as usual. After he grows up, and before his marriage, his parents present about one or
two khandi of husked rice, a goat, and liquor worth two to three rupees to the villagers to get
back their son ritually. A feast is held and the food is distributed among all the families
equally.Apart from singing and dancing, the community and the family does not duly recognize
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any other creative activities of the children. But a person who is good at agricultural operations
and household works is always appreciated.
Daily Schedule of Activities of Children
Children in the age group of 0-6 and 7-12 get up from the bed at around 5.00 A.M. but
the children in the age group of 13-18 (especially girls) usually getup as early as 4.00 AM. After
meeting the calls of nature from 6 A.M. to 8 A.M. older children (7-12 and 13-18) attend the
younger ones (0-6) and girls assists mother in their household work. After taking their morning
meal the older children prepare to go to work with their parents. They do not come back home
for the mid-day meal. Small children gather to play around village and girls assists mothers in
performing domestic work. After the evening meal the younger ones go to bed but the grown up
boys and girls engage in gossiping, joking, changu dance and singing.
Laxman Juang a 15-year-old boy said:
Going to the forest has taught me a lot of things; things like working in close co-
zordination with others and self-reliance. The forest has also given me a lot of beautiful
moments. Do you know there are so many types of animals in the forest? Once I saw a
tiger. It was terrifying but exiting. Unfortunately I am not good at sketching so I am not
able to get the exact image on paper. Yet, it was quite an experience, one that I enjoyed
tremendously.
While analyzing the daily schedule of activities and the annual calendar of activities of
the Juangs, it is found that children are involved in most of the day-to-day activities of the Juang
community. The children through informal social group activities are taught their role in their
own community. Such activities further help the children to learn the cultural practices of the
community. Therefore, it has rightly been said that, a man's culture is what he has, the totality of
his life and interests. This is especially true of the Juang people because they are still not much
exposed to outside influences. Traditional yet, somewhere open in their attitude, the two mix-up
to give a unique distinction to this tribe. And growing up in a Juang village with its own social
system, cultural patterns, customs, religious belief, marriage system all have their own
uniqueness.
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Juang children's contribution to the family economy often as an invisible force is note
worthy. The household works are considered as the monopoly of the women. The Juang boys
are not concerned with this works. The girls from an early age start working at home. They do
all the household work such as cleaning the house, washing the cloths, cleaning the utensils,
bringing water etc. Besides they also collect firewood from the forest. But their work goes
unnoticed as it is mainly confined in domestic sphere.
The routine work of the Juang children, centre rounds their economic activities. It is very
systematic and regular. Work in their society starts before sun rises and continues till late in the
evening or early part of the night when they go to bed. In the daily round of labour the Juangs
extract work from all, young and old, male, female and children by assigning specific works.
The women and grown-up children always lend a hand in all food getting activities. There is a
division of labour along the sex line. The common practice is that the men attend to more
arduous work whereas the women and the children do relatively lighter works. The men do the
works requiring strength, whereas women do the works connected with preparation of food.
Ploughing, sowing seeds by broadcasting, thatching, tree felling are exclusively the works of
men whereas weeding, transplanting, reaping and threshing are done jointly by men and women.
Both the sexes including the children and old men and women go to the forest for collection of
minor forest produce. During slack season one may see the men spending time leisurely, while
the women are always engaged in some work or the other. Grown up boys and girls assist their
parents in the field and small boys and girls do lighter work like weeding in the field, looking
after infants and collecting fruits. The girls help their mothers in domestic works like cleaning
the houses, cooking, grinding, and pounding grains. The Juangs support their economy by
collecting minor forest produce. Animal rearing, cottage industries and wage earning are their
other subsidiary occupation.
Majority of Juang non-school going children are wage laborers, they work in agricultural fields
and various construction sites. Some of them also work in hotels of Keonjhar. The school going
boys do not work during the school hours and school days but in the long vacations, they earn
money by taking up some occupation. Both girls and boys in the age group of 12-18 years go for
wage earning. They also help their parents in agricultural field. Children in the age group of 5-
11 years mainly collect minor forest produces (MFP). The Juangs follow the age and sex wise
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distribution of labour. The heavier work such as cutting trees, ploughing, hunting, etc. fall on the
shoulder of boys while lighter work such as domestic work, cooking, thrashing are done by the
girls. Certain works such as clearing the forest, transplanting, harvesting, and collection of
minor forest produces are done by both boys and girls. All these works are seasonal by nature.
The construction works are undertaken mainly in summer and winter, but once the agricultural
season starts they come back to the field. The pre-agricultural activities start with the selection
of hill slopes for cultivation. The children help their parents in their field in felling trees and
cleaning bushes, piling of felled trees and firing, ploughing and sowing, transplantation and
weeding and finally harvesting. In all these activities children have some contribution to make.
Hence, in a Juang family the children start sharing the economic burden of their parents from an
early age.
Children, like adults, gain their self-esteem through positive and active engagement with
the world. A sense of respect and responsibility for self and others is a value that is lived from
the early moments of life and experienced constantly in interaction with the world. Where we
see instances of authentic child participation in the family, school, community and society, we
hear children and young people tell us that they are more confident in themselves, more aware of
the community and its problems, more committed to serving and working with others and more
optimistic about the future and their role in it. The phenomenon of working children is invariably
associated with poverty and is usually considered to be a by-product of under-development. The
highest incidence of child labour is said to be in the poorest countries of the world, and is the
poorest regions of those countries. Globalization, indebt ness and widening income gap between
the rich and the poor countries may also exacerbate the problem. Several studies have pointed
out that globalization does have a negative influence in the short term. Structural policies of
adjustments have resulted in many developing countries spending less on basic services.
However, a crucial distinction has to be made between child labour and child work. Child work
should be used as the generic term, and should refer to any type of work in any mode of
employment relationship. The concept of work, which is description of a physical (or mental)
involvement in a job, may be an activity which, rather than being harmful, is beneficial to the
child in its formative socialization. The concept of labour, on the other hand, should be
restricted to the production and services, which interfere with the normal development of
children as defined by the Convention on the Rights of the Child. There is a perception that quite
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a lot of what has been subsumed under child labour, is actually work performed during a
standard process of socialization and not associated with labour exploitation or interfering with
the quality of development which the child in the given circumstances could expect. .
The groups and functionaries were well noted by Rout (1969-70) of the Tribal Research
Bureau, Bhubaneswar, and some years ago. They are listed here with additions and amendments
resulting from our recent fieldwork.
Kangerki (boys and unmarried youth)

 Bringing firewood for sacred fire in the Community House.
 Thatching and repairing the Community House and aiding in the reconstruction of the
new building if the village site is changed.
 Making and restoring the traditional mud-relief pictures of persons or animals on the
walls of the Community House. They collect mud of different colours from places
nearby and also prepare colours from plants. Now-a-days, if there is a market nearby,
they buy powdered colours.
 Installing the stone pillar symbolizing the presence of the guardian deity at the new
village site.
 Making the sacred changu drums and the lesser drums, and keeping all drums in good
repair.
 Jointly contributing a goat or a pig for important village rituals. These are bought with
the earnings of the kangerki members engaged as a group in other villages.
 Cooking for certain guests on ritual days.
 Collecting paddy and other grains from every house for the common fund set aside to
feed guests, who consist, among others, occasional visitors and invited groups of
marriageable young women and dance visits from other villages; also packing this grain
into fiber-rope baskets for storage in the Community House.
 Working on the land allotted to them for shifting cultivation, and storing the harvested
grains as part of the village fund in the Community House, and keeping money gained
from their cash crops to buy small presents for the visiting dancers.
 Helping the men to sweep, fetch water and cook at festivals and marriages.
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 Helping any needy folk in the community to build or repair their houses when asked and
even outsiders by carrying their baggage to the next nearest village.
 Beating the sacred drums overnight on ritual occasions, and at dances held periodically
between ritual events, especially if the elders so request.
 Obeying their elected sponsors and the village elders in work and conduct.
 By available on hire as a community working party by their sponsors or by other villages,
the wage payment is meant to go to the village fund.
 Bringing firewood to the houses of the bride or groom for marriages, and also for their
sponsors and ritual elders on festive occasions.
Selanki (girls and young unmarried women)
 Plastering the Community House and sweeping the dancing ground, every three or four days
and always-on ritual occasions.
 Plastering the house of those who need help in building or maintaining them.
 Making leaf cups and plates for feasts and festivals, or for guests.
 Grinding spices and fetching water on festive occasions; husking paddy from the common
fund, baking rice cakes for certain village rituals.
 Functioning as a community working party for women tasks in the preparation and
cultivation of hill plots, etc.
 Dancing overnight on ritual and festive occasions.
 Obeying the elected sponsors, the widows and the village elders.
The life of a Juang is based on a nine-fold age-grade classification. According to this the
male and female populations are divided into nine classes. The discrepancy between the
biological and social age groups is bridged up within the framework of youth organization. The
social norms do not favour an ordinary person to joke with anybody who stands in adjacent
generation to him or her, but the kangerki and selanki of own, alternate, and adjacent generations
are allowed to joke with each other within their own group. This is because, in a broad sense, all
the kangerki are considered as brothers and all the selanki as sisters to each other.
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After marriage, a kanger automatically steps into the status of a kamathara kanger but he
continues to work and co-operate with the kangerki till he can afford to get himself detached
from the association of the kangerki through a special observance. Right after the marriage the
groom does not sleep with his wife. A new house is built for him and on the consummation day
of the marriage he has to take farewell from the kangerki by giving them cakes, tobacco, and a
mat.
After this formal observance the boy is permitted to sleep with his wife, but he still
continues to be a regular member of the boy's dormitory and fulfils most of the obligations of his
association group. When he wants to resign from the group of the kangerki he gives some rice
and a chicken to the kangerki on the Amba Nua ritualday. It is after this only that he ceases to be
a working member of the youth's group. Similar is the procedure for a girl to get herself detached
from the membership of the youth organization. After her marriage and before she sleeps with
her husband she visits the kangerki and selanki of her village to take farewell from them and
offers them cakes, tobacco and a new mat.
Every age group is entrusted with special roles and responsibilities under the purview of
the dormitory and youth organization. The boys and girls of the Majang choose a sponsor of
their own, known as tandakar who acts as their guardian and moral adviser. Failing to do the
duty, as prescribed by the norms of the society, is considered as a deviation for which the village
elders punish the offenders.
The punishments are of the following four kinds: -
 Expulsion from the Majang.

