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Vanmam: Vendetta
Recent years have seen a rise in the genre of Dalit literature with Bama at the forefront. Characterized by startling language, ethnographic detail, and native idiom, Dalit writing in Tamil has gone hand in hand with political activism, and with critical and ideological debate. However a large portion of this writing has concentrated on the theme of victimhood.
Vanmam , Bama's third full-length work, is an exception focusing instead on the inter-caste rivalry within Dalit communities. It highlights the animosity between the Pallars and the Parayars of Kandampatti village—who identify themselves as Hindus and Christians respectively—and describes how the landowners of the dominant Naicker caste stoke the fires of intra-Dalit hostilities to benefit themselves, ignoring the human costs paid for time and again in misery, loss, and death.
Vanmam , Bama's third full-length work, is an exception focusing instead on the inter-caste rivalry within Dalit communities. It highlights the animosity between the Pallars and the Parayars of Kandampatti village—who identify themselves as Hindus and Christians respectively—and describes how the landowners of the dominant Naicker caste stoke the fires of intra-Dalit hostilities to benefit themselves, ignoring the human costs paid for time and again in misery, loss, and death.
160 pages, Paperback
First published May 4, 2012
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About the author
Bama
23 books51 followersBama (பாமா), is a Tamil Dalit feminist, committed teacher and novelist. Bama (nom de plume of Faustina Mary Fatima Rani) was born in a Roman Catholic family belonging to the Paraiyar community from Pudhupatti in the then Madras State. Her father, Susairaj was employed in the Indian Army and her mother was named Sebasthiamma. She is the sister of famous Dalit writer Raj Gauthaman. Bama's ancestors were from the Dalit community and worked as agricultural labourers.
Her early literary influences include Tamil writers like Jayakantan, Akhilan, Mani, and Parthasarthy. In college, she read and enjoyed Kahlil Gibran and Rabindranath Tagore. On graduation, she became a schoolteacher for very poor girls, following which she served as a nun for seven years. She chose to take the holy orders to escape caste-based discrimination, and also to further her mission of helping in the advancement of poor Dalit girls.
She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel Karukku (1992), which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christian women in Tamil Nadu. She subsequently wrote two more novels, Sangati (1994) and Vanmam (2002) along with two collections of short stories: Kusumbukkaran (1996) and Oru Tattvum Erumaiyum (2003). In addition to this she has written twenty short stories.
Her early literary influences include Tamil writers like Jayakantan, Akhilan, Mani, and Parthasarthy. In college, she read and enjoyed Kahlil Gibran and Rabindranath Tagore. On graduation, she became a schoolteacher for very poor girls, following which she served as a nun for seven years. She chose to take the holy orders to escape caste-based discrimination, and also to further her mission of helping in the advancement of poor Dalit girls.
She rose to fame with her autobiographical novel Karukku (1992), which chronicles the joys and sorrows experienced by Dalit Christian women in Tamil Nadu. She subsequently wrote two more novels, Sangati (1994) and Vanmam (2002) along with two collections of short stories: Kusumbukkaran (1996) and Oru Tattvum Erumaiyum (2003). In addition to this she has written twenty short stories.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
March 21, 2015
I should first point out that this book is listed by Goodreads as being by Malini Seshadri, which is wrong. This person is the translator into English and the author has given herself the name Bama. It is set in Tamil Nadu in southern India and is about the tensions in relationships between caste and religious groups in an Indian village.
November 4, 2019
The literal meaning of Vendetta is “a prolonged bitter quarrel with or campaign against someone”. As we get into the skin of this seemingly thin yet complex novel the relevance of the title becomes evident. Three weeks into reading Dalit writings from all across India I have explored various themes exploring the impact of caste oppression on the so-called lower castes by the upper castes in their violation, shrewd conspiracies, assaults etcetera but in Vanmam or Vendetta the gaze turns inwards, it brings forth how the oppressive caste system alienates an individual from his own self and not just subjects him or her to physical poverty but also internal poverty. I will explain my usage of the term internal poverty after I am done giving a brief overview of the text.
“UNITED WE STAND AND DIVIDED WE FALL”
I read this story about a father teaching his kids about the power of unity using the example of straws and how easy is it to break a single straw whereas almost an impossible task to break multiple straws together. Reading Vendetta or Vanmam by Bama instantly reminded me of that parable I had read as a child. And essentially the text is a much more complex and layered version of the same old story not talking about two kids but two communities within the Dalit group, the Pallars and the Parayars in the village called Kandampatti in Tamilnadu.
