Personal, Political and Planetary: Reading the Life Narratives of Kallen Pokkudan
Dr. Suja Mathew
Dr. Denis Joseph Anatty Olakkengil
A Dalit life narrative is a subversive and counterhegemonic practice that breaks the silence of generations. It is an attempt to empower the community through the articulation of oppressive experiences. The present paper tries to explore the life and philosophy of Kallen Pokkudan, the revered &#;guardian of mangroves&#; from Kannur as expressed in his life narratives Kandalkkadukalkkidayil Ente Jeevitham () and Ente Jeevitham (). The paper attempts to explore how the personal is political as well as planetary for him, focusing on the egocentric attitude of the autochthonous communities towards life and existence. The intersectional nature of marginality suffered by the Pulayas of Kerala becomes a point of deliberation as his life cannot be studied in isolation away from the experiences of his community in general. It also probes into the refashioning of the marginal space into one of radical possibilities.
Keywords: Life narrative, dalit identity, autochthonous, planetary, counterhegemonic, margin.
Life writings have recently crossed
Framing the Marginal Exotic: Politics of the Market and Authenticity of the Translated Subject in Mayilamma’s Collaborative Autobiographies
Framing the Marginal Exotic: Politics of the Market and the Authenticity of the Translated Subject in Mayilamma’s Collaborative Autobiographies Liju Jacob Kuriakose* and Smrutisikta Mishra** The paper argues that the rise of collaborative autobiographies from Kerala entails a misrepresentation rooted in the conception of the marginal exotic triggered by capitalist interests which help produce and disseminate these narratives across the globe, especially in their English translations. Authenticity as construed by the collaboratortranslator nexus manifests itself explicitly through paratextual addendums. They exist solely as interpolative superfluities, artistic or critical, which serve to severely limit the epistemological possibilities and subtexts that the life-narrative houses. In this study, Mayilamma’s collaborative autobiography, Mayilamma: Oru Jeevitham (MOJ), and its translation, Mayilamma: The Life of a Tribal Eco-Warrior (MLTEW), are looked at in detail, exploring the politics of market and authenticity at play in the production an
Born in to the Pulayar caste in the district of Kannur in Kerala, Kallen Pokkudan spent his childhood experiencing the omnipresence of caste and feudal subjection before joining the Communist Party of India at the age of eighteen. He spent many decades of his life engaging in protests and other activities as a member of the CPI (M) before being disillusioned with the Party’s attitude towards the issue of caste. It was in the late s that Pokkudan first became involved in the collection and planting of Mangrove seeds. When he passed away in , mainstream media mourned the ‘Mangrove Man’ and the ‘Mangrove crusader’, words which demonstrate the centrality of the plant to the environmental activism he was most renowned for.
There is a variety of forms of life-writing surrounding Pokkudan. Besides the endless reserve of newspaper articles, features, interviews, texts of delivered speeches, documentaries and at least one biographical film, Pokkudan has authored two autobiographies as well, which will be the specific focus of this paper. The first autobiography, titled Kandalkkadukalkkidayil Ente Jeevitham (My Life among the Mangrove Forests) was published in and was edited by Thaha
Some journeys unexpectedly curve, turning you inward; taking you back to the womb, to the very conception of life.
In the midst of a hectic study tour in Kannur district in North Kerala, writer K.M Venugopalan, our companion during this journey, took us to Chengal wherein resides Shri. Kallen Pokkudan, lovingly called as Kandal (mangrove) Pokkudan &#; the man who grew mangrove forests along the Pazhayangadi River.
Exhausted as we were in the afternoon, we reached the house of Shri. Pokkudan, the tireless crusader for the restoration of the lost heritage of mangrove forests in the coastal region. What he began with a strong individual conviction in his home district, in Kannur in the s, soon became a mass effort and countless mangroves have been planted in almost all parts of Kerala over the years.
| Kallen Pokkudan |
He was struggling with his lunch kept on the table, unable to eat, as sobs choked his throat in remembrance of his life partner, Meenakshi, who had left this world a year ago. As he began to talk to us, he completely lost attention to the food; instead, a pile of papers, notices and maps appeared before us, and he
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