 Physical punishment like standing on one leg holding the ears, putting the second finger
in excreta, etc. in minor offences, and beating in case of adultery and incest.
 Fines of money, liquor, goat and rice.
 Verbal scolding and caution not to repeat the work again.
Both the girls and the boys are punished for failing to discharge their duties properly.
The boys are generally punished for not bringing firewood to the Majang and for not obeying the
village elders similarly the girls are found fault with if they do not plaster the Majang and sweep
the plaza regularly. If first attracts the attention of the village elders when the boys or girls are
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found guilty in neglecting their duties, they first accuse the tandakar for not supervising the work
of the kangerki and selanki. Sometimes the tandakar is fined one or two rupees for the fault of
the boys or the girls after which the blame falls on the actual offenders. One of the main features
of the Juang youth organization is collective responsibility of its members. For negligence of
one duty or for the failure to carryout any assigned task in case of one member of the dormitory,
all the members of the organization are liable to be punished. They are fined, the fine being rice
(generally one to two khandi), a goat or a pig, and about two to five rupees for liquor for the
village elders. They collect these things from their own houses or borrow from some body on an
arrangement to pay it off by working on the creditor's field. The fines are used for holding a
feast in the village.
Learning Through Rhythm and Movement

Children learn in a variety of ways. What is crucial is that the experiences are
meaningful to the reality. Children's natural flair for experimenting with body and sound goes
beyond the traditional rigor of the classical forms. They incorporate meaningful digressions and
suggest "swaying like a tree" or "running like a deer" or "imitating mother when she is angry".
Music and dance are effective tools to capture a child's attention. Changu drums hold supreme
place among the Juang musical instruments due to three factors; the sacred value set upon this
type of drum, the importance of rhythm in the Juang music, and the close-knit relationship in the
village community calling for the rhythmic drum messages being easily heard and understood by
all. The changu drums are large, shallow tambourines, two feet or more in diameter, with a
single memberance of stretched deer hide, or more often goatskin. The outer hairs are carefully
scraped from the hide, which is then stretched over the circular wooden frame and attached all
around the sharply pointed hard wood nails. The Juangs also use a kettledrum and a thin, barrel-
shapped double memberance drum, and both of these are of cowhide and resemble those
commonly found in Orissa. The changu, which is hung from the left shoulder of the drummer
and covers the upper half of the body, is beaten with the fingers and palm of the hand. Usually
two or three drummers move together, stepping, turning, stooping and straightening in the closest
possible harmony. When not in use, the changu drums hang from horn or wooden pegs on the
walls of the Community House, for they are sacred to the deities residing there and may be
played only by the men and the kangerki. Their most common uses are two: first is for religious
rites and festivals, and second is for the occasion of visits by the young women of bandhuvillage.
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Always before being played and at intervals throughout a performance, the instruments are
warmed at the Community House fire to tighten the skin and so produce the full sound.
Conclusion
The anthropological study on education has challenged the traditional ideas regarding
education, opened new avenues in the realm of psychological investigation, resulting in the
refinement of cross-cultural studies to understand the educational pattern and motivation of any
primitive society. Margaret Mead (1928) was the pioneer in this field, whose work attracted a
number of psychologists and anthropologists towards the subject. The researcher’s emphasis lies
on the fact that the child born with a clean state of mind and is molded by its culture to fit into its
society. Games played by Juang children has got tremendous educational value, which creates
new aptitudes in them and the imitation and pretence practiced by children cultivate power
significance and the learning of things they have to do in their practical life, Acharya (1993).
This is also observed in the case of Juang children of Keonjhar District of Orissa. The various
games played by the children of the Juang society cannot be considered as mere play of games;
but it is a source of learning apart from being a source of pleasure. By playing the games with
the playmates they build themselves for their future life. They form some ideas about their
social life, such as rituals and the work they have to perform in their matured life.
Manipulating, experimenting, trying out, exploring, discovering new things and communicating,
the child develops by employing all these strategies. The eagerness to learn is inherent in the
child. The Juangs believe that providing a suitable environment, assisting, appreciating,
supporting and being part of the excitement is what is parenting all about.
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References
Acharya M. and R. P. Mohanty.(1993). "Games Visa-Vis Socialisation. A Case Study Among

Kondh Children," Adibasi, XXXIII: 22-25.
Dr.Kumar,Champak Sahu.92014).Status of Education among Juang: A Case Study in Keumjhar,

Odisha. International Journal of Advance Research,Vol-2,Issue-II,pp-740-746
Dr.Kumari, Kavitha Sahu.(2014). Challangeing issues of Tribal Education in India ,IOSR

Journal of Economics and Finance,Issue-2,Vol.II,pp-48-52
Dr.Rajam,V and MS.V.Malarvizihi.(2011). A Study of Educational Status of Tribal Children in

the Nilgiris District.”ZENITH International Journal of Business Economics and Management
Research.Vol-1,Issue-II
Mead, Margaret. (1928). Coming of Age in Samoa. New York: Morrow.
Rout, S.P. (1970). Handbook on the Juang.Bhubaneswar Tribal Research Bureau.
Pattnaik,Tarini and Mohanty B.B.(20040. The Juang Youth Dormitory: An Anthropological

Outline, Adivasi, Journal of Schedule Castes and Schedule Tribes Research and Training
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279
EXPLORING ESL LEARNERS LANGUAGE SPEAKING ANXIETY: AN

EXPLORATORY STUDY
Dr. Suraj Nandkumar Dhumal
Abstract
The present research study attempts to explore the factors of language speaking anxiety among
the ESL learners. The investigation of the study was centered on two research questions: To what
extent the ESL learners’ experience language speaking anxiety? and Which factors of language
anxiety have a strong influence on the ESL learners’ classroom speaking anxiety? The study
employed a mixed methods research design and the data was collected through FLCAS, learner
questionnaire, learner interviews, classroom observations, audio recordings, and reflective
journals. The quantitative data was analyzed with SPSS software and qualitative data was
analyzed through thematic coding.The findings of the study demonstrated that ESL learners
experienced language anxiety at three different levels: low anxious, moderate anxious and high
anxious. What was most surprising about these findings was the percentage of the learners in
each category: low anxious 20%, moderate anxious 26. 67%, and high anxious 53.33%. The
findings related to the factors of language speaking anxiety showed that eight major factors
(communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation, insufficient teacher
support in the classroom, inadequate learner involvement, anxiety provoking classroom
environment, learners' pessimistic previous language learning experience, and learner irrational
beliefs about speaking English) caused language speaking anxiety in the ESL learners.
Key words – Language speaking anxiety, factors of language speaking anxiety
Introduction
Language anxiety is an important area of investigation in language studies. Based on the

observations and the findings of the research studies researchers and practitioners agree that
investigation into language anxiety has the potential to contribute positively to learners' language
development (Gardner, 1993; Krashen, 1988; Ellis, 1985; Pappamihiel, 2001, Horwitz, 2001;
Liu, 2006; Mak, 2011).
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The research into language anxiety indicates that most of the studies have been conducted
in the foreign language context however; very few research studies have been done in the second
language context. This indicates that the research of language anxiety in the second language
context is still in infancy mode and such research should be encouraged. Thus, the scope of the
present research lies in exploring language anxiety and speaking skill in the second language
context. Through this study, we will be able to contribute to the second language research and
also generalize its findings with the help of findings obtained from the foreign language research.
The role and significance of affect in ESL/EFL context
So far numerous researchers have indicated the importance of affective factors in the
second language classrooms. This can be explicitly seen in three different domains: research,
methods of teaching language, and curriculum design. In the research domain various studies
have depict the significance of affect. For example, in one of his studies Chastain (1975) stated
that affective domain is a subjective area of the learner, which includes individuals personal
experiences, desires, interests, feelings, fantasies, imaginings, and opinions (p.212). Further,
while illustrating the significance of affect he illustrated that the cognitive domain is vital for
learning to take place, but the lesson content for language practice is usually more appealing
when it springs from the affective domain of the learners” (Chastain, 1975, p.212). Other
researchers who have profoundly discussed the significance of affect are Arnold (2005) and Seo
(2004). According to Arnold consideration of affect while teaching language can result in more
effective language learning. Further, another scholar who investigated the role of affective
experience in the language learning is Seo (2004). He asserted that the learners who experience
positive feelings in the classroom tend to focus on searching and attaining positive outcomes,
where as the learners who experience negative emotions process information with a lot of
difficulty and show ‘a defensive behavioural orientation’(p.430).
For the past twenty-five years, many of the major developments in the field of language
teaching suggest that they are in some way related to the need to recognize the importance of
affect in language learning. For example, the methods which came to the fore in the 1970s –
suggestopedia (Lozanov, 1979), silent way (Gattegno, 1972), community language learning
(Curran, 1976), and total physical response (Asher, 1977) take into account the affect in
language learning in a very central manner. Further, teaching approaches like communicative
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language teaching and the natural approach (Krashen and Terrell, 1983) too consider the
importance of affect in language learning. The natural approach, developed by Krashen and
Terrell (1983), considers affect in a prominent way. One of the five hypotheses in Krashen’s
theory of second language acquisition is the affective filter hypothesis and the activities in the
natural approach are designed to minimize classroom stress.
Even curriculum design in recent times has been influenced by humanistic affective
thought. For example, Nunan (1988) and Tudor’s (1979) work in curriculum design have
developed undeniably humanistic learner models , which demonstrates the necessity of focusing
more on language learners and their experiences rather than simply on the narrower field of non-
learner related linguistic corpora. Thus, the above discussion indicates that affect assists in
establishing interesting and learner friendly learning environment in the classroom.
Language anxiety as an identifiable affective factor in EFL/ESL Context
Second language theorists such as Gardner, 1993; Krashen, 1988; Ellis, 1985;
Pappamihiel, 2001, have recognized the vital role of anxiety in the language learning process.
According to them, every second language learner suffers some form of anxiety regardless of
their age, experience with language, the type of language learning setting and location. In the
same line of research, Ellis (1994) stated that the construct of language anxiety refers to the
subjective uneasiness, nervousness, apprehension, and worry experienced by second language
learners who are required to use the second language in certain conditions like public speaking or
classroom discussions. Thus, here it is crucial to note that the construct refers to the learner’s
subjective perception, evaluation, and experience of the language-learning situation which means
that language learning has a subjective component to it and the language learners differ in the
level of language anxiety based on factors such as age, knowledge of the language, and the
individual’s culture, among others (Horwitz, 2001, P. 112).
Dornyei (2005) characterized language anxiety as an individual difference variable along

with creativity, learner beliefs, and general anxiety and suggested that the individual difference
variable of language anxiety is an essential learner characteristic in acquisition and use of a
second language. Here, Dornyei’s (2005), concern about language anxiety is in its integration in
paradigms of research. While talking about language anxiety Oxford (2005), stated that if the
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teacher or the learner identifies the language anxiety and does something positive about it then it
can have a positive impact on the learners; on the other hand, if they avoid it then it can have a
negative impact on the learners and can lead to dropping out of the programme or losing a
prospective career in the programme.
Krashen (1981) suggests that operations have a profound effect on the affective state of
the learner. It includes egocentrism, which in turn leads to increased self-consciousness and
greater reticence. Thus, young adult learners tend to obtain less input and make less effective use
of the input. Now language anxiety has become the preferred term when discussing
communication apprehension in the second language (Horwitz & Young, 1991) and the negative
effects of language anxiety can be explained by proposing that the arousal of anxiety causes an
increase in self-focused attention and distracting, self-deprecating thoughts (Eysenck, 1979;
MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994b). This cognitive disruption and its consequences can occur within
an individual without a single act of communication behavior; simply being aware of potential
future communication with another person can create distraction and disrupt the language
learning process (MacIntyre & Gardner, 1994a, 1994b). According to Arnold (2005), “anxiety is
quite possibly the affective factor that most pervasively obstructs the learning process. it is
associated with negative feelings such as uneasiness, frustration, self-doubt, apprehension, and
tension” (p.8). While talking about anxiety, Eysenck (1979) explains that anxiety present in
classrooms have a down-spiraling effect on the learners’ language learning (p.364). It makes
them nervous and afraid and thus contributes to poor performance. According to him, the
feelings of fear and nervousness are intimately connected to the cognitive side of anxiety.
Conceptualizing language anxiety
So far the researchers have conceptualized language anxiety in three different

perspectives such as trait anxiety, state anxiety, and situation specific anxiety. Trait anxiety
perspective is generally known as personality trait, where learners are found to be anxious
because of their personality trait. Spielberger (1983) defines it as an individual becoming anxious
in any situation. This suggests that a person with high trait anxiety would likely to be anxious in
a number of different situations leading to impair cognitive functioning, disrupt memory and
avoidance behaviour (Eysenck, 1979). Research related to this perspective is considerable and
have demonstrated that trait anxiety can have a pervasive effect on the learners cognitive,
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affective, and behavioral functioning (Levitt, 1980; Spielberger, 1983). Although trait anxiety
perspective has its strength in describing the effects of generalized anxiety, which is applicable
across situations, it has faced with criticism as well. While commenting on this perspective,
Endler (1980) argues that traits are meaningless unless they are considered in interaction with
situations. This suggests that to study anxiety one needs to examine the interaction of the learner
in the situation and that’s how the trait anxiety can be investigated.
The perspective of state anxiety is a combination of the two approaches – trait and
situational anxiety. According to Spielberger (1983), state anxiety is apprehension experienced at
a particular time, for instance speaking in the class. He defined state anxiety as “an immediate,
transitory emotional state of subjective, conscious feelings of tension, apprehension,
nervousness, and worry associated with an arousal of the automatic nervous system reactions in
response to a particular stimulus such as giving speech or taking an examination” (Deyuan, 2011,
pp.13). In one of his studies, he found out that the high level of trait anxiety is highly correlated
with the state anxiety. As like trait anxiety this perspective has been criticized by various
researchers. For example, MacIntyre and Gardner (1991) criticized this approach in terms of the
assessment of the state anxiety in the learner. They argued that in assessing state anxiety the
subject is asked, “Are you nervous now?” instead of asking, “does this situation makes you
nervous?” This implies that the subject is not asked to attribute the experience to any particular
source. Therefore as an alternative to state anxiety, a concept of situation specific anxiety was
adopted by several researchers.
The third perspective situation specific anxiety is known as an alternative perspective to