The Parayars were the Christian converts. They were also the first to gain access to education and with this newly gained awareness and knowledge, they began questioning the ways of their oppressors, the upper caste Naicker people. The second community was that of the Pallars who were mostly the Hindus, the text shows how they willingly accepted their inferior position to the upper caste Hindus. This categorization of the two communities takes us back to Ambedkar/Gandhi thought and if interpreted the other way it can also be seen as the internal poverty of the Pallars. The Pallars internalised the caste hierarchy so much that they did not know any other way of existing and when somebody tried to challenge their position in the society, it resulted in mocking and ridicule from none other but the people of the same community. These two communities had been constantly in conflict with one another and the specific incident where we see this animosity finally culminating itself is in the murder of Marrassu, a Parayan’s death at the hands of Karuppusamy, a Pallar while watering the fields of their respective Naicker masters.
The novel Vendetta is divided into twelve elaborate chapters covering different aspects of internalised caste oppression and what Ambedkar calls caste mindedness along with the more visible segregation in the form of spaces, inter and intra caste relationships. Bama gives us a detailed description of spaces like fields, bathing tanks, streets and chavadys and how they were used to perpetuate caste hierarchy. The text throws light upon how the rivalry among two Dalit communities is exploited by the upper caste individuals and eventually leads to violence, bloodshed and terror. The plot finally ends up with the realization that the marginalised communities had been exploited due to their lack of unity and their determination to live in harmony forgetting about their differences. But this realization came at the cost of many innocent lives lost to unnecessary and avoidable violence.
“UNITED WE STAND AND DIVIDED WE FALL”
I read this story about a father teaching his kids about the power of unity using the example of straws and how easy is it to break a single straw whereas almost an impossible task to break multiple straws together. Reading Vendetta or Vanmam by Bama instantly reminded me of that parable I had read as a child. And essentially the text is a much more complex and layered version of the same old story not talking about two kids but two communities within the Dalit group, the Pallars and the Parayars in the village called Kandampatti in Tamilnadu.
The Parayars were the Christian converts. They were also the first to gain access to education and with this newly gained awareness and knowledge, they began questioning the ways of their oppressors, the upper caste Naicker people. The second community was that of the Pallars who were mostly the Hindus, the text shows how they willingly accepted their inferior position to the upper caste Hindus. This categorization of the two communities takes us back to Ambedkar/Gandhi thought and if interpreted the other way it can also be seen as the internal poverty of the Pallars. The Pallars internalised the caste hierarchy so much that they did not know any other way of existing and when somebody tried to challenge their position in the society, it resulted in mocking and ridicule from none other but the people of the same community. These two communities had been constantly in conflict with one another and the specific incident where we see this animosity finally culminating itself is in the murder of Marrassu, a Parayan’s death at the hands of Karuppusamy, a Pallar while watering the fields of their respective Naicker masters.
The novel Vendetta is divided into twelve elaborate chapters covering different aspects of internalised caste oppression and what Ambedkar calls caste mindedness along with the more visible segregation in the form of spaces, inter and intra caste relationships. Bama gives us a detailed description of spaces like fields, bathing tanks, streets and chavadys and how they were used to perpetuate caste hierarchy. The text throws light upon how the rivalry among two Dalit communities is exploited by the upper caste individuals and eventually leads to violence, bloodshed and terror. The plot finally ends up with the realization that the marginalised communities had been exploited due to their lack of unity and their determination to live in harmony forgetting about their differences. But this realization came at the cost of many innocent lives lost to unnecessary and avoidable violence.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 14, 2024
I can only imagine what will the members of the community narrated here would think of this story? Painful yet profound.
The portrayal of humaneness amidst deadly crisis and wounds leading to the greatest act of forgiveness and continuing their lives was both unsatisfying and satisfying at the same time. It tells us there could be no other way to end a conflict and that’s how humanity has survived all these years.
It is difficult to digest the common global truth; there’s a little part of animal inside the reader which seeks proper revenge towards the plot end. But, the author chose to explain the bigger truth i.e., love and mutual respect and there couldn’t be a befitting revenge than that.
The portrayal of humaneness amidst deadly crisis and wounds leading to the greatest act of forgiveness and continuing their lives was both unsatisfying and satisfying at the same time. It tells us there could be no other way to end a conflict and that’s how humanity has survived all these years.
It is difficult to digest the common global truth; there’s a little part of animal inside the reader which seeks proper revenge towards the plot end. But, the author chose to explain the bigger truth i.e., love and mutual respect and there couldn’t be a befitting revenge than that.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews