Queering the Routes in the Malayalam Movie " Sancharram"

The term of LGBTQ has gained significant importance in the academic parlance too. The glimpse of lesbian life and the transgressive desires of women on screen through the Malayalam film, ‘Sancharram’( The Journey) released in 2004 did stir a lot of queries in me. The story unfurls the life of Kiran and Delilah, who decide to break the shackles of religion, sex and gender for the sake of their love for each other. Although homosexuality is perceived as an aberration in the society, the film boldly addresses same sex love, and how grounded sexuality is in the daily ways of life.The movie directed by the Indo- American director, Ligi J. Pullapally is a path-breaking film focusing on the travails and traumas of love making that is forbidden or ‘abnormal’ in a heterosexual society. The concept of family, gender and sexuality gathered a new definition in celluloid medium as well. Let’s have a glimpse of the debut Malayalam film that overtly addressed lesbian love as its thematic underpinning.

Image Coutesy: WLW Films

‘Sancharram’ ( The Journey) tells the tale of lesbian relationship that ignited between two female teenagers who know each other since their childhood days. The film served a sensual resonance simmered in an Indian context while also scooping itself out of the patriarchal prevalence and the matriarchal lineage of the Kerala community. The Indian film making culture somehow still appears confused towards forming a universal opinion about projecting homosexual desires as well as characters. The Chicago-based, South Asian filmmaker, Ligi J. Pullapally was one of the directors to come up with a film that openly dealt with homosexuality. Albeit the movie revolves around the motif of lesbian love making, it hints on issues like gender, body, sexuality, male hegemony, matriarchal legacy, religion etc. existing in the socio-cultural fabric of Kerala. ‘Sancharram’ set in the backdrop of a lush green village in Kerala narrates the coming to age love story of Kiran, a Hindu Nair girl and Delilah, a Catholic Christian girl. They are neighbours, childhood friends, classmates and their affection slowly and steadily takes the form of a romantic and sexual bonding.

The two childhood friends, Delilah and Kiran are attracted to each other. Delilah is lively and mischievous whereas Kiran is a potential poet with a quiet temperament. Kiran returns to Kerala with her parents to live in her ancestral home and Delilah is shown as her neighbour who is a visible presence in Kiran’s daily life. Their affection gradually takes the form of love although Delilah does not accept it at the onset. Though Kiran loves Delilah deeply, she is hesitant and scared of expressing her feelings. Love at first sight also gets a shake with the introduction of queer aesthetics. Here in the movie, Rajan has madly fallen for Delilah and he is unable express his feelings to her. He discloses his love for Delilah to Kiran and takes her help to know her likes and dislikes. He in fact asks her to help him by writing love letters for Delilah. Kiran agrees and writes letters. This act of writing love letters to Delilah is an expression of her repressed and romantic feelings untold hitherto. Later on, Delilah gets to know Kiran has written those letters for the beloved she identifies in Delilah.

The lesbian look of exchange and female bonding are vulnerable to heterosexual structure. The lesbian discourse places the heterosexual conceptualised notions of romantic love in contrast with homosexual love. The movie for instance depicts a scene in which Rajan and Kiran are looking at Delilah standing in front of her courtyard. Rajan and Kiran are standing outside the wall of the house and both are gazing at Delilah. When Kiran gets to know that Rajan has seen her observing Delilah, she dashes from there. Moreover, it is Rajan who informs Delilah’s mother about her ‘abnormal’ relationship with Kiran. This scene can be read as Rajan’s vengeance for Kiran as she is the one chosen as lover by Delilah over Rajan who badly loves her. The failure of a ‘normal’ love affair between their classmates Sabiha, a Muslim girl and a Hindu boy is also exposed in the film. Their elopement is not accepted by the society as they created shame for both the families. This occurrence unravels the fact that some heterosexual relationships transgressing the barriers of religion and caste are not accepted in the society. Although Kiran wishes to play football, her father dissuades her by saying “playing with balls is only for boys”. Hence, she moves on to the path of creating writing. When teacher asks Kiran regarding the content of Sugathakumari’s love poetry, she answers it as the loneliness of love and the hell created by it. In a way, it reveals Kiran’s inner conflict of her love’s intensity and the loneliness emanating from it. The film also discusses the inescapability of male- female unions prevalent in the society.

