Periyar in Pictures: How a photo restorer is starting conversations on social justice
In a two-part series, TNM brings you the profiles of two artists who teach progressive politics through their favoured media.
How would Periyar or Dr Ambedkar have really looked in real-life? Black and white photos of the two leaders may leave us wondering what it would be like to see them in full colour. Twenty-six-year-old Jainth who founded and single-handedly runs Nirami Colorization from his home in Chennai, gives us a glimpse of just that. But, Jainth’s work also goes beyond the simple attraction of colourising old photos. The artist has taken the immediate attraction of such a process, to introduce Periyar and Dr Ambedkar to a younger generation.
Jainth is an independent artist who also accepts commissioned work restoring and colourising old photos. He has dabbled in acting and is currently working with a media firm. On Instagram, he’s the artist who fascinates his followers with colourised photos of Periyar, Dr Ambedkar, Anna Durai, M Karunanidhi, film icons like Illaiyaraaja, Silk Smitha, Rajinikanth and many more. Under these posts, many of his captions speak of social justice. They speak of the politics of skin-tones and Dravidian ideals. Excerpts from Periyar’s speeches or books, open doors to a whole new politics for those whom Periyar is just a name.
Jainth posts old black and white photos he first restores and then colourises on his Instagram handle, @nirami.colorization. The handle is a treasure trove for those who believe in the ideologies of Dr Ambedkar and Dravidian leaders like Periyar. It is a staunchly political space. The colourisation fascinates people, through which Jainth is able to present social justice ideals through the books or speeches of these leaders or through short write-ups.
“There are a lot of misconceptions about Periyar. Even when I first heard of him, I was presented with an image of a brutish person who just caused trouble. But that’s not who he was,” says Jainth to TNM. One photo in particular that has had a magnetic effect on people and even made it to protest sites, is of Periyar gently cradling a baby. “He is all smiles in that picture. I’ve heard from other Periyarists that he always had a soft corner for children. Even if he had only a few hours in a town on one of his tours, he would spend at least one hour talking to children. Adults were apparently even scared that the children might, as is their candid nature, expose regressive behaviour of theirs that Periyar wouldn’t approve of!” Jainth laughs.
This colourised photo has been one of his most popular works. Jainth adds, “There was a protest in Madurai some years back about various social justice issues, including calls to ban NEET. Many copies of that photo were used as posters there. I think people were attracted to the picture because it showed a tender side of Periyar. One which we’re not accustomed to seeing. He's always remembered as a surly, angry old man. This brought out his humanity.”
The ideologies of leaders like Periyar and highlighting their humanity are both important aspects to Jainth. “Once a person commented under a picture of Babasaheb Ambedkar, I had restored and colourised, asking why I did not have a picture of him laughing as he must have also laughed in his life and had jovial moments, so then I searched and found a picture that did show him laughing,” he recalls.
On the pushback online from people who are opposed to the Periyarist thought, Jainth says that it is part of the work. “There have been many people who have fought with me. I try still to engage with them, break their misconceptions like I broke mine. People come to me saying Periyar was just a disruptor. I tell them how he was so much more. He was a rationalist, an atheist, he stood for caste and gender justice,” he points out.
Jainth recollects that his own politicisation had been a process of learning over the years. “My entry into Periyarist ideals was because of the atheism I already had. I took to denying the existence of god in my school days, but it wasn’t through Periyar at the time. Then, I was just trying to define myself against my very religious family. I was the only one in my classroom who was an atheist. Even then, I vaguely had an impression of Periyar as someone I wasn’t supposed to like,” says Jainth and adds that it was only when he was pursuing his postgraduate course in Media Studies at Loyola College, that he really understood Periyar properly. “I was researching the history of student politics in Tamil Nadu when I came across mentions of Periyar. When I looked up his writings, I was surprised to see that he had said the very things I thought for myself, but hadn’t been able to articulate. My atheism which had been very dry up until then, got more grounding. I found the misogyny against women in my own family unfair, but Periyar had called out this misogyny a long time ago,” he says.
The excerpts that Jainth posts under his restored photos are also enticingly crisp. Even just to refute him, someone would have to seek out the book or speech and actually read what Periyar said. And maybe in that way lies a change of heart.