Conversation, Commerce, and Obligation on the Edge of Thanjavur, India
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Tipping Scales with Talk: Conversation, Commerce, and Obligation on the edge of Thanjavur, India By Laura Corinne Brown A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Anthropology) in The University of Michigan 2010 Doctoral Committee: Professor Judith T. Irvine, Chair Professor E.Webb Keane Jr. Professor Bruce Mannheim Professor Farina Mir A maḷi kaṭai /phonebooth in central Thanjavur, October of 2006. Laura Corinne Brown All Rights Reserved 2010 Dedication To my parents, Robert and Linda Brown, and to T. (K.) Kalaivani. ii Acknowledgements Many mistakes were made in the course of writing this dissertation, but my choice in interlocutors was never among them. This project would not have been possible without the help and friendship of T. (K.) Kalaivani. Her hospitality, and that of her family, sustained me through fieldwork. Her questions, criticism, and generosity continue to inspire me. While in Thanjavur, I incurred many debts of the sort that can never be repaid. I learned that it is possible to turn strangers into family, that there are people for whom generosity is much more than a practical strategy, and that the vegetables sold in shops I studied could be unforgettably delicious. In order to preserve the anonymity of people who are mentioned in the dissertation, I will avoid giving detailed accounts of all that I owe. Instead, I simply offer deep and heartfelt thanks to the families of: S. Singaram, J. Selvakumar, D. Velu Murugan, L. Prem, J. Abdul, Vera Ragavan, H. Dishnamoorthy, Mani Rao, and K. Rajendran. Among the many other people to whom I owe thanks are: Ambazhakan, Ambujam, Anuradha, Arul Mozhi, Bakiraj, Bharathi, Divya, Dhoulath Bee, Ezhilarasi, Francis, Gomathi, Jayanthi, Karthikaya, Kavi Arasan, Lalitha, Laxman, Lenin, Madhava Mala, Madusudana, Mary, Mathiyalagan, Menaga, Meyyarasi, Muthulakshmi, Nilakandan, Prajeesh, Premila, Poorna, Raghavan, Ramya, Ritha, Roja, iii Sareedha, Sambasivam, Saranya, Selvi, Selvadurai, Shanmugapriya, Siva, Sushila, Suvanthi, Umamaheswari, Vanitha, Velu, and Yoganatham. Prof. K. Karunakaran introduced me to both the sweetness of Tamil and to many of the people who made this work possible. Prof. L. Ramamoorthy provided invaluable aid with transcription and translation, as well as help with the analysis of many of the conversations that appear in this dissertation. Both offered models of patience, generosity, and scholarly commitment that I will strive to emulate. Among others whom I thank for the gift of Tamil are: Dr. S. Bharathy and others at the American Institute of Indian Studies in Madurai; Profs. Natanasabapathy, Ganesan, Muralidharan, and Meenakshisundaran at Annamalai University; and Profs. Karthikeyan, Rajendran, and Susheela at Tamil Univeristy. Their wit and willingness to support a project that differed so dramatically from their own research brought joy to the struggle of language learning. Although I drew intellectual and social support from Tamil University, I owe thanks to American College in Madurai for providing me with a research affiliation and to the American Institute of Indian Studies for helping to make the necessary arrangements. I thank the Wenner-Gren Foundation both for the funds that supported the bulk of this research and for the flexibility needed to accommodate delays in the visa application processing. As I attempt to thank the members of my committee, I can say only that I hope my inability to make an adequate return gift will cause these relationships to endure. Working with Farina Mir made the challenge of South Asian history a delight. Conversations with Bruce Mannheim have transformed mundane details into delicious iv mysteries. Webb Keane showed me what should be done with ethnographic detail and brought a sense of play to the process of interpretation. I continue to celebrate the luck that allowed me to work with Judith Irvine as an advisor. I thank her for what she has taught me about language as social action and for the models of mentorship and scholarly life that she provides. To John Thiels, who knows what it means to come next in the list of acknowledgements, I owe more than can be said. Andy Conroe and Tam Perry introduced me to methods of hope and brought light to dark days and murky questions. This dissertation was improved by readings and discussions with members of the ―non- gendered writing group‖: David Akin, George Hoffman, Miranda Johnson, Lee Schlesinger, and Jennifer Solheim. They helped to transform what had become a chore back into a pleasure. I am also grateful to Lee Schlesinger—whose intellectual rigor is surpassed only