the state anxiety. In this perspective, learners’ anxiety is tested in a well-defined situation such as
public speaking, writing examinations, or classroom performance. At this juncture a learner is
asked about the various aspects of the situation, which in turn clearly delineates the situation of
interest for the learner. Thus, making situation as the main focus of the study, this perspective
allows the researcher to avoid making assumptions about the source of the anxiety reaction and
offers a better understanding of the source of anxiety. Until now, many researchers have adopted
this perspective in their investigations (Horwitz, 2001; Liu, 2006; Mak, 2011) and have found
this perspective as a better approach for investigating the construct of language anxiety.
Although there are many advantages of this perspective, it has also faced some criticism. A
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criticism of this approach is that the situation under consideration can be defined variously such
as very broadly (e.g., shyness), more narrowly (e.g., communication apprehension), or quite
specific (e.g., stage fright). Thus, it is the researcher’s responsibility to define a situation that is
sufficiently specific to be meaningful for the purpose at hand, yet to have reasonable generality
to permit generalizations (MacIntyre and Gardner, 1991). Since the broad-spectrum of study is to
understand the targeted learners’ language anxiety, the framework of this perspective aptly suits
the aim of the study. Hence, the situation specific perspective forms the base for the present
study’s framework. Therefore, by considering this view the present research study adopts
Horwitz’s (1986) definition of language anxiety as “a distinct complex of selfperceptions,
beliefs, feelings, and behaviors related to classroom language learning arising from the
uniqueness of the language learning process” (p. 125).
Research setting and sample
The sample of the study comprised sixty ESL learners pursuing their career in the
engineering field. As a part of first year engineering curriculum, they were asked to study ELCS
Lab (English Language Communication Skills Lab) which was primarily designed to enhance
their speaking skills. In this course learners were mainly asked to participate in the speaking
activities like give oral and power point presentations, participate in debate, group discussions,
deliver speech on various topics etc. So in this course they were mainly asked to concentrate on
the speaking skill which is considered as one of the most anxiety provoking skills. The sample
was heterogeneous in terms of their proficiency with eight years of exposure to the English
language. The study was carried out over a period of one semester resulting in six months of data
collection and data analysis.
Research design
The present research study employed a mixed methods research design by utilizing both
quantitative and qualitative tools of data collection. In this research quantitative tools like
FLCAS (Foreign Language Classroom Anxiety Scale) see appendix I, and learner questionnaire,
assisted in the initial investigation of learners levels of speaking anxiety, whereas learner
interviews, classroom observations, and reflective journals became part of the qualitative tools
and helped further in exploring the factors of language speaking and their possible influence on
285
2347
the learners. In this study we employed the mixed methods research mainly because language
anxiety is a complex psychological phenomenon, hence researching it with only qualitative or
uld not contribute in obtaining the comprehensive data for the study.
quantitative method would
Data collection and data analysis procedures
To explore to what extent ESL learners experience language speaking anxiety, first
FLCAS and learner questionnaire was administered to the sixty ESL learners and subsequently
the data was analyzed with the help of SPSS software. In the second phase, to investigate the
factors that cause language speaking anxiety in the learners’ their verbal and non
non-verbal behavior
semi structured interviews were conducted and they were
was observed in the class. Later their semi-structured
asked to record their feeling and views about their oral performances in the reflective journals.
All the qualitative data was analyzed by thematic coding.
Findings and discussion
The quantitative
ntitative analysis of the FLCAS revealed that the sample of the study experienced
language anxiety at three different levels. The following bar graph indicates the findings
obtained from the FLCAS.
ESL Learners' language anxiety

40
Number of students
30
20
10
0
Low anxious High
learners
Bar graph: 1
The above bar graph indicates that 20% ESL learners experienced low language anxiety
in the classroom, 26. 67% experienced moderate anxiety and 53.33% experienced high language
286
anxiety in the classroom. What is most surprising about these findings is that more than fifty
percent of the ESL learners felt highly anxious in the classroom. This indicates that to a greater
extent ESL learners experienced language speaking anxiety in the classroom.
The findings of the factor analysis of FLCAS and learner questionnaire and the
qualitative data divulged that there were eight major factors that contributed to the ESL learners’
language speaking anxiety. The following bar graph provides the overall picture of the findings.
Influence of the factors on the learners' language

speaking anxiety (Factor analysis)
100.00%
90.00%
89.40% 90.40%
80.00% 86.55% 88.80% 87.87% 89.10%
83.10%
70.00%
74.20%
60.00%
50.00%
40.00%
30.00%
20.00%
10.00%
0.00%
Fear of negative
Learner irrational
Anxiety provoking
Test anxiety
Communication
Inadequate learner
pessimistic previous
language learning…
speaking English
Insufficient teacher
apprehension
beliefs about
environment
evaluation
involvement
classroom
Learners'
support
Bar graph: 2
The above chart indicates that factors like communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear
of negative evaluation, insufficient teacher support in the classroom, inadequate learner
involvement, anxiety provoking classroom environment, learners' pessimistic previous language
learning experience, and learner irrational beliefs about speaking English were the major factors
that caused language speaking anxiety in the ESL learners. Among these factors learner irrational
beliefs about speaking English was the most influential factor that caused language speaking
anxiety in the learners. The bar graph two indicates that the factor had 90.40 percentages
influence on the learners speaking anxiety. The findings obtained from the qualitative data also
287
significantly supported these findings. The thematic data analysis of the learner responses
revealed that ESL learners gave exorbitant importance to the excellent pronunciation, and error
free usage of English. Further it was also found that learners strongly believed in pause less
conversations and speeches. These responses indicate that ESL learners had unreasonable beliefs
about speaking English which subsequently created language anxiety in them.
The second most influential factor that caused language speaking anxiety in the learners
was anxiety provoking classroom environment. The findings of the factor analysis showed that
the factor caused 89.40 percent influence on the learners speaking anxiety. The findings of the
qualitative data also considerably endorsed the result. The thematic analysis of the learners’
responses indicated that the learners did not experience positive and learners friendly classroom
environment. Their classmates never encouraged them to speak in the classroom; instead, they
made fun of their broken English. Subsequently, their teacher always corrected their errors in the
classroom and they were not encouraged to use English in and outside of the classroom. Thus,
the findings clearly showed that such classroom learning experiences caused language speaking
anxiety among the learners.
Another influential factor that enhanced learners’ language speaking anxiety was
insufficient teacher support in the classroom. The findings of the qualitative data showed that the
factor had 89.10 percent influence on the learners language speaking anxiety. The thematic
analysis of the qualitative data too substantiated this finding. The findings of the thematic
analysis revealed that the learners did not received timely support from the teacher. They were
given very less speaking practice in the classroom and with that they were asked to participate in
other speaking activities. This suggests that the learners received insufficient teacher support in
the classroom causing language speaking anxiety in them.
The next most influential factor that caused language speaking anxiety in the learner was
test anxiety. As the bar graph indicates, this factor had 88.80 percent influence on the learners
language speaking anxiety. The findings of the qualitative data considerably supported the
finding. The findings of the thematic analysis revealed that the learners worried about their
results of failing in English class. They also experienced the pressure of English exams and felt
more confused when they studied for an English test. This indicates that test anxiety also
considerably contributed to the learner language speaking anxiety.
288
Fear of negative evaluation was the fifth most influential factor that caused language
speaking anxiety in the ESL learners. As the findings show this factor had 87.87 percent
influence on the learners language speaking anxiety. The findings obtained from the qualitative
data significantly supported the finding. While responding to the factor learners said that they
were afraid of the negative evaluation of their speaking performance. They were of the opinion
that their peers and teacher would blame them for their inappropriate speaking performance and
would create their negative image in the class. Thus, such circumstances caused high level of
language speaking anxiety in the ESL learners.
The next most influential factor that caused language speaking anxiety in the learners was
communication apprehension. The findings of the factor analysis revealed that this factor had
86.55 percent influence on the learners language speaking anxiety. In this case, it was observed
that there was a significant agreement between the findings of the factor analysis and the
findings of qualitative data analysis. The thematic analysis revealed that low language
proficiency and the feeling of being nervous when speaking in the class caused language
speaking anxiety in the learners. The learners’ responses to this factor clearly indicated that due
to their language deficiency they could not do well and caused high language speaking anxiety in
them.
Inadequate learner involvement was the seventh most influential factor that caused
language speaking anxiety in the ESL learners. The findings of the factor analysis indicated that
this factor had 83.10 percent influence on the learners language speaking anxiety. The thematic
analysis of the qualitative data showed that learner involvement in the class was not to the
expected level. Similarly, the learners were also not given adequate speaking practice in the
classroom. So whenever they were asked to speak in the class they felt very anxious. This
indicates that inadequate learner involvement caused high language speaking anxiety in the class.
The last most influential factor that caused language speaking anxiety in the learner was
learners' pessimistic previous language learning experience. The factor analysis of the qualitative
data indicated that this factor had 74.20 percent influence on the learners language speaking
anxiety. The findings of the qualitative data considerably support this finding. The thematic
analysis of the qualitative data revealed that learners’ previous language learning experiences
were not joyful. They were full of bad memories like teacher correcting their mistakes,
289
humiliating and punishing them for their mistakes. In addition to that they also had a lot of
parental pressure for getting good grades in the English. So such experiences caused high
language speaking anxiety in them.
Conclusion
Our research has indicated that language speaking anxiety is a complex construct which
must be investigated with the mixed methods research design. The findings of the study show
that ESL learners experienced language anxiety at three different levels: low anxious, moderate
anxious and high anxious. What was most surprising about these findings was the percentage of
the learners in each category: low anxious 20%, moderate anxious 26. 67% and high anxious
53.33%. This reveals that to a greater extent ESL learners experience language anxiety in the
classroom and hence, teachers must take initiative to understand the factors that cause such
anxiety in the learners.
The research findings related to the factors of language speaking anxiety show that there
are eight factors such as communication apprehension, test anxiety, fear of negative evaluation,
insufficient teacher support in the classroom, inadequate learner involvement, anxiety provoking
classroom environment, learners' pessimistic previous language learning experience, and learner
irrational beliefs about speaking English that cause language speaking anxiety in the ESL
learners. In this case our research has contributed significantly by adding three new factors of
language speaking anxiety to the present literature in the ESL context and they are inadequate
learner involvement, learners' pessimistic previous language learning experience, and learner
irrational beliefs about speaking English. The present research just explored the levels of
language speaking anxiety and the factors that cause such anxiety among the ESL learners, thus
the further research need to be taken up to find the strategies of reducing ESL learners language
speaking anxiety.
290
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292
IMPORTANCE OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE PROFICIENCY AMONG

