For some reason, the life of Radhika/Rohith Vemula reminds me the legend of one of the Tulu spirit(daiva)s, Kordabbu (Kodi Kandala Babbu).
Babbu was born in an underprivileged(Dalit) family but was adopted by a privileged(Bunt) family. But unlike Radhika Vemula’s adoptive parents(relatively privileged), Babbu’s parents actually took care of him. His nature blossomed in the nurture of his privileged family and he grew up into a brilliant man. However, just like Radhika/Rohith, Babbu couldn’t escape the reality of being a Dalit. His excellence in life wasn’t tolerated by the privileged castes and they tried to kill him. His adoptive parents were helpless.
Many spirits in Tulu and Malayalam regions have similar stories. Men and women from underprivileged castes becoming victims of the caste prejudice. Since the spirit media mostly come from the same castes, Marxists theorists opine that, it’s a way for underprivileged castes to create a safe space for themselves in the casteist oppressive regions. While Brahmin priests controlled the evil ghosts to have a hegemonic control over the population, Dalit spirit priests, created benevolent/malevolent spirits to protect themselves from privileged caste oppression.
In Tulu regions, Spirit is also called ‘Satya’ or truth. I suppose it’s about the words that the spirit says through the medium. However, the stories behind these spirits in fact opens us to many ‘Satya-s’ about the society.
Sometimes I wonder whether the legend of Kordabbu is just a case against casteism or something more.
As I mentioned above, the privileged caste tried to kill Babbu as they couldn’t stomach a Dalit excelling in life. They threw him into a well and covered the top with a stone. He cries for help. A woman called Tanniga Maniga comes to the rescue. She destroys the stone and throws her sari down for him to climb up. She asks him not to look at her uncovered body. However, he does. Later, he accepts his mistake and undergoes punishment.
So even though, Kordabbu becomes a spirit or daiva, he’s not blemishless. The story doesn’t end as a mirror of casteism, it goes further. It shows even the champion of the anti-casteism isn’t beyond committing sexism on his own. Reminds me the allegations against the director of Sairat.
I suppose the truths of casteism and sexism that those Dalit thinkers of the yesteryear wanted to convey through these daivas had lost in their utilitarian purposes.
Babbu was born in an underprivileged(Dalit) family but was adopted by a privileged(Bunt) family. But unlike Radhika Vemula’s adoptive parents(relatively privileged), Babbu’s parents actually took care of him. His nature blossomed in the nurture of his privileged family and he grew up into a brilliant man. However, just like Radhika/Rohith, Babbu couldn’t escape the reality of being a Dalit. His excellence in life wasn’t tolerated by the privileged castes and they tried to kill him. His adoptive parents were helpless.
Many spirits in Tulu and Malayalam regions have similar stories. Men and women from underprivileged castes becoming victims of the caste prejudice. Since the spirit media mostly come from the same castes, Marxists theorists opine that, it’s a way for underprivileged castes to create a safe space for themselves in the casteist oppressive regions. While Brahmin priests controlled the evil ghosts to have a hegemonic control over the population, Dalit spirit priests, created benevolent/malevolent spirits to protect themselves from privileged caste oppression.
In Tulu regions, Spirit is also called ‘Satya’ or truth. I suppose it’s about the words that the spirit says through the medium. However, the stories behind these spirits in fact opens us to many ‘Satya-s’ about the society.
Sometimes I wonder whether the legend of Kordabbu is just a case against casteism or something more.
As I mentioned above, the privileged caste tried to kill Babbu as they couldn’t stomach a Dalit excelling in life. They threw him into a well and covered the top with a stone. He cries for help. A woman called Tanniga Maniga comes to the rescue. She destroys the stone and throws her sari down for him to climb up. She asks him not to look at her uncovered body. However, he does. Later, he accepts his mistake and undergoes punishment.
So even though, Kordabbu becomes a spirit or daiva, he’s not blemishless. The story doesn’t end as a mirror of casteism, it goes further. It shows even the champion of the anti-casteism isn’t beyond committing sexism on his own. Reminds me the allegations against the director of Sairat.
I suppose the truths of casteism and sexism that those Dalit thinkers of the yesteryear wanted to convey through these daivas had lost in their utilitarian purposes.
