MEENA KANDASWAMY has an electric effect on rooms when she reads her poetry. The erotic content quite apart, the juxtaposition of her highly femme persona and the tartness of her observations always charges the atmosphere.
The late Kamala Das wrote the foreword to Touch, the collection of poetry Kandaswamy published at age 23. ‘Love and its politics inform my poetry. Caste atrocities happen most frequently because of intercaste love affairs.” A happy denizen of the Internet, 25-year-old Kandaswamy’s first short story The Suicide’s Inbox was the perverse unfolding of a correspondence between two women.
The daughter of a Tamil professor and a Maths professor at IIT, Meena has been always aware that even PhDs are not invincible armour. She chose to pursue a degree privately. “I knew I would not rest quietly if I had to suffer the usual caste slurs in college. Such a waste of time.”
Kandaswamy pins her dalit identity on the act of rebelling against any kind of oppression. She describes what it is like to live in a state with powerful dalit movements going back to the legendary Nandanar, who died claiming his right to worship Shiva: “Discrimination is sophisticated. Once a day — I’m not exaggerating — once a day someone will ask me whether I am vegetarian to figure out whether I am Brahmin.”
She avidly follows the media’s handling of dalit public figures. ‘People say dalits smell but when dalits stand for elections people say that suchand- such dalit’s perfume was expensive.” She has funny stories about the liberals left as well. “People exoticise our ‘sexual freedom’ as if dalits live in a nudist colony. I once met the editor of a left-leaning national newspaper. He told someone to verify if I was a dalit since I spoke English well.”
Kandaswamy says she wrestles daily with the biases of language in her writing, her PhD thesis and her rapacious translation of Tamil literature. She teaches English in a college. She blogs about local politics but is writing a novel set far from Tamil Nadu. Is this the life she dreamt of? “I dream of too many lives,” she replies.
NISHA SUSAN
From Tehelka Magazine, Vol 6, Issue 24, Dated Jun 20, 2009
//I once met the editor of a left-leaning national newspaper. He told someone to verify if I was a dalit since I spoke English well.”//
I liked it.
[1] “Once a day — I’m not exaggerating — once a day someone will ask me whether I am vegetarian to figure out whether I am ‘Brahmin’.”
[2] I once met the editor of a left-leaning national newspaper. He told someone to verify if I was a dalit since I spoke English well.”
Myths! and interesting ones. If these were axioms, then what do you call a vegetarian who can not speak English well? I could certainly identify with those.
What a great article.
I don’t know what to say to you anymore, Meena; you are so brilliant and untiring in your compassionate fight against oppression. You are so needed in this world. I find you so inspiring as I go about my day oceans and continents away, with it’s little oppressions on sidewalks, in kitchens, in meeting rooms, in bedrooms.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G6IiEk352ic
In the very land of periyar the brahmins are still singing the manu smrithi that too so loud and we dalits have to bear with it. We need to stop this.
Hello friend,
why does human being have the tendency, to differentiate himself from others?
why does he want to identify himself into a particular group?
what is the reason he proudly proclaims that he belongs to a particular group.?
Do u believe that this inclination is the reason for the caste system?
You have lot of communities in your orkut page.
Why do u want to differentiate yourself from others?
I m not talking abt communities like lankan tamils.
Because Indian constitution permits discrimination in positive manner to uplift underprivileged.
I m talking abt communities like cafe coffee day,women with brains,creative writing.
Do u want to differentiate yourself from others with the fact that you belong to ”’CREATIVE WRITING COMMUNITY””’.
Activities,practices started like this then invented the ””CASTE WITH BRAINS”” over the centuries.
Do u believe that with this tendency , Could Caste system have been avoided in a country especially india,where people largely varying on the basis of ethnicity,color of the skin….and so on like no other country.
Various invaders settled in india over more than three millennium.so India looks like a bottle with more layers of sediments.
I am not a supporter of caste system.But I have understood that the mentality built over millenniums will take some time to be uprooted.
A very inspiring read.