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VOICE IN THE WILDERNESS:

A STUDY OF P. SIVAKAMI’S THE GRIP OF CHANGE

Varsha*

Research Scholar, Department of English,

Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra, India

Email ID: iamvarsha1996@gmail.com

Accepted: 03.06.2022 Published: 01.07.2022

Keywords: Dalit Women, Patriarchy, dominance, resistance, dignity, justice.

Abstract exploitation leveled upon them; exploring the

Literature is a reflection of emotions and when it experience of their struggle, and using their writings
expresses sorrows and pain, its voice resonates far and as weapons to make space in mainstream literature.
wide in the minds of the multitude. Dalit literature This narrative is aimed to get social justice by fighting
depicts the trials and tribulations of Dalits and the against all sorts of oppression and exploitation.
atrocities committed against them and at the same time
it works to awaken their consciousness. The present Paper Identification
research paper aims to critically analyze the
representation of women characters in the narrative
The grip of Change by Sivakami. Women characters in
this work are worth analyzing in terms of their
struggle, adversities, and patriarchal oppression both
inside and outside of their community, as they confront
triple exploitation due to their caste, class, and gender. Introduction
This work depicts how they battle adversities inflicted Bharat Dalit feminist narrative questions mainstream
on them and fight for their identities. Indian feminism in order to reclaim their space and
Dalit people, particularly Dalit women, are the worst break the hegemony of Dalit men writers who speak on
sufferers in the caste-ridden society, where social rules the behalf of Dalit women.
oblige them to undergo the horrors of injustice, male This narrative is aimed to get social justice by fighting
dominance, humiliation, sexual assault, and gender against all sorts of oppression and exploitation. In such
discrimination. As a result of their own experience of a scenario, Dalit women writers like Bama Faustina,
being humiliated, Dalit women writers use their Urmila Pawar, P Sivakami, Baby Kamble, Meena
writings to raise their voices for justice and against Kandasany, and many more take pen in their hands,
exploitation. Dalit writers positioned their writings as voicing and recording their experiences of humiliation
literature of insurrection and resistance. These writers and hurt, also defying centuries-old historical
have begun to speak against discrimination and

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marginalization and a tenacious refusal to be public property that can be used by all. When
acknowledged as ‘other’. Most Dalit women are filled Thangam's husband dies, she is left uncared for by her
with the spirit of resistance to patriarchal social family members. For survival, she manages to work
practices. Their writings are pregnant with feminist hard in the field of sugarcane owned by Udayar, an
fervor and initiate literature of resistance and create a upper-class landlord. She is harassed and raped by the
visible space in Indian literary writing. landlord. Being a poor Dalit woman, she is unable to
It has rightly been said by Kanchana Mahadevan in her expose this incident before others. Udayar, an upper-
article, “DALIT WOMEN’S EXPERIENCE”, class landlord has good wealth, power, and political
“Experience gives women the agency to theorize background. Therefore, she remains silent and bears
themselves and the worlds in which they live. the brunt of oppression. Udayar takes advantage of
Foregrounding experiences from the standpoint of Thangam and uses her whenever he wants. When
women became necessary because as Simone de Udayar's brother sees Udayar and Thangam together,
Beauvoir argues, women experience the world from he conveys this news to Kamalam, Udayar's wife. This
their specific inhabitant habitant of femininity - a incident leads to a series of horrific events that shows
situation in which they are often made aware of their how Thangam is brutally beaten up, pulled up by the
gendered subjectivity”. hair, dragged out to the street accused of having an
The Grip of Change is an English translation of affair with Udayar. Gowri with great dismay states, “I
Sivakami’s first Tamil novel Pazhaiyana kazhithalam. belong to the same caste as that woman. how can I be
She is an important Tamil Dalit writer and a member sure that I won’t beat black and blue like her? I have
of the Indian Administrative Service.. P Sivakami in seen things like this happening in the cinema. this is
her novel portrays a realistic picture of the real, terror is sleeping on a matt in my house”.
marginalized section of Indian society. 'I want to be an Sivakami criticizes the inhumane treatment of Dalit
instrument of change' states Sivakami, whose works women. She examines how Dalit women's voices are
mainly focus on the plights and circumstances of the brutally stifled. Sivakami is not only just criticizing
Dalit Women and the issues of the Dalit community. It caste politics; she is also seeing how Dalit patriarchy
delineates the searing saga of economic exploitation, manipulates Dalit women. The upper caste landowner,
political empowerment, caste discrimination, Paranjothi Udayar, rapes Thangam and is not punished.
patriarchal operation, and the pathetic struggle of the Udayar says that Thangam should be grateful for being
protagonist against the entrenched callus of the status touched by an upper-caste person. As his words follow,
quo. The novel portrays the character of Thangam who “Ungrateful whore, even if she was hurt by the hand
faces triple marginalization- gender subordination, adorned with gold! A Karachi could not have ever
economic oppression, and caste discrimination, on the dreamt of being touched by a man like me!” The words
other hand, also records a surge of change in her Dalit clearly show the narrow-mindedness of the upper caste
consciousness. people who think only of their status or reputation in
This paper is an attempt to analyze the exploitation and the society as their name gets spoiled but not the life of
suppression in the case of Thangam and her the affected woman. Udayar utters these words
community, that is also a form of violence. She is impulsively to degrade Thangam but does not show
beguiled by her own family and community members any concern for the incident that happened. He speaks
as she has no support. Thangam, a childless widow is all this to harm her self-esteem and make her
misused by everybody who desires. She is treated as vulnerable. He didn't pay any heed to her honor. Most