PROFESSIONALS IN ANDHRA PRADESH: A STATISTICAL
APPROACH
Dr.B.Sudha Sai
Dr.K.Aruna Kumari
Abstract
In a student’s academic career, Intermediate is the turning point where his future gets decided.
There is no doubt that majority of the students in Andhra Pradesh are eager to join professional
courses like Engineering and Medical stream. They are not given a chance to pursue the course
for which they have flair or aptitude. A student who is good at English in school tends to neglect
English at Intermediate level by over-emphasis on science subjects. In addition to it his parents
too believe that only Engineering and Medicine courses would fetch him a good job. The
present article, a part of a Major UGC Research Project entitled “Emphasis on English Language
at Intermediate Level in Andhra Pradesh” with a total grant of 4.7 lakhs, is on asserting the role
of English language in a professional student’s career and the need for English Language
Proficiency in the domains of Engineering and Medicine in Andhra Pradesh with the help of a
statistical analysis.
Introduction
Besides over-emphasizing on science subjects at the Intermediate level, there are a large
number of other reasons for which students may neglect English at the Intermediate level.
Furthermore it is commonly found with many of the English teachers from their long experience
that the students at Intermediate level have forgotten all the English learnt for 10 years in school.
In-spite of this, some students are able to secure 90% in English at Intermediate level and others
are effortlessly getting through it. At this point one needs to ponder on the point that ‘should
competence level of a student be decided on the basis of marks secured’? It could be one of the
reasons that the students have developed an attitude of indifference and negligence towards
English. So, they neither fare satisfactorily in examinations nor improve their oratory abilities.
293
When these students gain admission into an engineering program, it is found that a large
number of students face great difficulty in the four corner skills of English Language
proficiency, namely, Listening, Speaking, Reading and Writing. They make little or no attempt
to improve their skills in the language and as a result, they perform poorly during the time of
campus recruitment. They finally regret their lack of the appropriate employable skills but it is
often too late to reverse the situation.
Similarly in the present era of globalization, usage of English language for the medical
profession has gained a lot of prominence. For proper communication between a medico and a
patient, language plays a vital role. Interaction between them very important especially in those
cases where the diagnosis and the following treatment are based on the information obtained
from such communication. Usually most of the interns or doctors prefer to speak in the native
language which is common both to the patient and him. Sometimes they fail to connect well with
the patients as they are unable to speak fluently in English. They are unable to make sure
whether the patients understand what they are told and what they are supposed to do and why.
Similarly most of the patients feel comfortable with the interns or doctors when they use their
native language for communication. They think that their problems can be better explained by
talking in the native tongue. On the other hand there are also some patients who flinch when an
intern or a doctor doesn’t speak fluent English.
Literature Survey
National Employability Report by Aspiring Minds states that “India has a sizeable
engineering talent pool. It produces about five lakh Engineering graduates every year, but only
less than one- fifth of the total number of them are fit to be employable, especially in IT service
sector. It also says that the percentage of ready to be employed engineers for IT Jobs is dismally
low at 2.68%”. The report which covered more that 55000 engineering students, who graduated
in 2011, highlighted the fact that the zeal to increase the number of colleges has impacted on the
quality drastically.
According to Purple Leap Survey conducted in the year 2012, only one out of ten
students graduating from tier 2,3and 4 Engineering colleges can be readily employable. It also
pointed out regarding the huge gap between education and employability of the so-called
Engineering graduates. One third of these graduates who have done academically well by
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securing 60% marks are unfit for employment even after being given proper training. The pass
percentage of final year of Engineering in Andhra Pradesh was 49% in 2006, 35 % in 2007, 29 %
in 2008. According to Aspiring Minds National Employability Report, which is based on a study
of more than 1,50,000 engineering students who graduated in 2015 from over 650 colleges, 80%
of the them are unemployable and the situation continues to worsen over the years. Drawing on
data from 60,000 graduates pan-India by July 2018, an employability solutions company noted
that around 47 percent of Indian graduates are unemployable. According to a McKinsey report,
only a quarter of Indian engineers are employable. Other studies put it at a much lower figure
and even as low as five percent.
Scope of Research
Companies today want candidates possessing the three critical skills- Communication,
Problem solving and Technical Skills, and ready to start working from day one, because nobody
wants to spend and money on training. So students will need to do all that they can do to work on
their skills and be industry ready. Just going to college and finishing their studies is evidently not
enough.
Similarly as most of the medical books are written in English and the entire syllabus is
taught in English, it becomes a prerequisite for a medico to have a working knowledge in
English. Besides, all the latest journals and magazines are written in English and it is the medium
of communication for doctors or medicos at all the national and international conferences. In-
spite of all the above reasons English has become a disconnect language for the medicos after
their twelfth standard. Thus some of the interns with their good subject knowledge fail to connect
properly with patients coming from different states due to poor grip on English language. They
further miss better job prospects outside their respective state and country only due to poor hold
on English Language.
Proposed methodology and discussion

As a part of the main project, the present study has been conducted in some of the
professional colleges of Visakhapatnam district by gathering information through questionnaires,
personal interviews of the professionals. Students from 5 Engineering colleges and 4 medical
colleges have been selected, thus making a total sample of around 200 engineering students and
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200 medical students. After a gap of one month, collection of the filled-in questionnaires and
personal interviews are carried out. To analyze the data, some statistical tools that bring out the
best results have been used. The tools used are descriptive statistics with frequencies and factor
analysis. The software used to carry out statistical analysis is SPSS (Statistical Package for The
Social Sciences).
Experimental Results with Tables & Graphs
To analyze the data of professional students, a popular dimension reduction technique,

Factor Analysis is used to study the correlation structure among variables. It partitions the manifest
variables in to groups and each partition further signifies the effect of a latent variable called
common factor. These new variables stand for constructs that cannot be directly measured. Such an
analysis is vital in different fields of research such as marketing of various companies that spend
huge amount of money towards advertisement of their products. This further facilitates to know
whether it is worth spending money on an advertisement.
The objectives of the questionnaire:
 What are the factors that influence an engineer, a medico or a dental student in
neglecting English language at their Intermediate level?
 Are the influencing factors same for the engineering students and the medicos?
The sampling units consist of 200 samples of engineering students and 200 medicos
including dental, which further rate several variables on a 5 and 2-point semantic Likert-scale.
The data obtained then is analyzed by using Factor procedure of SPSS package. In Data
Screeningafter beinggiven a set of variables, SPSS usually finds a factor solution to that
particular set. The solution obtained does not have any real meaning in-case the variables
analyzed turnout to be insensible. There are several techniques such as study correlation among
the variables, Anti-Image Matrix, Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy that can
be used to know whether to proceed with factor analysis of the given data set.
Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling Adequacy method is a popular diagnostic

measure and provides a measure to assess the extent to which the indicators of a construct belong
296
together.There are no statistical tests for the KMO measure and the following guidelines are
suggested (by Kaiser and Rice):
KMO
Recommendation
Measure
≥ 0.9 Marvelous
0.80+ Meritorious
0.70+ Middling
0.60+ Mediocre
0.50+ Miserable
Below 0.50 Unacceptable
This criterion is accurate when there are less than 30 variables and communalities after
extraction are greater than 0.7. On the other hand when the sample size exceeds 250 then the
average communality is greater than 0.6. The Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling
Adequacy and Bartlett’s Test values obtained for the data under analysis are given in the
following table.
KMO and Bartlett's Test

Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin Measure of Sampling .806
Adequacy.
Bartlett's Test of Approx. Chi-Square 256.027
Sphericity df 10
Sig. .000
Hence the KMO value, 0.806, suggests the appropriateness to proceed with factor analysis of the
data on hand.
Further Bartlett’s Test of Sphericity tests the null hypothesis to find out whether the
original correlation matrix is an identity matrix, which would indicate that, the variables are
unrelated. For factor analysis there has to be some relationships between variables and if the
correlation matrix is an identity matrix then all correlation coefficients would be zero. Therefore,
the present test has to be significant as it gives the result of the test. As very small values (less
than 0.5) indicate that there are probably significant relationships among the variables, a
297
significant test tells that the correlation matrix is not an identity matrix. Finally one can expect
some relationships between the variables. Had the value been more than 0.10, then it would have
indicated the unsuitability of the data for factor analysis. As the significance value is 0.000 for
the problem under analysis, it can be said that the variables are not independent.
Further the Extraction of Factors consists of selecting the method of extracting the
components, the number of components to be extracted, and the method of rotation for
interpretation of the factors. At present, the Principal Component Method of extraction and the
Varimax method of rotation are taken into consideration. The number of factors extracted is
based on Eigen value more than one rule.
Usually Communalities table gives the proportion of variance explained by the

underlying factors. After extraction, some of the factors are discarded and the amount of variance
in each variable that can be explained by the retained factors is represented by the communalities
table below. It shows that the factors included in the analysis have accounted for fairly good
amount of communalities among all the variables for both medical and engineering streams.
Most of the communalities are above 0.4 and these values range from a minimum of 0.433 to a
maximum of 0.799.
298
Communalitiesa
Extraction Extraction
Initial value for value for
value medical engineers
1.Do you think that having fluency in English language is a boon at all 1.000 .730 .441
professional courses:
2.Do you feel that a student with fluency in English has an edge over a 1.000 .799 .583
student who is not so good at English:
3.Do the teachers insist on speaking in English in the class: 1.000 .602 .831
4.In which language do you interact with your friends outside the 1.000 .444 .438
classroom:
5.Do you agree that a person with fluent English has higher confidence 1.000 .705 .539
levels compared to his academic peers:
6.Don’t you agree that all the latest developments in various professional 1.000 .717 .663
fields can be accessed from journals/publications that are published in
English:
7.Do you agree with the view that “English is the window to the world”: 1.000 .433 .724
8.Don’t you think as a student that fluency in English would make you 1.000 .703 .765
stand in good stead:
9.Do you agree with the view that a strong grip on English will bring 1.000 .683 .687
about an all-round development of your personality including various soft
skills:
10.Do you regret now that you have neglect English, which has led to 1.000 .613 .514
your inability to express yourself:
11.Do you wish to overcome the deficiency being created by neglecting 1.000 .741 .453
English at intermediate level:
Extraction Method: Principal Component Analysis.
a. Only for the cases where stream = medical/engineering is used in the analysis phase.
Some of the popular criteria are Eigen value greater than one rule and Total variance explained.
Further the Total Variance Explained table given below says that there are three Eigen values
greater than one. The maximum Eigen value among all the values is 0.941and it is much below
the unity. Further it can also be noted that the three factors that are larger than one and
corresponding to these Eigen values, together account for 65.180% of total variance. Considering
the kind of social survey, the amount of variance explained by the factor model is regarded to be
fairly good.
299
Total Variance Explained

Extraction Sums of Squared Rotation Sums of Squared
Initial Eigen values Loadings Loadings
Com % of
pone % of Cumula Varianc Cumulative % of
nt Total Variance tive % Total e % Total Variance Cumulative %
1 2.392 21.743 21.743 2.392 21.743 21.743 2.112 19.199 19.199
2 2.123 19.303 41.047 2.123 19.303 41.047 2.049 18.623 37.822
3 1.342 12.200 53.247 1.342 12.200 53.247 1.540 14.002 51.824
4 1.313 11.933 65.180 1.313 11.933 65.180 1.469 13.356 65.180
5 .941 8.556 73.736
6 .824 7.490 81.226
7 .702 6.379 87.605
8 .473 4.296 91.901
9 .397 3.605 95.506
10 .328 2.979 98.485
11 .167 1.515 100.00
0
a. Only for the cases where stream = Medical is used in the analysis phase.
Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings
% of
Compo % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Varianc Cumulative
nent Total Variance % Total Variance % Total e %
1 2.116 19.233 19.233 2.116 19.233 19.233 2.073 18.848 18.848
2 1.739 15.808 35.041 1.739 15.808 35.041 1.663 15.123 33.970
3 1.542 14.018 49.060 1.542 14.018 49.060 1.605 14.595 48.565
4 1.243 11.298 60.358 1.243 11.298 60.358 1.297 11.792 60.358
5 .957 8.697 69.055
6 .874 7.945 77.000
7 .715 6.502 83.502
8 .683 6.205 89.706
9 .486 4.414 94.120
10 .428 3.891 98.011
11 .219 1.989 100.000
300

