MASCULINITY AND THE STRUCTURING OF THE PUBLIC DOMAIN IN KERALA: A HISTORY OF THE CONTEMPORARY Ph. D. Thesis submitted to MANIPAL ACADEMY OF HIGHER EDUCATION (MAHE – Deemed University) RATHEESH RADHAKRISHNAN CENTRE FOR THE STUDY OF CULTURE AND SOCIETY (Affiliated to MAHE- Deemed University) BANGALORE- 560011 JULY 2006 To my parents KM Rajalakshmy and M Radhakrishnan For the spirit of reason and freedom I was introduced to… This work is dedicated…. The object was to learn to what extent the effort to think one’s own history can free thought from what it silently thinks, so enable it to think differently. Michel Foucault. 1985/1990. The Use of Pleasure: The History of Sexuality Vol. II, trans. Robert Hurley. New York: Vintage: 9. … in order to problematise our inherited categories and perspectives on gender meanings, might not men’s experiences of gender – in relation to themselves, their bodies, to socially constructed representations, and to others (men and women) – be a potentially subversive way to begin? […]. Of course the risks are very high, namely, of being misunderstood both by the common sense of the dominant order and by a politically correct feminism. But, then, welcome to the margins! Mary E. John. 2002. “Responses”. From the Margins (February 2002): 247. The peacock has his plumes The cock his comb The lion his mane And the man his moustache. Tell me O Evolution! Is masculinity Only clothes and ornaments That in time becomes the body? PN Gopikrishnan. 2003. “Parayu Parinaamame!” (Tell me O Evolution!). Reprinted in Madiyanmarude Manifesto (Manifesto of the Lazy, 2006). Thrissur: Current Books: 78. Contents List of Illustrations vii Acknowledgements viii Introduction 1 Part I Mapping the Present Chapter 1: Masculinity and Kerala: On Trajectories and Concepts 9 Chapter II: An Incident in Narrative: Discourse of Masculinity and Public Domain in Contemporary Kerala 54 Part II ‘Present’ing the Past: Masculinity and Modernity in Kerala 128 Chapter III: Masculinity in the Public: Politics and Art 133 Section 1: Sakhavu: The Left Revolutionary 134 Section 2: Cult figures and Collectives: John Abraham and Amma Ariyaan 174 Chapter IV: Negotiating Modernity: The Crisis Narratives 212 Section 1: Of Mice and Men: Matriliny and the Crisis of Masculinity 213 Section 2: Powerlessness as Hegemony: ‘Emancipated woman’ and the Crisis of Masculinity 255 In Conclusion: Masculinity, History, Kerala: New Beginnings 298 References 306 List of Illustrations (pages 172, 173) Images 1 & 2 Stills from the documentary Vijayan Mash (dir: Sophia Bindh 2004). Image 3, 4 & 5 Photographed pages from Deshabhimani, Annual issue 1953. Image 6 Still from Anubhavangal Paalichakal (dir: KS Sethumadhavan 1971). Image 7, 8 & 11 Stills from the documentary Ithrayum Yathabhagam (dir: Sathyan 2004). Image 9 John Abraham. “In his sister’s house, calmly” (Shaji 1993/1994: 282). Image 10 John Abraham. Source: Chithrabhumi Film Magazine (21 June 1987): 8-9. Images 12,13, 14 &15 Stills from Amma Ariyaan (dir: John Abraham 1986). Image 16 Ravi Varma’s painting titled There Comes Papa (1893) Image 17 Still from Elippathayam (dir: Adoor Gopalakrishnan 1981). Images 18, 19, 20 Stills from Manathe Vellitheru (dir: Fazil 1994). vii Acknowledgements The years I spent on this project have been quite amazing for the intellectual travels I was able to make and the number of people I was able to interact with. The project itself is a composite of conversations, ideas and thoughts that have come out of these interactions. CSCS has been an amazing space for exploring ideas that I would have thrown away without much thought elsewhere. The small but growing community has always challenged and encouraged me in ways more than one. To those spaces, I will be ever grateful. A word of formal thanks, though extremely insufficient to capture what I feel, to… Tejaswini Niranjana, for being a dream supervisor, extremely critical and involved. It has been her trust in me that has seen me through the completion of this project. Teju, it has been amazing being your student and thanks for putting up with my intellectual confusions and mood swings. Sujithkumar Parayil, Radhika P, Subhajit Chatterjee, Vinaya Nayak, Samuel Jesupatham, Lawrence Liang and Mathew John for making the one-year of coursework the best time I have ever had in my life – for the whole lot fun, the engaged arguments and for the continued friendship. Ashish Rajadhyaksha, for becoming a role model late in my life. The bond we have shared, the many conversations we have had and the interest you have shown in my ramblings have been exceptional. I will always remain inspired by your energy and intellect. SV Srinivas and Mrinalini Sebastian for without whose support – intellectual and personal – I wouldn’t have survived the last five years. The number of arguments and conversations we have had has been most valuable. You guys made the Educational Initiatives Programme a great project to work in. I am extremely grateful to