Delilah who is passionate about shadow plays is spotted with dolls during her study hours. During their combine study one night, power fails due to heavy lightning and thunder. Kiran and Delilah begins the shadow play where in Kiran plays the male role and Delilah in female role. Kiran’s body language resembles a man. She wishes to wear plain dress and likes to cut her hair short if her parents agree. She does not cry when Delilah pierces her ear. Rajan screams in front of his friends as he gets to know about Delilah’s wedding whereas Kiran faces the heart-breaking news with a strong heart.

There is an absence of public spaces in the film. The whole story travels through the

Image Courtesy: Film Antidote

confines of the homes, courtyard, school, pond and their scenic cum romantic ambience. On one side, there is Kiran’s ancestral home boasting of the grandeur of the matriarchal ancestry whereas on the other side, there is Delilah’s home where in she is accustomed to become a woman and wife. Even though her grandmother senses Delilah’s relationship with Kiran, she does not treat it as abnormal or try to evade her from that unlike other family members. There is a resonance of Partha Chatterjee’s classification of ‘ghar’ and ‘bâhir’ in Kiran and Delilah. Kiran wishes to break the barriers and come out of the societal norms whereas Delilah is confined to the room and forced to accept the decisions taken inside her home. She asserts that her ultimate place of existence is the interior. Delilah even says Kiran “there is nothing more between us”. Kiran and her masculine disposition represents her domain over Delilah, her submissive and womanly counterpart.

The social structure is still subjected to the structured normative patterns of heterosexual society. The intricacies of the female bonding are not accepted or welcoming in a hetero-normative domain. The climax of the movie signifies the dependence of the queer factors towards the non-queer factors. Delilah is forced to go back to the normative structures of the sexual identities and duties ascribed by the society. The movie ends with an optimistic note as Delilah runs out of the church during her wedding ceremony and Kiran decides not to commit decide. Kiran comes out of her female assertions by cutting the hair and walks forward. She embarks a new journey of self-discovery without the fear and favour of the societal norms.

The very name of the movie, ‘Sancharram’ denotes journey. It is a journey in search of ‘fresh woods and pastures new’; a journey to discover one’s self, identity and independence. Delilah and Kiran are yearning for a new journey satiating their physical, mental, emotional and sexual needs. Although Delilah succumbs to her family’s desire of marrying a man of their choice, she promises to continue the relationship with Kiran. Still, Kiran confesses that she can’t marry anyone else and she will find their share of happiness somehow. The moves culminates in an optimistic note where both the heroines get ready to undertake a new journey by shattering the shackles of societal chains. Delilah runs outs of the church where as Kiran keeps on walking after having cut her hair. It’s time to start afresh a new journey in both their lives. The movie at the outset introduces a fortune teller who predicts that Kiran will love early and it will be as strong as the bond between Shiva and Parvati. She exhorts: “Above all, know thyself!Without which in shadow dwells all else, Lord Muruga!”. The movie ends with the unruly laughter of fortune teller watching Kiran . In a way, her prediction has come true and Kiran initiates a new journey to know herself, a journey without the shadows of conventions and traditions.

Though her father supports her in all her endeavours, Kiran fails to convince her love to him. Her father also can’t get rid of the societal ‘normalcy’ and the ways attributed to a woman. Kiran’s mother strongly holds the view that women are the guardians of tradition. “ Once your children will also be born and brought up here. And our tradition will continue through you”. Her mother’s words echo the obligation of a daughter in continuing the family heritage. Delilah is forced to agree for maintaining the tradition and the duty of procreation by being in an arranged wedlock.

Through the mouthpiece of teenage girls, the movie raises voice against the hardships faced by women who wishes to trespass the forbidden barriers of gender, love and sexuality. The film, ‘Sancharram’ is symbolic of the rocky road that Indian lesbians are forced to travel in a traditional culture that frowns upon homosexuality and continues to employ arranged marriages as a matter of course for its daughters. Our society is too harsh on women especially if she breaks stereotypes. Society has rules for a reason. In spite of all the scientific and technological advancements, we survive in such a society where the needle of the watch decides the character and morality of a female. As normal and ordinary human beings, it is quite natural and normal for the woman folk having a desire to materialise their whims and fancies. Likewise, they wish to soar in their imaginary sky with their viewless wings of a butterfly. The flight of these butterflies are clipped and curtailed by the society in the name of morality, hetero-normative structure, social status, etiquette, decorum and what not. These fetters in reality restrain the light of a woman’s sustenance.