Initial Eigen values Loadings Loadings
Com % of
pone % of Cumula Varianc Cumulative % of
nt Total Variance tive % Total e % Total Variance Cumulative %
1 2.392 21.743 21.743 2.392 21.743 21.743 2.112 19.199 19.199
2 2.123 19.303 41.047 2.123 19.303 41.047 2.049 18.623 37.822
3 1.342 12.200 53.247 1.342 12.200 53.247 1.540 14.002 51.824
4 1.313 11.933 65.180 1.313 11.933 65.180 1.469 13.356 65.180
5 .941 8.556 73.736
6 .824 7.490 81.226
7 .702 6.379 87.605
8 .473 4.296 91.901
9 .397 3.605 95.506
10 .328 2.979 98.485
11 .167 1.515 100.00
0
a. Only for the cases where stream = Medical is used in the analysis phase.
Initial Eigenvalues Loadings Loadings
% of
Compo % of Cumulative % of Cumulative Varianc Cumulative
nent Total Variance % Total Variance % Total e %
1 2.116 19.233 19.233 2.116 19.233 19.233 2.073 18.848 18.848
2 1.739 15.808 35.041 1.739 15.808 35.041 1.663 15.123 33.970
3 1.542 14.018 49.060 1.542 14.018 49.060 1.605 14.595 48.565
4 1.243 11.298 60.358 1.243 11.298 60.358 1.297 11.792 60.358
5 .957 8.697 69.055
6 .874 7.945 77.000
7 .715 6.502 83.502
8 .683 6.205 89.706
9 .486 4.414 94.120
10 .428 3.891 98.011
11 .219 1.989 100.000
a. Only for the cases where stream = Engineering is used in the analysis phase.
301
The component matrix gives the estimated factor loadings. The elements of this matrix
describe the covariance or the correlations between the manifest variables and the latent common
factors depending on whether the covariance matrix or the correlation matrix is involved in the
analysis. The sum of squares of the row elements of component matrix gives the communality of
the corresponding variable. Using which we can estimate the specific variances of the manifest
variables. Similarly the sum of squares of the column elements of the component matrix gives
the Eigen values of the covariance / correlation matrix. These values help in the computation of
the proportion of variance explained by each factor. The method of estimation used to get the
component matrix is the principle component method of estimation. This is referred to as un-
rotated factor solution.
Further the elements of the loading matrix or the coefficients of the factor model are
displayed in the Component Matrix Table below. Factor loadings of this order are usually
neglected. From the table below, it is observed that there are some values that are loaded on
more than one factor. Thus this complicates the problem of identification of factors and
necessitates rotation.
Component Matrix for Medical Students:
Factors For Medical Students Comp1 Comp2 Comp3 Comp4

Fluency in Eng.is a boon 0.585
Fluency in Eng.has an edge 0.761
Teachers insist on speaking in Eng. 0.526
Speaking in Eng. Outside the class 0.616
Fluency in Eng.adds to confidence 0.78
All latest developments are in Eng. 0.701
Eng.is the window to the world 0.437
Fluency in Eng.stands in good 0.621
stead
It helps in all round development 0.561
Regret over neglecting Eng. 0.575
Wish to overcome the deficiency 0.727
302
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2 Comp1
0.1 Comp2
0
Comp3
Comp4
Component Matrix For Engineering Students:
Factors For Engineering Students Comp1 Comp2 Comp3 Comp4

Fluency in Eng.is a boon 0.123 0.622 0.152 -0.125
Fluency in Eng.has an edge 0.065 0.654 0.11 -0.374
Teachers insist on speaking in Eng. 0.029 0.169 0.02 0.895
Speaking in Eng. Outside the class 0.143 0.029 0.422 0.395
Fluency in Eng.adds to confidence 0.281 0.611 0.288 -0.066
All latest developments are in Eng. 0.772 0.166 0.08 -0.018
Eng.is the window to the world 0.786 0.204 0.245 0.073
Fluency in Eng.stands in good stead 0.343 -0.038 0.707 -0.058
It helps in all round development 0.132 -0.375 0.715 -0.129
Regret over neglecting Eng. 0.567 0.283 0.215 0.259
Wish to overcome the deficiency 0.571 0.062 -0.349 -0.032
303
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
Comp1
0.2
Comp2
0
Comp3
-0.2
Comp4
-0.4
-0.6
From the above two matrixes one observes that most of the variables are loaded on to the
first factor. A subset of the variables are loaded both on to the first and second factors and further
another subset of the variables loaded both on to the first and second factor. One also observe
that only one variable on the second factor has its loading value more than that of their
counterparts on the first. However commonsense says that they do not belong to a single
category. This makes interpretation of the factors difficult. To facilitate the interpretation of the
factors, the varimax rotation is considered. InRotated component matrix all the variables have
got partitioned into three mutually exclusive groups and are clearly interpretable. This explains
how the rotation of initial factor solution is useful in the interpretation of factors. The factor
solution obtained below clearly shows all the three mutually exclusive groups in the total set of
variables. It can be further noted that the relative order of the factors are the same as in the case
of the total sample.
304
Rotated Component Matrix For Medical Students:

Factors For Medical Students Comp.1 Comp.2 Comp.3 Comp.4
Fluency in Eng.is a boon 0.845
Fluency in Eng.has an edge 0.871
Teachers insist on speaking in Eng. 0.664
Speaking in Eng. Outside the class 0.483
Fluency in Eng.adds to confidence 0.788
All latest developments are in Eng. 0.788
Eng.is the window to the world 0.596
Fluency in Eng.stands in good
stead 0.809
It helps in all round development 0.702
Regret over neglecting Eng. 0.707
Wish to overcome the deficiency 0.842
1
0.9
0.8
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.4
0.3 Comp.4
0.2
0.1 Comp.3
0
Comp.2
Comp.1

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 5 iterations.
b. Only for the cases where stream = Medical is used in the analysis phase.
305
Rotated Component Matrix for Engineering Students
Factors For Engineering Students Comp-1 Comp-2 Comp-3 Comp-4

Fluency in Eng.is a boon -0.113 0.64 -0.115 0.077
Fluency in Eng.has an edge -0.042 0.738 -0.115 -0.153
Teachers insist on speaking in Eng. 0.036 -0.155 -0.193 0.876
Speaking in Eng. Outside the class -0.232 0.257 0.17 0.538
Fluency in Eng.adds to confidence 0.237 0.661 0.109 0.185
All latest developments are in Eng. 0.777 0.197 0.1 -0.101
Eng.is the window to the world 0.805 -0.268 0.063 -0.001
Fluency in Eng.stands in good 0.115 -0.084 0.862 0.033
stead
It helps in all round development -0.088 -0.059 0.821 -0.042
Regret over neglecting Eng. 0.506 0.244 0.2 0.399
Wish to overcome the deficiency 0.646 -0.034 -0.172 -0.065
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
Comp-1
0.2
Comp-2
0
Comp-3
-0.2
Comp-4
-0.4

Rotation Method: Varimax with Kaiser Normalization.
a. Rotation converged in 5 iterations.
b. Only for the cases where stream = Engineering is used in the analysis phase.
Conclusion
From the factor analysis it is observed that the professional students have realized that
fluency in English plays a vital role in their lives. They further wish to overcome the deficiency
created by neglecting English at Intermediate level in A.P. The students feel that a student with
306
fluency in English has an edge over a student not all that confident in English. They agree that
fluency in English is a boon for the professional student as it is the only language of instruction
at the undergraduate level. They feel the importance of interacting with teachers and friends in
English both in the classroom and outside. They also agree on the point that fluency in English
would boost one’s confidence levels and help in all round development of one’s personality.
They realize that English is the window to the world and all the latest developments in various
professional fields can be accessed from journals/publications in English. Furthermore, students
who are not confident in English regret over their negligence. They also agree that this
negligence has further led to the inability to express effectively in future. They all wish to bridge
the gap which is being created due to various reasons at the Intermediate level.
After considering the statistical report, a bridge course is suggested to improve Listening,
Speaking, Reading and Writing skills of the students who are not fluent at English. It is an
attempt made both through literature and language to improve LSRW skills at the first year of
their professional courses. It will try to fill in the gap and help them to come on par with the
students that are fluent at English. It can be further suggested that a test of proficiency in English
for the students already admitted into professional courses by the respective Institutions will
certainly segregate the weaker students from the ones with fluency in English. The suggested
bridge is meant for “not so confident in English” students to take up the course and fill in the gap
in order to come on par with the regular batch of students. They will follow the course for 35 to
40 hrs in the first semester of their respective professional course for 3-4 credits. This bridge
course has to run for only segregated weaker students in order to bridge the gap between
students, not so fluent at English with the ones who are fluent at English and following the
regular course in English prescribed by the respective Institutions. As medical students don’t
have English Language in their curriculum, the suggested list of reading given below will
definitely be helpful to them who are not so fluent in English and wish to go out of state on a
better career prospective. It will certainly prove to be helpful in meeting their requirements at the
time of recruitment and later at various work places. It will contribute competency, efficiency,
values and necessary life skills to the professional students and bring in a holistic development in
them.
307
Suggested-Reading: A selection of fictional and non-fictional prose pieces from English and
Indian Literature are chosen to introduce the students to different writings and induce the
importance of values in life. The list includes different forms like short stories, novels, plays and
autobiographies. The suggested writers are:
17th Century-18th Century—
i. Charles Dickens-Great Expectations,
ii. Thomas Hardy-The Mayor of Caster bridge,
iii. Lewis Carroll-Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland,
iv. Arthur Conan Doyle-The Hound of The Baskervilles,
v. Rudyard Kipling-The Jungle Book,
19th Century-20th Century—
i. O Henry-Short Stories like Girl, Dream, After Twenty Years,
ii. H.H. Munro-- Short Stories like The Story Teller, Tea, The Threat
iii. Mark Twain—The Adventures of Tom Sawyer,
iv. G.B. Shaw—Play -Pygmalion,
20th century-- Present-
i. R.K. Narayan- Swamy and Friends,
ii. R.K. Laxman—The Distorted Mirror,
iii. A.P.J. Abdul Kalam—Wings of Fire,
iv. Khushwant Singh—The Mark of Vishnu and other Stories,
Besides the above suggested reading, daily reading of the news paper will be certainly helpful to
the students.
II. Writing- Paragraph, Essay, Précis, Reading Comprehension, Letter Writing, Resume writing,
emails ,notices and minutes of the meeting.
III. Speaking and Listening- Students need to practice by listening to the news daily and
speaking to others in English and participating in Just a Minute, Group Discussion and Debate.
IV. English Practice- Above all, grammar plays a key role both in the written and spoken
communication of English. This umbrella term “grammar” includes many smaller components
such as tenses, subject verb agreement, prepositions, articles, conjunctions and S+V+O (subject+
verb+ object) pattern. Thorough practice on all the above components will certainly make the
students confident in their expression in English.
308
Appendix-1
Questionnaire canvassed to 3rd year students of Professional courses

1. Name of the student:
2. Name of the college:
3. Stream: Engineering/Medical/Dental
4. Do you think that having fluency in English is a boon for all Professional courses: Yes/No
5. Do you feel that a student with fluency in English has an edge over a student who is not
so fluent in English: Yes/No
6. How do you feel when compared to your counterpart coming from Telugu Medium background:
a)Subject understanding-poor/good/very good/excellent
b)Subject expression------poor/good/very good/excellent
c) Oral communication----poor/good/very good/excellent
d) Written communication-poor/good/very good/excellent
7. Do your teachers insist on speaking on English in the class: Yes/No
8. In which language do you interact with your friends outside the classroom: English/others
9. Do you agree that a person with fluent English has higher confidence levels compared to his
Academic peers: Yes/No
10. Don’t you agree that all the latest developments in various professional fields can be accessed
from journals/publications that are published in English : Yes/No
11. Do you agree with the view that “English is the window to the world”: Yes/No
12. Do you agree with the view that a strong grip on English will bring about an all-round
development of your personality including various soft-skills& emotional intelligence: Yes/No
13. Do you regret now that you have neglected English, which has led to your inability to express
properly: Yes/No
14. Do you wish to overcome the deficiency being created by neglecting English at the Intermediate
level: Yes/No
309
References
Child, D. (2006). The essentials of factor analysis. (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Continuum,
International Publishing Group.
Malhotra, Naresh K. (2007). Fundamentals of Marketing Research. Sage Publications
Ltd.www.nytimes.com/2007/01/30/health/30brody.html
www.slideshare.net/.../importance-of-english-for-medical-purpose
www.thehindu.com
www.india.com
www.aspiringminds.in
www.businessstandard.com
310
CHALLENGES AND STRATEGIES FOR MULTILINGUAL