Madhava Prasad and Vivek Dhareshwar for making such an impact on my intellectual life over the years. Sanghamitra Misra and Rochelle Pinto turned out to be good company to share ideas and fun in the last few months. viii Life in Bangalore would have been very different and difficult if not for Nithin Manayath, Benny Kuruvilla, Asha Achuthan, Sumathi N, Dhanaraj Keezhara, Surabhi Sharma, Aditi Chanchani, Nisha Susan, Maithreyi MR, George Jose, Prashanth GN, T Vishnuvardhan, Sushumna, Dunkin Jalki and Nishant Shah. Shilpaa’s parents, Shaila aunty and Anand uncle, and Vinaya’s mother, Vidya aunty never made me feel away from home. Sharmila Sreekumar, for being so patient with my visits to Bombay, for the reading sessions, the many suggestions and even the discussions on the phone about the project. The discussions and interactions I have had with Ritty Lukose, Dilip M Menon, P Udayakumar, T Muraleedharan, Praveena Kodoth, Mary E John, Jenny Rowena, J Devika, KP Girija, Navaneetha M, Bindu KC and TT Sreekumar have been important in the formation of the project. Their interventions have been extremely useful in helping me get out of the many blocks and to carry on with the project. I see it as my privilege to have had the chance. The collective that was formed during the struggle for the closure of Gwalior Rayons factory in Calicut, and the one at Hyderabad Central University – the JAC – will remain the most fulfilling of my experiences. The marks that they have left on me will remain forever. Hoshang Merchant, Syed Mujeebuddin and Alladi Uma at the English Department in HCU for helping me push the limits of literature for the first time. FoCus (Forum for Cultural Studies, Centre for Comparative Literature, HCU), for introducing me to the world of the social sciences. Ratheesh Kumar PK and Bindulakshmi, for the fantastic sessions of discussions and fun in Bombay during my retreats. Reshma Bharadwaj and Dilip Raj for sharing with me their useful documentation that forms most of the materials discussed in the main chapter of the thesis. The participants at the conferences at Bhubaneshwar and Colombo where parts of the work were presented. Anita Ramesh and Fleachta Phelan, friends turned proofreaders, for making this text readable. MP Nagaraj, Maheshwari, Ali, Sujaya, Shivu, Pushpa, Padma, Nagesh and Raju – the non-academic staff at CSCS over the years – for the amount of help on a day-to-day basis and putting up with such a difficult bunch. CSCS, for the financial support, in the form of fellowships and assistantships. ix Libraries at CSCS, Sakhi Women’s Resource Centre (Thiruvananthapuram), Anweshi Women’s Reading Room and Library (Calicut), Anveshi (Hyderabad), CIEFL (Hyderabad), Appan Thampuran Memorial Library (Thrissur), Thunchan Memorial Research Centre & Library (Tirur) and Indira Gandhi Memorial Library at the University of Hyderabad (Hyderabad) for allowing me to feel the sheer joy of being amidst shelves filled with books. Lal, Sunil, Sumesh, Suma, Jisha, Jithendarn, Sherin, Praveen, Rameshan, Sanil, Suman, Seetha, Bijoy and the older friends Haribabu, Sreelatha and Sivaraj – it was the times that we spent together long long time ago that has made me. The planned revolutions and the many unrealised projects have been so important. Shalini Moolechalil, for being an important presence in the formation of my intellectual self and especially this project. My students at the University of Hyderabad, especially Meghana Rao and Samiah Sultana, for making my life so rich and seeing me through some difficult times. Nimanthi Rajasingham, for the encouragement and friendship. Murali and Sibi for allowing me to make ‘Cloud 9’ my second address in Kerala. Shamshad Hussein, for the boundless optimism she spreads around her. Arathi and Srijith, without whom I couldn’t have survived my year in Calicut. Fleachta Phelan – the most enthusiastic and rigorous of my critics – for all the unfinished conversations and those yet-to-be realised plans, and for sharing my frustrations and anxieties during the last months of the project. Shilpaa, comrade – right through, from the days of those bourbon biscuits. Nithin and Sharmi, for always being there, intellectually and emotionally. My sister Reshma, for the pillow fights. My mother, for the support and trust in spite of a world of differences. Also for the many arguments and discussions, and the readiness to hunt for ideas and materials for the project. And finally to my father, who had a lot of dreams about me, but is not with me today to see one of them fulfilled. ————————————————— x Introduction The thesis attempts to work out the link between the structuring of the public domain and the discourse of masculinity in contemporary Kerala, South India. Using the debates around an incident of sexual harassment that happened in 1999, it argues for a conjunctural understanding of the contemporary where various events and moments in history are replayed through narrativisation and popular memory.