by his kindness and enthusiasm—for building a community of South Asia scholars in Ann Arbor. My research and writing have benefitted immensely from interactions with members of the Kitabmandal. Frank Cody, Chandan Gowda, and Bhavani Raman in particular offered invaluable advice and warm hospitality. Nishaant Choksi, Punnu Jaitla, Hemanth Kadambi, Jane Lynch, and Sudipa Topdar provided other forms of fellowship and support. Classes with Penelope Eckert, Kira Hall, Karen Hoppes, Miyako Inoue, Nita Kumar, Lesley Milroy, Ann Stoler, Sarah Thomason, Thomas Trautmann, and Katherine Verdery helped me to see what would otherwise have been invisible. Conversations with Anna Babel, Sepideh Bajracharya, Molly Callaghan, Katherine Chen, Sonia Das, Erika Hoffman-Dilloway, Eva-Marie Dubuisson, Paul Duffy, Susan Frecko, Ema Grama, v Randall Hicks, Mathew Hull, Simon Keeling, Jonathan Larson, Alaina Lemon, Michael Lempert, Barbra Meek, Barbara Metcalf, Josh Reno, Eric Rupley, and Karen Smid enriched my understanding of linguistics and anthropology, while bringing joy to life in Ann Arbor. Claire Insel, Bridget Guarasci, Sherina Feliciano-Santos, and Susanne Unger offered the warmth of friendship and feedback on chapters. Deborah Michales, Xochitl Ruiz, and Elana Busch provided solidarity that kept me writing. Christina Davis has been a sister in the study of Tamil and a fast friend throughout the research and writing process. I owe thanks to Emily Freeman and Claire Insel for help with copy-editing and to Awlok Josan for support during the final stage of revisions. I thank Yasmeen Hanoosh, David Gamage, Neela Kale, Bridgit Offer, Tim Ruttan, and Allen Young for the friendships that made me who I am and for asking questions that keep me up at night. I celebrate my brother, Kevin Brown, for his distinctly un-anthropological insights on how to live in the world. This dissertation is dedicated to my parents: Robert Brown, who helped me to see patterns as beautiful, and Linda Brown, who pushed me to find possibilities for political transformation. vi Table of Contents Dedication ........................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iii List of Figures .................................................................................................................. viii List of Transcripts and Translated Material ....................................................................... ix Notes on Transcription and Transliteration ........................................................................ x Chapter 1: An Introduction to the Social World of Maḷi Kaṭai ...................................... 1 Chapter 2: ―Strangers Will See You Only as Profit‖: Familiarity and Obligation in Shop Interactions ........................................................................................................................ 54 Chapter 3: The Space of the Shop and its Implications: Addressing the Possibility of Overhearing on Thanjavur‘s Streets ............................................................................... 114 Chapter 4: ―You Have to Get up Early in the Morning‖: Rhythms of Expectation in Maḷi Kaṭai conversations ................................................................................................ 162 Chapter 5: Shoplifting Responsibility for Kaṭaṉ: Blurred Participation Frameworks in Discussions of Credit/Debt ............................................................................................. 217 Chapter 6: Keeping Agents Accountable: Texts, Transparency, and Trust in Two Circuits of Commerce ..................................................................................................... 277 Chapter 7: Tipping Scales with Tongues: How Money is made in Maḷi Kaṭai .......... 343 Bibliography ................................................................................................................... 356 vii List of Figures Figure 1. Shop with advertising signboard………………………………………………42 Figure 2. The signboard for "Indian Store" a shop located in Vishnu‘s Lake ……...…...44 Figure 3. A crowd of regulars buying vegetables around noon in Vishnu‘s Lake……..113 Figure 4. The table of vegetables for sale at Pushpa kaṭai, around 10am in July of 2008 …………………………………………………………………………………………..187 Figure 5. Sign placed in front of vegetable market on the day of the 2008 strike……...188 Figure 6. Customers in line to buy kerosene at a ration shop, April 2007……………...340 Figure 7. Customers buying soda at a maḷi kaṭai in Vishnu‘s Lake, February 2007 .….341 Figure 8. Francis, helps a customer to fill out an application form…………………….342 Figure 9. The newest shop in King‘s Community, as of April 2007…………………...355 viii List of Transcripts and