EDUCATION IN INDIA
Subhashini Rajasekaran
Rajesh Kumar
Introduction
Language is an essential part of our existence in society, as much as breathing is necessary for
our survival. It ceaselessly marks its presence in every domain of our lives. Yet, two interrelated
facts about language and its sustaining power evade us; and these have extremely crucial
implications for society and for education. One, that languages are fundamentally porous, fluid
and continuously evolving systems that human beings acquire and change to define themselves
and the world around them. Two, that multilinguality is a norm, not an exception. It is
constitutive of being human. We have a “linguistic repertoire” that enables us to engage in
multilingual language i.e., to move easily between language systems that have some common
and some unique characteristics. Multilinguality and porousness, taken together, suggest that
languages are constantly evolving and interacting in a dynamic process. Thus, no language can
be “pure”. In fact, the pursuit of purity in a language is like marking it for certain death.
However, the State, the market and the schools impose monolingual and monoglossic language
ideologies, policies and practices in the name of multilingualism.
To recognize multilingualism is to recognize translanguaging—a natural way for multi-linguals

to access different linguistic features of so-called autonomous languages in order to maximize
communicative potential. In this paper, key challenges and possible strategies are identified for
leveraging the inherent heteroglossic multilingualism in education in India and for promoting its
understanding and value among the masses.
Challenges for Leveraging Multilingualism in India
Transforming the existing monoglossic school culture presents an enormous but not
insurmountable challenge. The situation could be analyzed at four interdependent levels.
1. Market Demands and the Politics of Power
A language wields tremendous power due to its ability to contain within itself the
identity, attitudes, culture and aspirations of its people. Thus, these sociopolitical factors make
some languages more prestigious than others, which then become accepted as “standard”. The
demand for languages of power then drives State policies and the market, even though
linguistically, all languages are equal. Today, English is definitely the language of power
globally. It is a symbol of people’s aspirations, a gateway to opportunities. Similarly, at the State
level, numerous languages are spoken but only the standard form of select languages gain favour
311
as the instructional medium in schools. The hierarchy of languages therefore comes to signify the
hegemony of power amongst its speakers.
In such a scenario, parents naturally choose to educate their children in the languages of
power in their most “standard” forms. There is a huge gap in public awareness of the empirically
proven correlations between multilingualism and higher scholastic achievement. Since the
educational system as a whole does not offer feasible options that consider multilingualism a
resource, the parents have no choice but to succumb to the one-medium, one-school policy.
2. Systemic Drivers for Language Decisions are not Educational
Historically, a few significant but strategic drivers at the national and state levels have
formulated the way school education navigates the issue of language today. One, in 1949, the 8th
Schedule of the Indian Constitution, titled Languages, declared Hindi and English as official
languages (and not national languages) and recognized 14 major Indian languages. Two, in 1961,
a strategic consensual decision was taken by the States to implement the Three-language
Formula. This was later modified by the Kothari Commission to accommodate the interests of
group identity (mother tongues and regional languages), national pride and unity (Hindi), and
administrative efficiency and technological progress (English). The Commission described these
changes as “impelling considerations that were more political and social, than educational”.
Three, the higher education system blocks multilingualism, thereby triggering a high demand for
English, Hindi and a few select languages at lower levels too.
As per the 7th All India School Education Survey, Hindi, English and Sanskrit were
adopted as first, second and third languages respectively in the largest number of schools.
Approximately 80-90 per cent of the schools had only one medium of instruction. Out of this,
approximately 60 per cent used Hindi or English, with the former having a higher proportion.
Hence, multilingual education policies such as the three-language formula are just additive
monolingualism that ends up denying the complex translanguaging practices of much of the
world.
3. School Organizational Constraints
The overall structure of “school” is such that there is age-wise grouping of 25 to 45

students in a classroom, with clearly demarcated boundaries between subjects slotted into
periods of 30 to 45 minutes in a fixed schedule. Children are officially expected to use the
school’s single medium of instruction in all periods / subjects, except in second / third language
time-slots, where “other” languages are “allowed”. Typically, strict policy measures control the
language children speak inside and outside the classes, with consequences for non-adherence.
Teacher recruitment and training is based on the ability to use the medium of instruction. Thus,
the school positions a single medium of instruction as central to its overall working, in keeping
with the market demands and policy measures discussed earlier.
312
Without doubt, operationally, this is an easier proposition due to a uniform medium of

communication; but the implicit message is: this is the “preferred” language in its “correct”
form. Usually, schools fail to clarify that the languages students personally identify with are not
unworthy of recognition, are not inferior and do hold educational value. Overall, the school
structure is unable to appreciate the multilinguality of its students.
4. Teacher Ethos on the Issue of “Purity” of Language
We spoke to six primary and middle school teachers about the maintenance of purity of
language, their teaching strategies and their students’ language abilities. The following response
sums up their views and concerns:
The (English) language ability of students is not very great. They think in their mother
tongue and then translate … if they can’t get a word they use from Kutchi, Gujarati, Hindi, etc.
Mixing is natural. But it is fine only when children slip into another language and get back to
English easily. For others, it’s a big no-no as it hampers the development of (the weak) language.
When English, only English. If speaking Hindi, only Hindi. Only then I can say that a child is
good in a language!
The above comment represents the myths of language learning, while also exposing the practical
constraints within which teachers are expected to function to facilitate and assess their students’
language learning. The practitioners’ view that use of home languages provides a “crutch” seems
legitimate and realistic since the teachers work under the pressure of delivering to demanding
parents and school managements, unaware of the possibilities of using multilingual pedagogic
methods. Questions of identity loss due to non-recognition of home language are not considered
significant. Thus, the rich heteroglossic multilinguality of the classroom does not earn a
legitimate place in the process of language acquisition.
Key Changes Required in System and School Ethos
Leveraging the strengths of multilingualism in the classroom would not only give voice and
legitimacy to the identities of children, but has also been empirically proven to have a positive
correlation with scholastic achievement, divergent thinking, cognitive flexibility and social
tolerance. With such immense advantages, it is only natural that a market shift is necessary to
increase the demand for education that values multilingualism to bring it into day-to-day
practice. Since the school actually functions in response to market demands and government
policy measures, a “bottom-up only” approach is bound to fail and needs to have strong top-
down momentum.
Top Down: Building Mass Momentum in the Long Term for a Mind-set Shift
What is required is a consensual language policy by all States, that is a significant shift from a
formulaic approach to a more principled approach (multilingual, acceptance of porousness) with
strict implementation and stringent consequences for flouting it. This is definitely an uphill task,
313
given that education is a State subject, language is a political one and many vested interests are
involved, besides pragmatic issues such as providing high-quality training for all teachers.
Widespread multimedia-based awareness campaigns and lobbying to develop a mass mind-set

that links multilinguality with scholastic achievement, supported by empirical data, are needed.
Focused efforts by interest groups from politics, industry, academics, media and civil society
could build such a movement. Once awareness changes, so would the nature of the market
demand.
New “Education Startups” that have the potential to disrupt the education space by leveraging
technology on a mass scale, with a high level of sensitivity to multilingual needs of students, is
an unexplored alternative.
Bottom Up: Leveraging Strategies in a Multilingual Classroom
The following strategies could be gainfully adopted to leverage multilingualism in the classroom:
1. Build model schools and classrooms where multilingualism will hold a central place in
all processes. Experiment and determine the practices, policies and ethos for running a school
with multilingual language strategies. This could be done by borrowing from the successes and
failures of other school systems globally, and testing them in Indian contexts. Analysis of student
results in scholastic and non-scholastic areas could inform the formulation of policy decisions.
The curricular objectives and overall methodology of such schools would be founded on well-
proven principles of language acquisition, cognitive linguistics and child development theories
grounded in solid research.
2. Popularize the value of multilingual practices in school, especially translanguaging,

through strong empirical research that links it to scholastic achievement, beyond research
journals and academic papers, to reach the common man.
3. Conduct metalinguistic awareness sessions with students and teachers about the nature of
language and its structure, encoding processes of social exploitation and hegemony. Just as
students today study about global warming and its dangers, they must also understand the role a
language plays in their lives and what it means to be multilingual. Further, they must be able to
analyse its socio-political-economic aspects. This could be done in many ways—as a standalone
discussion, “language” as an integrated unit of study or as a specific research project.
Practical Ways to Build Multilingual Ecology in the School
Figure 1.Multilingual ecology that welcomes families.
Figure 2. Multilingual ecology values student identities.
Figure 3.Curriculum that recognizes and connects to students’ identities.
314
Conclusion
In an increasingly globalized and technologically advancing world, language boundaries are
fuzzy and fluid. There is a multiplicity of language practices and neo-cultural identity
formations. However education leadership in India needs to move beyond the definition of
multilingualism as additive / subtractive monolingualism and take a hard look at the
socioeconomic political drivers, state controls and schools that are its implementing agents.
Multilingual heteroglossic1 education programs must be developed to support multiple languages
and literacies, allowing for their functional interrelationships and complementarities to thrive.
315
Notes
1
Monoglossic ideologies treat languages as bounded autonomous systems without regard to the
actual language practices of speakers. Heteroglossic ideologies respect multiple language
practices in interrelationships. (García, O., 2009)
2
Translanguaging includes and goes beyond code mixing and code switching, focusing more on
the observable practices of multi-linguals that enable them to make sense of their worlds.
3
The Three Language Formula (NEP, 1968) states that every child has to learn the following
languages:
1st: mother tongue or regional language
2nd: In Hindi speaking States, another modern Indian language or English; In non-Hindi
speaking States, Hindi or English
3rd: English or a modern Indian language not studied as second language
4
From the Western scholarly lens, monolingualism was accepted as the norm and bilingualism
as double monolingualism. (García, O., 2009) However, this additive / subtractive approach
oversimplifies the complex area of linguistic cognition.
316
2347
References
Agnihotri, R. K. (1995). Multilingualism as a classroom resource. In Heugh, K., Sieruhn, A., &
P. Pluddema nn (Eds.), Multilingual education for South Africa (pp. 3-7).
Johannesburg/Germany: Heinmann.
Agnihotri, R. K. (2010). Multilinguality and the teaching of English in India. English and
Foreign Languages Journal, 1 (1), 1-14.
Agnihotri, R. K. (2008). Multilinguality for India. Seminar, Web Edition 590:
590
Unfinished Agendas 2.
2. Retrieved from www.india-
seminar.com/2008/590/590_rama_kant_agnihotri.htm
NCERT.(2006). National Focus Group Position Paper on Teaching of Indian Languages. New
Delhi: NCERT.
NCERT.(2006). National Focus Group Position Paper on Teaching of English English. New Delhi:
NCERT.
García, O. (2009). Education, multilingualism and translanguaging in the 21st century. In A.
Skutnabb-Kangas (Eds.), Multilingual education for
Mohanty, M. Panda, R. Phillipson & T. Skutnabb
158). New Delhi: Orient Blackswan.
social justice: Globalising the local (pp. 140-158).
cía, O. & Menken, K. (2015). Cultivating an ecology of multilingualism in
García,
Inbar-Lourie, & M. Tannenbaum (Eds.), Challenges for language
schools. In B. Spolsky, O. Inbar
108). New York: Routledge.
education and policy: Making space for people (pp. 95-108).
2013).Supporting Multilingualism in Schools. In City University of New York: New
Hesson, S. (2013).Supporting
York State Initiative on the Education of Emergent Bilinguals (CUNY NYSIEB)(pp. 1-17). New
(CUNY-NYSIEB)
York, NY: CUNY Graduate Center.
multilinguality in the classroom: The teacher’s
Aggarwal, N. (2013). Teaching English using multilinguality
Powell-Davies, P. Gunashekar, (Eds.), English language teacher
role as a learner. In P. Powell
63). Hyderabad: British Council.
education in a diverse environment (pp. 58-63).
NCERT.(2002). Seventh All Indian School Education Su Survey.. New Delhi: NCERT.
shubha2110@gmail.com
Subhashini Rajasekaran has recently completed her MA in Elementary Education
from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has a keen interest in the use of
language in the domain of education.
thisisrajkumar@gmail.com
Rajesh Kumar teaches linguistics at Indian Institute of Technology Madras in
Chennai. His research interests lie in the areas of theoretical linguistics, language and
education, and language and human mind.
317
Interview with Alan Maley on Practical Approaches for

