Folktales Illustrations
These illustrations are part of my the MA dissertation of Gender, Culture and Development Studies course. The title of the dissertation was "Folk Narratives and Transgressions: Looking at the Cultural Project of Region Building".
Abstract of the Dissertation -
This dissertation particularly looks at the written Marathi folktales and their transgressive possibilities that are contained in a moralistic understanding of gender within the process of region building. I focus on folktales specifically which were collected and published in the books by Maharashtra Rajya Loksahitya Samiti after independence. The region building during this period was based on the linguistic identity of the region thus the culture and language became the central character of its development. Cultural identity is often built on women’s identity thus this paper tries to explore not only the moral lessons embedded in the stories but also women’s transgressive actions and agential role. This paper uses an intersectional content analysis by looking at the larger context within which folklore emerged in Maharashtra alongside some specific folktales with their visual representation, accompanied as sources of examples. Additionally through my analysis of counter narratives, I have tried to recreate visuals that may represent alternate thematics.
Keywords: Folklore; Folktale; Gender; Tradition; Modern; Nation; Region; Marathi; Transgressive narratives; Maharashtra Loksahitya Samiti; Visuals
Illustrations:
The following illustrations depict the specific thematics of folktales analysed in the thesis, which are not specifically written in the story but have the potential to question the normative and moral understanding of the same. I was interested in the possibilities of visuals to express the undertones of dominant narratives, that are often transgressive in their essence or find a multitude of meanings. These visuals form an example of the meaning-making possibilities that folktales provide in the everyday lives of not just the characters in the stories, but also those of the readers.
Illustration 1:
The visual represents the folktales theme of women stealing food in their own house. There are many stories around this theme not only in Maharashtra but across India. Regulation of food is a significant cultural category in the construction of social identities where it's not only about hunger but it's also about fear of women transgressing norms and which degrades them as food stealers. This illustration focuses on men who are hiding and surveilling the women instead of depicting the woman hiding in the house. Here, the woman is shown enjoying her food, which in accordance with the men, forms a transgression of women’s stereotypical moral identity.
Illustration 2:
One of the other thematics of folktales in my research was around barren wives and smart women where women are challenged by their husbands to bear their child even if they are away from home to prove 'Pativrata Dharma'. A common thread which I found in these stories was a metaphor of flower which is given by the wife to her husband which will communicate with the husband if she behaves immorally when he is far away working. I have chosen to depict the metaphor of flowers as love, as well as surveillance of women. The woman’s agentic action of placing the flower on the man’s headgear becomes a representation of women’s compliance in their own oppression within the patriarchal structure. Lastly, through an absurd addition of the flowers also containing eyes, I hope to not solely depict the action of surveillance, however, also the possibilities of visuals acting as a source for the meaning-making process. The flowers may depict explanations that are not solely attached to the text, but form larger representations of structures and systems within which the stories are located.
Thank You :)