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of the time, it happens that the lower caste people don't slave. On the one side, Sivakami narrates the hardship,
take any action against upper-class people as they work pain, and sufferings of lower caste people especially
in their field. But Thangam takes the matter to court women, on the other side, she portrays the desire of
and files a complaint against Udayar. women to live their life with pride and dignity. In the
The author discussed the issues of violence, women, end, Gowri has been shown as the epitome of such
and politics critically and very aptly. When the incident change. They constantly raise their voice against the
related to Thangam comes to light, Kathamuthu only tyranny of her recruits to preserve their honor. “ They
focuses on the issue of caste, and this case is taken for continue to claim and manifest social justice and
granted by everyone in the village panchayat. The human dignity despite remaining vulnerable to
justice given to Thangam is unjustified as she deserves repeated caste-based violence” “Under conditions of
dignity, honor, and respect in society instead of ten poverty and vulnerability,” women have to face violent
thousand rupees as compensation. While describing her sexual abuse. No attention is paid to their demand for
pathetic situation to Kathamuthu, she says; “Sami, justice, rather she is harassed and raped. Their stories
those hooligans who beat me up, they should be jailed of victimization are suppressed by the dominant setup
for at least a day and tortured. The pain is killing me”. of society. Thangam and Gowri’s assiduous efforts and
No one shows any concern for Thangam's perseverance keep them motivated to remain involved
psychological state after that particular incident. She in ‘strategic actions towards change’. Sivakami depicts
was bearing all the burden on her shoulders. Every the harsh reality of child labor. She shows how
remembrance of her exploitation was breaking her oppression is not limited to the boy child but the girl
spirit down but she remains stubborn to get justice for child also. Once a Dalit boy breaks some of the kambu
herself, she remembers it many times like: stalks to fill his stomach is beaten, thrashed, and
Whenever she remembered her life in peculiar, she humiliated by his master. “ The boy urinated and
wept. She equated the incident in the sugarcane field defecated in fear and pain” Sivakami emphasizes that it
with the repulsive experience of stepping on shit while is important for women to raise their voices against the
walking on a riverbank. She could not recover easily atrocities and injustices that they have been facing for
from the troubles she had suffered. The shock of being years. At the home of Kathamuthu, Thangam boldly
dragged out by her hair in the middle of the night to be claims her new identity as she holds an unwavering
beaten up like an animal had affected her mind deeply. potential within her soul. The strength in the voice of
She would gasp awake at night at the slightest sound. Gowri expresses this potentiality when she poses
P. Sivakami has shown how Thangam, a Dalit woman, questions against her father. It becomes unbearable for
becomes the victim of the patriarchal society and how Goweri to see the lust in her father’s eyes for other
she went through all the problems to defend her honor women. She shouts, “Dogs! Dogs in this house!
in this novel. Shameless as dogs!”
P. Sivakami shows Thangam, a subaltern Dalit woman Sivakami portrays a black picture of a society where
confronts problems everywhere. Women have always women are considered as commodities existing to
been facing violence in the form of physical, serve men and a heinous crime such as rape is justified
emotional, permanent psychological damage and and normalized.
religious ways by the hands of patriarchy. Thangam, On the other hand, Thangam’s violence by
belonging to the lower caste faces triple Kathamuthu is perhaps more problematic than the
marginalization and her community treats her as a earlier rape. Due to the lack of socio-economic agency,