The notion of a third gender is still treated as an abnormal one rejecting the truth that true love knows no gender. “Randu Penkuttikal” (1978) was Malayalam cinema’s first prominent encounter with lesbian relationships, and was followed by Padmarajan’s “Deshadanakili Karayarilla”(1986) . “Sancharram”(2004) will remain unique for its daring depiction of lesbian love as its central theme. The film ensures the visual possibilities and limitations of lesbian relationship at its zenith.

The Art of Speaking

 

Speaking is the vital manifestation of everyone’s life. It’s indeed an art where one’s heart too gets an avenue to express and share the varied emotions of day to day existence. It’s the act of giving life to one ‘s feelings, passions and sensations through the world of words. It is capable of creating wordly/ worldly wisdom too. It occurs even faster than the fraction of a second. Though language is a pivotal tool for communication, gestures and eye contacts do convey the ideas effectively at times. We speak through the medium of words, eyes, hand movements, gestures and what not. The ultimate aim is to convey the expressions to the other person/ receiver. The art of speaking is a multifarious process. Everyone craves to speak in the midst of the sick hurry and palsied hearts of divided aims.

In the hustle busy of the daily life, everyone is engrossed in their own world. People are curious to share and update the status to make the world know they are active in their real and virtual life. It’s almost like a competition to declare to the world that one is chilling and enjoying in one’s private sphere of life. The profile updates, status and stories are also trying to speak to the known and unknown faces, real and virtual faces through the book of faces . The discourse of speaking is mastered by the social media, emoticons and GIFs too. Life is suffused and brimming with the art of speaking in all ways. To learn the art of speaking to captivate the hearts is a prowess. The Kaleidoscopic charm of speaking can enthrall hearts. Language is not a bar for speaking. Speaking embraces both verbal and non-verbal faculties. It thrives in everyone’s life.
Everybody wishes to speak and let their expressions get life. Having someone to talk to and share the daily occurrences of the day is a great feeling. Sadly, all are in a hurry to speak and nobody wishes to listen. The art of speaking is kept in a high pedestal in comparison with the art of listening. To become a successful speaker, one needs to be a good listener. The perspectives of life from other angles, other view points will add beauty and life to the art of speaking.

Speaking is infact a milestone in a baby’s life. The babbling and prattling acts are moulding him to make a mega entry into the realm of effective speaking. The peals and squeals of laughter bestowed by a baby are of great delight to all. This motivates and prompts him to learn, try and speak more in his own syllables and words. Speaking as an art is nurtured right from the stage of infancy to the ongoing safari of life. One lives to speak and one can’t resist oneself from speaking. Just like a child or new born trying inquisitively to give rhymes to his feelings, all are curious to share their feelings and happiness to others. Speaking grows with one as time passes. It also attains maturity with the events one encounters in one’s life cycle.
Looking at my two year old baby trying hard to speak with his own limited, invented dictionary and vocabulary, I feel his impressions of speaking will also ripen along with his age. I earnestly wish to see him ripening as a good speaker mastering the art of listening as well.
Yes, speaking is the art attuned with the symphony of the syllabic heart…

Agni by Sithara S. is the Story of a Rape Victim's Non-violent Revenge

The term ‘rape’ has become a part of the active vocabulary of multitudes across the globe. The stories of vulnerable rape victims and sexually assaulted women folk hit every day’s newspaper irrespective of the follow-up stories of the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic, the FIFA World Cup, and the list goes on.

The celluloid medium with a duration spanning two to three hours has also been depicting the pathetic plight of rape victims with all its harrowing visual and emotional images. Similarly, in literature, such as ‘Agni’ by Sithara S., these narratives are profoundly explored.

The sagas of rape and rape victims have garnered expression in the creative scapes through fiction and non-fiction. They have become a part of the academic parlance as well.

The acclaimed American writer Mark Twain has been right in stating that truth is stranger than fiction.

The GoFundMe campaign for the Iowa Teen Pieper Lewis deserves mention here. Pieper who was then 15 and a victim of human trafficking, killed the man who raped her multiple times. She was ordered by the judge to pay 15000 dollars to the family of her alleged rapist.