Teaching Writing
by Sharoon Sunny
Alan Maley’s career in English Language Teaching began with The British Council in 1962.
After post-graduate training at the University of Leeds under Prof. Peter Strevens and Prof. Pit
Corder, he worked for the British Council in Yugoslavia, Ghana, Italy, France, PR China and
India over a period of 26 years. After resigning from the Council in 1988, he became Director-
General of the Bell Educational Trust in Cambridge (1988-93). He then took up the post of
Senior Fellow in the Department of English, National University of Singapore, where he stayed
for 5 years His last full-time post was as Dean and Professor of the Institute for English
Language Education, Assumption University, Bangkok, where he set up new MA programmes.
Since retiring from Assumption in 2004, he has occupied a number ofvisiting professorial posts
at Leeds Metropolitan, Nottingham, Durham,Malaysia (UKM), Vietnam (OU-HCMC) and
Germany (Universitat Augsburg). He has published extensively and was series editor for the
318
Oxford Resource Books for Teachers for over 20 years. He continues to write for publication. He
also remains active as a speaker at national and international conferences. He was a co-founder
of The Extensive Reading Foundation, and of The C group: Creativity for Change in Language
Education. He is a past-President of IATEFL, and was given the ELTons Lifetime Achievement
Award in 2012.
Conversation text from SSN Chennai conference interaction.

Dated: Oct 26th, 2018
Time: 7:00 PM
Abbreviations: AM = Alan Maley; SS = Sharoon Sunny
SS: Alan, thank you for making time to talk to me especially at the end of a rather long day. This
is perhaps a good time to share that I immensely enjoyed reading your book on creativity in the
language classroom.
AM: You’ve read it? How did you get it?
SS: Yes, Creativity and English Language Teaching: From Inspiration to Implementation is
available on Amazon.
AM: I know it is. It is very expensive but
AM: Thank you for buying it if somebody bought it i.e.
SS: It’s a very insightful book. But I’d like to begin with how I became familiar with your work-
-my introduction to Alan Maley. During early days of my PhD classes, I met a lot of my
professors to understand how I could fine-tune my research interest. When I met Prof. Jayshree
Mohanraj and discussed my area of interest in writing, one of the first things she asked me was,
“Have you read Alan Maley?” I said, “I haven’t”. She said, “Perhaps that’s where you should
start.”
AM: So you started with that book?
SS: No, no. Not with that one; particularly with Poem into Poem. I started with you and with
your articles and interviews. And what you say about using different elements in the English
language classroom resonated with me. For example, you’ve said you use meditation.
AM: Well, that’s one possibility.
SS: Also, theatre and music and there are the various other elements. We are whole people and
we cannot live a language in isolation. But whenever I try to ask teachers to think about using
319
these various elements, I hit a barrier. What I hear is that, yes this is fantastic and I could use it
but I honestly don’t have the time. So I don’t know how to get them to see the long-term
benefits.
AM: There’s no magical answer to that, is there? People say they haven’t got the time but
everyone’s got the same amount of time. It is a question of how you deploy the time and I know
(you are talking about teachers) teachers have an enormous amount to do and a lot of that is
useless and pointless. There’s no magical answer unfortunately. Only by example really.
SS: There aren’t very many though
AM: Very many what?
SS: Teachers who lead by example
AM: No. Well you have to start with those who will. You may try to persuade large numbers of
people that it is possible – but you will only get a few who will try it. And those are the ones you
need to work with. It’s human nature. And people are in the teaching profession for different
reasons as well. Some are there to collect the money at the end of the month and get through the
day with minimal damage or loss of feathers. It’s sad I know but there isn’t a magical answer.
I often suggest that teachers should try just one or two very small things, perhaps at the
beginning of the class or at the end. Just leave 5 minutes and you can do something with those
five or ten minutes and maybe you don’t even need to do it every day. But do try small, small
things and introduce new things. Once the kids latch on to it, it’s good for the teacher as well.
‘So tomorrow I’m doing a creative writing activity. Something to look forward to.’ Many of
these activities are very simple, so simple you won’t believe it - and the kids love them. They
really get into them. The activities don’t take very long and students will even do them outside
class once they get interested. The teachers will say, ‘You know we did this and the kids loved it.
Can we have more of this?’ I think you can start really small and that is really the only kind of
advice I can give you. I wish I had a magical philosopher's stone or something.
SS: For the longest time I’ve believed that using creative writing strategies in the classroom can
improve overall writing abilities. I’ve not had very many takers.
AM: No?
SS: No. The learners love it because you can bring in so many elements.
AM: Absolutely. It helps the other kind of writing as well.
SS: Yes. It does.
320
(Sangeetha: Do some students get left out in this kind of a classroom? For some students their
creative juices begin to flow and they benefit, but do the left-brained students get left out?)
AM: I don’t think they do, actually. No. Although there’s a lot of controversy about that anyway.
You know people are not, with very few exceptions, wholly left-brained or wholly right-brained.
So left-brained people also stand to benefit, since it supplies a mental activity that they don’t
otherwise get. And the right-brained ones of course love it and it is a great relief to them that
they don’t have to do all those left-brained things that actually make them marginalised - because
they don’t like doing them or don’t do them very well. No, I think it’s something for everybody
but it’s not a panacea. It just happens to work in most cases. You know I’ve never...let me think.
No I’ve never had a creative writing session that didn’t work at some level for everyone.
SS: I’ll add to that, too. I tried using creative writing strategies for over 4 years and I have to say
that it worked--it worked to enhance other kinds of writing. Now my aim is to help teachers
understand that it works and that it is definitely not a waste of time, as they often see it. I want
teachers to understand that this is not to fill a gap and that if used consistently it can produce
striking results…
AM: Right. There are tremendous benefits. Benefits in lexical acquisition, grammatical
reinforcement, you know and stylistic, and I’m saying stylistic in the broader sense of .the way
texts are put together, they’ve got some understanding after they’ve done it themselves so that, in
terms of reading, for instance, it helps with developing reading proficiency too.
S: Students begin to appreciate the language and the beauty.
AM: Yes, but that is true for the students but you are talking about the difficulty in persuading
teachers that it’s worth the investment.
SS: What was fascinating for me about the book…
AM: The BIG book…(laughter)
SS: The use of the word creativity was fascinating to me, because that’s what I’m currently
researching. What are teachers’ beliefs about creativity and how do those beliefs impact the
teaching of writing. So when I ask teachers if they think creativity is important, they say yes, it is
absolutely necessary. But when I ask them if they can elaborate how they enhance this in the
classroom, then I hit a big, empty, blank wall.
321
AM: Hmm...it’s a blank wall. That’s why you need to show how very simple things can be done.
You don’t have to be a genius to do that.
SS: So when you said you’d be releasing your haiku book…
AM: But that’s not a teaching book. I want to focus on my own creative writing from now on. I
am doing one last EFL book. It will come out as a freely downloadable book with the BC on
their website like the other two. I’ve got 20 people. 20 experienced people, some of them very
famous, some of them not famous at all, contributing one chapter each. They are drawn from a
variety of countries with a variety of teaching contexts, from primary to university. We’ve tried
cover all the angles as far as possible. And I asked them to follow more or less the structure of
my talk at this conference: your earliest language learning experiences before you became
involved in the teaching business, the places, people, books, ideas that influenced you. And as a
result what are your beliefs? And then at the end I’ve asked them to give one or two teacher
development activities which could be used in training sessions. The deadline for the submission
is 31st of December, then it should come out by Sept. next year probably. They’ll probably put it
on their website, English Agenda or whatever they call it.
SS: I’ll look forward to it.
Coming back to your haikus, the reason I’m excited about the haiku collection is because I’m
asking teachers to write haikus themselves so as to understand the finer nuances of writing so
that they will then be better able to teach it.
AM: Yes, of course this is how it should work.
SS: So the first place is to start with writing haikus.
AM: Well, it’s very easy to write a bad haiku but never mind. I’d rather write a bad one than not
write one at all. The good thing about haikus, and they have been used in mother tongue
teaching for years and years, is the discipline they require. If you want to play by the rules, you
know you need 5, 7, 5 syllables, so they have to go through a whole lot of reformulation to get
the right number of syllables, which means they are recycling whatever language they have
acquired quite deeply. So I agree that haikus are a good place to start…
SS: I ask teachers if they know what a syllable is.
AM: I’m sure you get some very funny answers too… (laughter)
SS: The other question I had was about the Asia Teachers Group -
322
AM: Which no longer exists. It became defunct around 2014. We met in a different country each
year and that year we were to meet in Nepal again and that was the year of the devastating
earthquake. Unfortunately, none of the other members offered to run it in their country instead -
and without somebody taking it on, we couldn’t do it.
SS: How did it work though?
AM: It worked voluntarily. I mean we had round about 40 members overall but they didn’t
always come to everything. Every year we would run one workshop lasting a week in one of the
countries in the region. So we had run two or three in Nepal. Two or three in Indonesia, in
Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia and one in China. We would be together for a week - sometimes
10, 15 or 20 people. Every time I would set them a task beforehand so they would write before
coming. They would come with some texts which they could share and comment on and do peer
editing and everything. Then we would have sessions where they would be writing new material.
We always had one day where we went on a writing excursion day to a place of interest. If we
were here, for instance, we might have gone to Mahabalipuram, which would then have provided
the stimulus. We would spend the whole day out - writing, writing, enjoying and playing around
- and then come back and write up our notes and jottings. The next day we would share what
we’d written. And when participants went back, they would write full drafts and send them to me
and I would do an edit - and then it would be published.
So after every workshop that we did, we published a book.
SS: What were they called?
AM: I don’t know...creative writing or poems. (See the list in the attachment) We usually did
separate ones for stories and poems. Some of them would go back to try these things and come
back with their practical ideas for the next workshop, or some would conduct workshops for
local teachers themselves. Some of these people took it upon themselves to make this happen
because you know, they weren’t high up in the hierarchy. Most of them were simply classroom
teachers.
SS: But they were passionate?
323
AM: Yes, they were very passionate. They would come paying their own airfares, which could
sometimes represent a month’s salary. So they were really committed to it and they got a sense
of community as well. They were coming from a lot of different places and learning a lot about
other places.
SS: I was so excited when I read about your interview with an Iranian named Ruzbeh where you
said you considered all types of writing as creative: emails, blogs, essays, letters.
AM: Yes. You know some of the run-of-the-mill kind of writing tends to become very dull. I
used to teach writing at NUS, and my undergraduates had some very funny ideas about writing.
Even the MAs. They thought that if they were writing something academic, it had to be lengthy,
convoluted, using high-sounding vocabulary and all those things which make it unreadable.
Writing needs a personal voice.
SS: One of the things that i’ve always argued for is that each of us can build a writerly voice.
AM: Yes, you can. I used to write things and then someone would say, I knew it was you. It
couldn’t have been anyone else. That is a high compliment.
SS: The article that you wrote about researchers and teachers, I loved that one. I sent it to a few
of my professors and they loved it, too.
AM: You did? But that doesn’t change anything, does it?
SS: No. it doesn’t.
AM: You know there is a vested interest in nothing changing. Going back to developing a
personal voice in academic writing, I had an MA student who wrote a very interesting thesis on
this very subject. How to develop a personal voice in academic writing. It was really good. One
of the best I’ve seen actually. She worked on it very, very hard. But the idea that academic
writing has to be conformist and dull is very deeply entrenched.
Elmore Leonard was an American who wrote detective stories. He was very dismissive and had
scathing things to say about people who wrote enormously long sentences and all of these things.
There is an article which lists ten things not to do as a writer - you’ll find it if you Google his
name. And one of them is “cut the hooptedoodle.” It sounds very funny, but it is very, very true.
When I taught my writing courses at NUS, I did a lot of background reading on process
writing and all of the stuff that we are familiar with. But I found that when we used creative
writing, the expository kind of writing also improved. I did a survey way back then. I think I
polled about 90 teachers worldwide and asked if they believed that improving creative writing
324
also improved other kinds of writing and 90% of them said, of course, yes. But of course, you
can put this in front of people’s eyes and show them and everything - but unless they are ready to
commit to it themselves, what can you do?
SS: It’s a chicken and egg thing, really. If you are not doing this while growing up, then you will
not do it as a teacher.
AA: I agree. You have to do it yourself.
SS: I read this research article that said long term, consistent training does help. However, short-
term workshops don’t do much since teachers come in, listen and then go back to doing what
they were doing.
AM: Yes, and this was something we noticed about that group. I said earlier that not everybody
came to everything but there was a core group, you know this thing went on for over 10 years, so
they would have come for 4 or 5 of these and then they started taking off on their own.
SS: So do you hold workshops?
AM: Yes, occasionally. I mean I’m 81, so I’m getting a bit old.
SS: I told Prof. Gunashekar that I’d be meeting you here
AM: Did he say,” Is he still alive?” (Loud laughter).
AM: I do it not just for teachers but also for others too. There are people who meet for Zen
meditation and we’ll be looking at haikus with them because there’s a link between meditation
and writing haikus. I’ll be doing that over a weekend.
SS: I’ve been working with teachers on using mindfulness.
AM: Yes, teachers need to create a space for themselves or else you get wiped out. Teacher
burn-out is all too common.
SS: Alan, it’s been an enjoyable and insightful conversation this evening. I won’t take more of
your time. Thank you again for your patience and offering your perspectives for a wider
audience.
AM: Oh. that’s ok. I’m happy to answer any more questions you have over email.
SS: I will write again soon over email.
325
Bio-notes
1. Balram Uprety teaches English literature at Department of English, St. Joseph’s

