Kalki's Avatars
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KALKI’S AVATARS: WRITING NATION, HISTORY, REGION, AND CULTURE IN THE TAMIL PUBLIC SPHERE DISSERTATION Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy in the Graduate School of The Ohio State University By Akhila Ramnarayan. M.A. ****** The Ohio State University 2006 Approved by Dissertation Committee: Professor Chadwick Allen, Adviser Adviser Professor Debra Moddelmog, Adviser Professor James Phelan Adviser English Graduate Program ABSTRACT Challenging the English-only bias in postcolonial theory and literary criticism, this dissertation investigates the role of the twentieth-century Tamil historical romance in the formation of Indian and Tamil identity in the colonial period. I argue that Tamil Indian writer-nationalist Kalki Ra. Krsnamurti’s (1899-1954) 1944 Civakamiyin Capatam (Civakami’s Vow)—chronicling the ill-fated wartime romance of Pallava king Narasimhavarman (630-668 CE) and fictional court dancer Civakami against the backdrop of the seventh-century Pallava-Chalukya wars—exemplifies a distinct genre of interventionist literature in the Indian subcontinent. In Kalki’s hands, the vernacular novel became a means by which to infiltrate the colonial imaginary and, at the same time, to envision a Tamil India untainted by colonial presence. Charting the generic transformation of the historical romance in the Tamil instance, my study provides 1) a refutation of the inflationary and overweening claims made in postcolonial studies about South Asian nationalism, 2) a questioning of naïve binaries such as local and global, cosmopolitan and vernacular, universal and particular, traditional and modern, in examining the colonial/postcolonial transaction, and 3) a case for a less grandiose and more carefully historicized account of bourgeois nationalism than has previously been provided by postcolonial critics, accounting for its complicities with ii and resistances to discourses of nation, region, caste, and gender in the late colonial context. Looking out from a specific historical, political, linguistic, and cultural location, I hope to generate ethical, context-sensitive analyses of South Asian nationalisms (in this study’s case, Tamil) as persisting and protean global formations sensitive to local and global networks of influence. iii Dedicated to my great-grandmother Rukmini Krishnamurti ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I could not have written this dissertation without the careful, and caring, supervision of my dissertation committee: Professors Chadwick Allen, Debra Moddelmog, and James Phelan. I am deeply indebted to my co-advisers Chadwick Allen and Debra Moddelmog. Professor Allen, you are a wonderful mentor. Thank you for your guidance throughout my graduate career: for helping me acquire a vocabulary with which to describe the particular in the postcolonial, for your patience with me through the years, and for the high standards you set for scholarly work in the field. You continue to inspire me by precept and example, in both my research and teaching. Professor Moddelmog, your commitment to scholarly and professional excellence spurred me on throughout the writing process. I cannot thank you enough for your painstaking, insightful, and empathetic comments on my written work, and your encouragement when I fell short. Thank you both for always being ready to guide me through the intellectual and ethical questions that accompany race, class, and gender based inquiry in the humanities. Professor Phelan, heartfelt thanks for your help and advice throughout my graduate career, for opening my mind to concerns of narrative form and ethics early on, and for your encouragement and advice at the dissertation stage. My committee’s endorsement of and insistence on rigorous scholarship that breaks new ground gave me v the courage to attempt a project that tests the boundaries of English studies. Needless to say, the errors in this dissertation are entirely my own. Professors R. Radhakrishnan, Rajeswari Sunderrajan, and Smriti Srinivas—South Asia and postcolonial scholars of repute—all took time out of their busy schedules to serve as commentators and sounding-boards for my project, and to write letters of recommendation at various stages of my graduate career. You each went above and beyond the call of duty in your support of my work, and I am profoundly grateful for your interest and feedback. I am also grateful to Professor Rick Livingston for pointing me to valuable theoretical and methodological perspectives for my study. That independent study I took with you during the summer of 2000 marked a pivotal moment in my intellectual career, something I owe entirely to your guidance! My thanks to many prominent Tamil writers, activists, and scholars in