Pieper Lewis has been in the news and social media for the past few weeks. The fire that was burning within her made Pieper Lewis stab Zachary Brooks.

No family, society, or government machinery could stymie her from the decision to punish the victim in her way. Albeit truth is stranger than fiction, some creative outpourings make one feel, sense, and sympathize with the victim.

No one causes rape but rapists!

In her memoir, Girl in the Woods, Aspin Matis says:

“She told me that my rape was not my fault, that I should feel no shame, that – simple as it may sound – I hadn’t caused it. No one causes rape but rapists. No one causes rape but rapists. No one causes rape but rapists. It was true. And it had not been obvious to me. And hearing it from someone else, a professional, someone who should know, helped me believe that soon I would believe it.”

Pondering deeply over these words makes one ascertain that rape is not the fault of the victims and they should not feel that it has marked the end of their life. Let’s go through one such story that carries all the burning flames of a rape victim or a sexually battered being.

S. Sithara’s story unravels the plight of a rape victim

S.Sithara’s short story entitled ‘Agni’ (Fire) unravels the plight of the protagonist Priya and how she reacts and responds to it. “Agni” by Sithara S. is a testament to her talent as a frontline short story writer in Malayalam, born and raised in Kasaragod, Kerala.

All of her stories share a distinct individuality with the novel way of approach. Most of her stories carry the motif of women and the issues revolving in, around, and within the so-called weaker sex.

She has succeeded in depicting new roots and routes of exploring womanhood and sexuality in the Malayalam literary realm. Indeed, the misfortunes and issues of women are dealt with a poignant and poised style of expression through her word smithy.

Moreover, her stories mainly focus on the oppression of women and sexuality in public domains. Interestingly, her characters do not wish to take the often beaten tracks of passivity and subservience. Instead, they choose the road less traveled and depict their reactions to the atrocities in a self-satiating manner.

A New Perspective on Womanhood

Her characters do not intend to waste their time thinking of fate. They try to move ahead in life rather than ending their lives out of shame and dishonor. Circumstances make her women characters rebellious and fight against the injustice shown to them by the hegemonic patriarchal society.

Picture Courtesy: Wikipedia

Her awards and accolades for her writing, including “Agni” by Sithara S., comprise the Kerala Sahitya Akademi award, Gita Hiranyan award, and Kendra Sahitya Akademi Yuvasahitya award. She also translated the works of Nobel Laureate Malala Yousafzai into Malayalam.

‘Fire’ (Agni) is the short story that earned Sithara the fame of a notable women writer in Malayalam. ‘Fire’ is the story of Priya, the girl who is gang-raped by three men.

The typical woman as depicted previously various other narratives, in this situation, should think about suicide. But Priya subverts all the conventional practices. Sithara made a mark of her own with her collection of stories entitled Agni and Stories.

It’s overt from the title how Agni (Fire) stands out from all the rest in the creative sphere of this firebrand writer. The story written almost a decade ago has created a stir in the literary sphere.

How can a victim take her revenge?

S. Sithara’s extraordinary short story “Fire”, also known as “Agni” by Sithara S., depicts the story of a girl gang-raped by three men and the way she protests against this brutal and heinous act.

The story originally written in Malayalam has been translated into English by R.K. Jayasree. It has been adapted into a short film as well. Priya, the protagonist of “Fire” does not wish to be treated with sympathy and remain like a victim.

Her small triumphs in the form of questioning masculinity give her great satisfaction.

In an interview given to Samyukta journal, Sithara shared her views on creating a character like Priya:

“Violence against women is on the increase now. Once when I was writhing with moral indignation at the situation, the image of a girl came to my mind — a girl who in her special way, takes vengeance upon her violators. That’s how ‘Fire’ broke out. But after writing the story, I felt the character was not even half powerful as I intended her to be”

“Fire” has generated a lot of discussions and debates in academic circles for the unorthodox rendition of an incident like rape. The aura of gang rape, physical abuse, verbal abuse, shame, humiliation, revenge, masculinity in question, love, and triumph comes into the ambit of the short story.