College, North Point, Darjeeling, West Bengal. Dr. Uprety has worked on the
constructions of gender and sexuality in Nepali folklore for his doctoral research from
Jadavpur University, Kolkata. e-mail balauprety@gmail.com
2. Dr P. Sunama Patro,works as a lecturer in English in Kabi Samrat Upendra Bhanja
College, Ganjam, Odisha under the Department of Higher Education, Govt. of Odisha.
He has done his PhD in ELE from The English and Foreign Languages University,
Hyderabad, India. patrosunama@gmail.com
3. Dr Suraj Nandkumar Dhumal,works as anAssistant Professor, Department of English
and Foreign languages,Madanapalle Institute of Technology and Science (MITS). He
did his B.Ed (English) from The EFL University, Hyderabad before getting his PhD in
ELE from the same university. Email: surajdhumal89@gmail.com
4. Nittala Noel Anurag Prashanth, has recently submitted his PhD in ELE at The English
and Foreign Languages University, Hyderabad. He has two master degrees prior to his
PhD. He is interested in bi/multi-lingualism, educational policy and cognitive
psychology. noel.nittala@gmail.com
5. Dr Pradip K.Panda is lecturer and former Head, Dept. of English Anchal College
Padampur, Odisha. His Ph. D thesis was on The Cultural Alienation in V.S. Naipaul’s
Novels. He has published papers in reputed journals and magazines. He has also
presented papers in seminars and conferences. His research interests include Indian
Writing in English and Narrative Strategies.
6. Priya Soman works as a Guest Lecturer faculty, Department of History, Christian
College, Chengannur, Alappuzha.
7. Dr.B.Sudha Sai, works as an Assistant Prof in the Department of English, G.I.T,
GITAM University,Visakhapatnam. e-mail-sudhasai70@gmail.com
8. Dr.K.Aruna Kumari, works as an Assistant Prof in the Department of English, G.I.T,
GITAM University,Visakhapatnam.
9. Ann Mathew, is a PhD research scholar at Centre for Women’s Studies, Central
University of Hyderabad. ann.mathew@yahoo.co.uk
10. Dr. M. Gouri is presently working in GITAM, Hyderabad as an Assistant of English.
Her PhD is in English Literature, from the University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh. Her
research interests are: Indian English fiction, Postcolonial studies and Women's writing.
326
She has published and presented research papers in conferences and journals of national
and international repute. e-mailgouri02@gmail.com
11. Kanki Hazarika, is a research scholar, currently pursuing PhD in gender studies at
Centre for Women’s Studies, University of Hyderabad. Briefly, her research focuses on
the land rights of the Bodo women in Assam. e-mail - kankih@gmail.com
12. Jaya Pal, Ph.D. scholar, EFL University, Hyderabad. Hi thrust areas include tribal
literature, Indian writings in English etc. e-mail: jayapal.efl@gmail.com
13. Dr Shyam Babu,works as anAssistant ProfessorintheDepartment of Indian & World
Literatures atThe English and foreign Languages University, Hyderabad, 500007. E-
mail: shyambabueflu@gmail.com
14. Surya Pratap Bharati, is a Ph. D. Research Scholar in the Department of English, at
Hyderabad Central University, Hyderabad. Email Id- suryapratapalld@gmail.com
15. Vara Ranjani,works as an Assistant Professor at GITAM deemed-to-be University,
Hyderabad in the department of English.e-mail- vara_ranjani@yahoo.com
16. Sikha Das, is a PhD scholar of centre for Women’s Studies, University of Hyderabad.
Her research interests include gender, violence, migration, conflict, identity politics etc.
She has made many presentations and publications in national/international conferences
and journals.e-mail-skhds994@gmail.com
17. Pooja Chetry, is a research scholar in Centre for Women’s Studies, University of
Hyderabad, Hyderabad. She is currently working on her PhD thesis which is broadly
title “Sex Trafficking in the Borderland of Eastern Himalayas”.e-mail-
chetry_pooja@yahoo.com
18. Bidyut Bhusan Jena, is a Poet (bi-lingual: English and Odia), writer and translator.
Some of his poems and articles have been published in Muse India, Rock
Pebbles and The Hans-India. He studied at University of Hyderabad and at The English
and Foreign Languages University. Some of his areas of interest are World Literature,
Comparative Literature, Comparative Philosophy and East-West Encounter. Writers
Workshop, Kolkata has accepted his manuscript of poems for publication.
19. Dr. Avijit Kumar Dutta, Working against a Sanctioned Post in the Department of
English, Pragjyotish College as an Assistant Professor (Senior)
327
20. Padmini Rangarajan,is aFounder Member and the Director of Sphoorthi Theatre for
Educational Puppetry and Art & Craft (STEPARC). She is also a Recipient of Tata
Fellowship in Folklore, 2012-2013.
21. Abhijit Das, Associate Professor; Dept. of Anthropology, West Bengal State
University; Barasat; North 24 Parganas; West Bengal, India. E-Mail:
romeda.das@gmail.com
22. Subhashini Rajasekaran, has recently completed her MA in Elementary Education
from Tata Institute of Social Sciences, Mumbai. She has a keen interest in the use of
language in the domain of education.shubha2110@gmail.com
23. Rajesh Kumar, teaches linguistics at Indian Institute of Technology Madras in
Chennai. His research interests lie in the areas of theoretical linguistics, language and
education, and language and human mind.thisisrajkumar@gmail.com
24. Sharon Sunny, is a doctrorate student at EFL University, Her research interests are
teacher beliefs on creativity in language classroom, teaching writing in ESL context
etc.She has worked at Christ University, Bangalore. Apart from her MA in Literature
from Bangalore University, she has a Msters in Humanities from Unversity of Texas,
dallas.
25. Mahendra Kumar Mishra , mkmfolk@gmail.com

26. Jharana Mishra, Asssistant Professor, Sambalpur University
27. Saswat C. Pujari, Asssistant Professor, Sambalpur University
28. Amrita Banerjee, St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous).
29. Anupama Priyadarshi
328
329

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Lokaratna Vol.

XI (2), 2018 ISSN: 2347-6427

Lokaratna Vol. XI (2), 2018 ISSN: 2347-6427

FOLKLORE FOUNDATION, INDIA

LOKARATNA, Vol. XI (2) 2018

Lokaratna is the e-journal of the Folklore Foundation, Bhubaneswar. Lokaratna; a peer-

Cover Design: by Amit Kumar

The objectives of the journal are:

Editor in Chief: Dr Mahendra K Mishra

Prof. Debi Prasanna Pattanayak, Ex Director, CIILMysore, India

FROM THE DESK OF THE EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

I am thankful to the editorial board of this journal, especially Prof.Anand Mahanand,

language and literature in the light of folklore.

in addition to many folklore institutes.

I am thankful to Prof Mark Turin, Anthropologist and a Himalayan Scholar from

Mahendra Kumar Mishra

FROM THE DESK OF THE EXECUTIVE EDITOR

Towards an Interdisciplinary Dialogue

In today’s academic scenario, there has been emphasis on inter-disciplinary study.

Patriarchy: A Critical Reading of the film Kothanodi” is an attempt to understand

emotional confidence among learners and making writing an interactive classroom

Dr. Mark Turin

2 IT’S A NEW COUNTRY! FOLKLORE AND NATIONALISM IN EARLY 9

Dr. Avijit Kumar Dutta

Dr. Abhijit Das

Dr. Shyam Babu

Bidyut Bhusan Jena

Surya Pratap Bharati

Dr. Neelam Singh

Nittala Noel Anurag Prashanth

22 READING AND INCIDENTAL VOCABULARY ACQUISITION 243

Dr Suraj Nandkumar Dhumal

Dr. B. Sudha Sai

Call for Papers

Lokaratna Vol. XII, 2019

 Font - Times New Roman with 12 font size

following mail ID: lokaratnaindia@gmail.com

THANGMI COSMOGONY & ETHNOGENESIS

Dr. Mark Turin

1. The Thangmi Mythological World

3. Thangmi Ethnogenesis: Narrative

4. Thangmi Ethnogenesis: Analysis

Lévi-Strauss, Claude. 1958. Anthropologie Structurale. Paris: Plon.

Regmi, Mahesh Chandra. 1976. Landownership in Nepal. Berkeley: University of California

Turin, Mark. 2012. Grammar of Thangmi with an Ethnolinguistic Introduction to the

IT’S A NEW COUNTRY! FOLKLORE AND NATIONALISM IN EARLY

Key Words: Children’s Literature, Nationalism, Folklore, Colonial education, identity.

The Anglicist phase of educational reforms riding on Macaulay’s famous minutes

When concerned native scholars like Madanmohan Tarkalankar and Ischwarchandra

As a counter-point to the institutionalized colonial education that bound the child in

In the wake of this revivalist tendencies Abanindranath Tagore, nephew of

Khirer Putul4 replays the essentialist nationalist narrative of regeneration and

As Bose assets it meets Anderson’s conception of “a halo of disinterestedness” which

It is curious that the nationalists conceived ‘childhood’ as important zone of

Much of the contemporary readings on nationalist phase have researched on the

So Dignagar, outside Shashthi’s Land, and Shashthi Land itself, at a time wh

2. Gargi Gangopadhay’s (2013) essay “"Our Motherland" Mapping an Identity in Bengali

Viswanathan, Gauri. (1987). The Beginnings of English Literary Study in British

Tagore. Abanindranath.(1986). Khirer Putul. Calcutta: Ananda Publishers.

Bagchi, Jasodhara. (Oct. 20-27, 1990). Representing Nationalism: Ideology of Motherhood in

Nandy, Ashis. (1984-85). Reconstructing Childhood: A Critique of the Ideology of

FISHERMEN’S ORIGIN NARRATIVES IN ASSAM: A DESCRIPTIVE