Chennai— V. Geetha, C. T. Indra, Sa. Kandasami, Tiruppur Krishnan, Dilip Kumar, Mangai, Indra Parthasarathy, Prasanna, La. Sa. Ramamirtam, Seetharam, Sivasankari, Padma Subramaniam, Chitti Sundarrajan, Malan, and Vallikannan—for sharing your valuable time and unvarnished opinions on the subject of Kalki’s contribution to Tamil culture. I would like to mention Mr. Dilip Kumar in particular for his excellent suggestions for critical reading in Tamil. Without your help in gathering scholarly sources not readily available in the US, I would never have gained such an appreciation of the Tamil literary, political, and artistic scene. Thanks to K. Rajendran and Seetha Ravi, editors of Kalki, for sharing your thoughts and impressions of man and magazine, and for giving me full access to the archives. Heartfelt thanks to Mr. Tanikaimaintan for his assistance in making copies and for kindly providing a much-appreciated daily dose of coffee in the vi Kalki office workspace at which I was permitted to conduct my research. The critical feedback and guidance I received during my research trips to Chennai has been integral in shaping my approach to Tamil studies. I would also like to thank Professors Susan Williams and Brenda Brueggemann for supporting me through tough times in the earlier stages of my graduate career. Professor Beverly Moss, thank you so much for making my job at the Center for the Study and Teaching of Writing so richly rewarding, and for your interest in my scholarly growth throughout my time at OSU. I owe most of my professional and personal development during my graduate career to my mentor and guide at the OSU Writing Center, Professor Kitty Locker, who trusted in my ability to see things through, and helped me get back on my feet countless times. Kitty, you were a shining example in every way. I will never forget the years I had working with you. A big thank you to my best friend, Chaya Chandrasekhar. Chai, without you, I couldn’t have negotiated graduate school, the academic job market, and life in the US. And Omar Humeidan, where would I have been if it weren’t for you the past eight years? Thank you, prince of friends, for helping me see the humor in every situation and for being your generous and kind-hearted self through every circumstance. Sapna Batish, fellow dissertator-in-distress, the last few months seemed bearable only because we could exchange woes and celebrate gains on a daily basis. Thanks also to Kristen Hartman for generously providing accommodation, assistance, and much- needed shots-in-the-arm during all those Columbus trips. Joe Levy, thanks for insisting I finish. vii My final acknowledgments must be to my family, immediate and extended, maternal and paternal. My maternal grandmother, Anandhi Ramachandran, enthusiastically supported this project, sharing countless stories about her father and his work. Thanks also to my paternal grandmother, Rukmini Venkatraman, for setting an example of fortitude, dignity, and sparkling intellect for all your children and grandchildren. To my great-aunts, Thangathi and Vijayakka, thanks for the vivid and detailed recollections of life in Kalki Gardens. Kamakshi and Ramesh Mallikarjun, a big thank you for all your help and support during the job market year. I must also express my gratitude to Shankar and Sumithra Ramachandran; your presence in Columbus this past year has been a source of strength and comfort. I love you guys. Abhinav, you’re the best brother this sister could have; talking to you (every single one of those rambling conversations across and within continents) has helped me achieve clarity these last few years. Appa, my admiration of you—your sense of fair play, maverick acumen, and untiring resolve—only deepens with time. And Amma, my staunchest champion and sternest critic, I lay this (unworthy) dissertation at your lotus feet. viii VITA December 9, 1973…………Born in Mumbai, India. 1991………………………..B.A. in English, Women’s Christian College 1994………………………..M.A. in English, University of Chennai 1996-2004.............................Graduate Teaching Associate, The Ohio State University 2004-2005………………….Presidential Fellow, The Ohio State University PUBLICATIONS Research Publication Ramnarayan, Akhila. “Veiled Wor(l)ds: Postcolonial Feminism and the Question of Where.” Calling Cards: Theory and Practice in Studies of Race, Gender and Culture. Eds. Jacqueline Jones Royster and Anne Marie Mann Simpkins. NY: State University of New York Press, 2005. FIELDS OF STUDY Major Field: English ix TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Abstract…………………………………………………………………………………...ii Dedication.....…………………………………………………………………….……….iv Acknowledgments………………………………………………………………………...v Vita………………………………………………………………………………………..ix Chapters 1. Introduction: The Case for Kalki …..…………………………………………......1 2. The Press, the