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Kanagavalli and Nagamani become mute spectators in consciousness sets forth the voice of the oppressed
Kathamuthu’s household. community who is eager and waiting for change.
The second part of the novel can be seen as an attempt Gower opposes her father's patriarchal control by
at self-analysis by the author. The author as Gowri is advocating the rights and respect of the three women
looking back at her narration of the earlier events. She under his supervision. Gower escapes the ghetto of
focuses on the negative traits of her father rather than country life by attending university in the city.
his redeeming qualities. The author feels the need for Kathamuthu falls short of expectations by being cruel
organized and responsible leadership that can combat to his wives and exploiting Thangam for his carnal
the rising tide of injustice. lust. Gower takes up the role of leader by rebelling
In the village, Gowri is the only girl who knocks at the against his father's brutal and carnal tyranny of these
door of school and college. She builds her identity women by raising their understanding of rights. Gower
through education. Education is like the elixir of life is representing the novelist. Her childhood trauma
for her. She realized that she has transcended the harms her throughout and obscures even the other
human-made boundaries- her father, her caste, and her characteristics of her father, as she confesses in the
village and merged into the ocean of educated people. Author's note. Through her commitment to justice and
Whenever she comes back to her village she finds the dignity, Gower brings about a change in society.
dreadful clouds of caste discrimination and sexual Gowri as the mouthpiece of the writer Sivakami
exploitation are still hovering over. Sexual returns to her village and assesses the circumstances
exploitation of Dalit women has been considered that have remained unaffected by the grasp of change.
natural and instinctive. These women are not allowed Marginalization has forced the downtrodden to live at
to attend schools after receiving puberty and they the mercy of those who exploit them. Their essence of
become a victim of sexual harassment by older life is sucked out and discarded as junk. The effects of
husbands, burdened with labor at home and also in the starvation have forced them to dire consequences. The
fields apart from nurturing their numerous children. life of these people is surrounded by darkness and even
Ignorant people do not recognize the importance of within them. It has been suggested in this writing that
educating women they just put them into the well of in order to get rid of torn clothes like subjugation,
Darkness. inter-Dalit discord, and illiteracy they have to wear
In Author's note, Sivakami describes that many violent new clothes of hope for progress and aspiration. They
clashes have been uprooted between the Vanniars and have to renew themselves to get emancipation. Hope is
Parayers. Several people have been killed and attacked the only ship that can bring them ashore. They need to
due to intra-Dalit strife. She suggests a remedy of speak for themselves and fight for their rights, dignity,
being united to this social ailment. She emphasizes the and bring change in their life, in this way roses of hope
need to have solidarity which will ultimately help them can grow in the thorns of adversity. The character of
to free themselves from oppression and colonized Gowri shows a willingness to overcome the
attitude of dominant people. One has to speak to be subalternity by manifesting many traces of self-
heard; one has to ask a question to be answered, and to consciousness. Women have always been the sufferers
be recognized, one has to speak aloud. Sivakami's of marginalization almost everywhere but the condition
voice is also loud and ringing in the minds of the of subaltern women is totally different from that of
downtrodden who are unseen and unheard. The grip of other women.
change, rather than being a journey of her voice and

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The novel The Grip of Change narrates a desire for [4] Sivakami, P. The grip of change and Author’s
justice and unflinching determination for change in Notes. ORIENT BLACKSWAN PRIVATE
blemished and terrible circumstances and their LIMITED, 2009.
courageous efforts for uplifting themselves from the
bottom of the darkness. Sivakami portrays the
untouchable aspects of Dalits by exposing the harsh
reality of their situation that has been less recognized
in Indian literature. A large part of this novel shows the
discrimination between man and woman in this small
village and how sexual violence against women is
normalized by the people as it is considered natural and
spontaneous. Gowri emerges as a courageous woman
with an indomitable human spirit resisting oppression.
Sivakami is also critical of the Dalit leaders who often
try to improve their power at the expense of their
community. She emphasizes that instead of sticking to
anxiety and depression, there is a need to challenge the
status quo and turn the table of sorrowful times into
happy ones by claiming and fighting for their rights for
the social and economic agency. The noteworthy
aspect of this narrative is in the following lines: “The
significance of the book lies in the fact that it speaks
for the most vulnerable members of the Dalit
community– its women”.

RÉFÉRENCIAS
[1] Prof Clark Dangle, Arjun. Poisoned Bread.
Orient Blackswan. 2009.
[2] Mahadevan, Kanchana. “Dalit women’s
experience towards a Dalit feminist theory”,
DALIT FEMINIST THEORY: A READER.
edited by SUNAINA ARYA AND AAKASH
SINGH RATHORE. Routledge, 2020,
pp.224-225.
[3] Somkuwar, Pratibha. “Unjustified Justice in
the Grip of Change”, International Journal on
Studies in English Language and Literature,
Vol. 2, Issue no.11, November 2014, PP 19-
22.

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