Personal, Political and Planetary: Reading the Life Narratives of Kallen Pokkudan
Keywords:
Life narrative, dalit identity, autochthonous, planetary, counterhegemonic, marginAbstract
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 (2007) and Ente Jeevitham (2010). The paper attempts to explore how the personal is political as well as planetary for him, focussing on the ecocentric 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.
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