Spoliers for Agni

In “Agni” by Sithara S., Priya, who is gang-raped by Sanjeev, Ravi, and the stripling, feels she is “the most humiliated woman on earth”. Someone has even taken the claim of her menstrual blood, which hitherto had solely been her own. Though she felt she has become the most dispossessed woman, she goes to the office as usual.

She happens to meet the ones who raped her the other day. They warn her not to disclose anything to anyone and that they won’t mind killing her and her people.

The volley of abusive words was followed by a query by Sanjeev, the first one to rape her; how did it feel yesterday? His smiling face darkened into a scowl with her unexpected reply; “You were simply not up to the mark. You don’t pack enough punch. I don’t think you will ever be able to satisfy a woman.’

Then she turned towards Ravi. ‘But I liked you very much. You are a real man.’ Touching his cheek lightly once and looking from one face to the other, both of which were full of suspicion and consternation, she climbed the steps and walked away.” This befitting reply in fact questions and ridicules the masculinity of Sanjeev.

Priya subverts all the expected reactions of a rape victim

In the narrative of “Agni” by Sithara S., Priya subverts all the expected reactions of a rape victim. Contrary to the expectations of the conservative society and the inquisitive readers, Priya does not think of committing suicide. There’s not even a stain of depression making her confined to the corner of the house. The typical woman, in this situation, should think about suicide. But Priya subverts all the conventional practices.

The next week Priya goes every day to Sanjeev’s booth to make phone calls. She calls up all her friends whose numbers she knows and talks to them, watching, in a spirit of revenge, the feeling of inferiority creeping over his face every time he saw her.

Each time she reminds herself that there is nothing that gives greater satisfaction than small triumphs. Priya tries to find happiness in small and simple ways by humiliating Sanjeev and Ravi.

Love as a Form of Revenge

Priya’s revenge took the form of love and she told Ravi that she liked him. Ravi was the stranger with lust in his eyes and that started haunting her thoughts.

She was her first man in every sense. It was only later that she realized it was him. When Ravi dominated Priya that day, it was a sense of shame that she felt at first.

But she began to like him and felt that the others’ acts of domination only provided a yardstick to measure him. Her blood and tears would crave for him. He was the prison cell she could not afford to leave. Ravi turns out to be in a prison cell and his love becomes revenge for Priya.

Although Ravi has dominated her or locked her up in a prison cell of physical humiliation, he captivated Priya in the prison cell and she evoked a feeling of love in him. As a result, Priya saw the tears in his eyes and Ravi sat watching her smile.

Her love is capable of hurting him. Priya has emerged triumphant in showing vengeance in her simple satisfactory ways.

A story of revenge formed by small triumphs

‘Fire’ is a tale of revenge and small triumphs. A woman is always burning with desire. Just like the flames of fire, she is also burning and brimming in her life. She does not wish to surrender her highly spirited self to those who had taken the claim even on her menstrual blood.

Priya stands as an epitome of a spirited girl who wishes to fight against all odds with her small triumphs and revenge.

When Sithara’s “Agni” written in Malayalam becomes “Fire” in English, a lot of changes do happen. Language being the spokesperson of a particular locale is capable of rendering the flavor and favor of local.

Translating Agni into Fire brought it to the global audience

When a text is translated from the source to the target language, there emanates a new text somewhere standing in between the nuances of both languages. Albeit there are concerns of untranslatability, it’s the need of the hour to translate a text from a local reader perspective to a global one.

Language turns out to be universal rather than remaining as regional or national. Sithara’s “Agni” written in the Malayalam language is heard across the alien shores only because of the possibilities of translation.

Above all, fictional images of rape and rape victims are there in almost all languages. The transit of sagas through the arena of translation makes them reach a greater audience.

Wider reach and rampant discussions on the hotcake sort of topics in academic, literary, social, and political forums will bring out a sea change into something rich and strange.

Let’s thrive for a better world and indulge in a creative world War Against Rape.

Sources: 

• Matis, Aspen. Girl in the Woods: A Memoir, William Morrow, 2015
• Sithara, S. Agniyum Kadhakalum, Kozzhikode: Mathrubhoomi Books, 2004
• Samyukta: A Journal of Gender And Culture

Agni by Sithara S. unveils Priya's fierce protest against her gang rape. A stirring story of resilience against brutal injustice. First published in Women's Web in 2022.