7 research outputs found
Reading the Representations of Children and Childhood(s) in Malayalam Films
No full textThis article examines the representation of childhood(s) and child characters in Malayalam cinema. Child characters have been constantly used since the beginning of Malayalam cinema to fit into the specific normative roles that are largely inconsequential to the plot. Juxtaposing the evolution of the Malayalam film industry with representations of child roles and child-based films through the decades, this article explores the hegemonic adult gaze that conceptualizes such functions to childhood. The dominant adult gaze structures the film to be a medium for adult consumption, where the child’s body becomes a device, and its ‘intellect’ is largely discredited in films. This indicates the social indifference towards ‘children and childhood(s)’, which equates the child as a belonging/property of the parent (adult) and rejects the child’s ability as a creative individual with an ability to think and perform. The paper argues for a space to explore complex child characters in Malayalam films, but in doing so, it does not support the ‘Child’s’ conception as an ‘Adult’. It urges the need for better understanding from the creators of films, who must be creative, rational, and inclusive in fashioning their child characters
A Mytho-Religious Reading of Kumbapattu of the Kurichiya Community of Kerala, India
No full textKumbapattu is a folk song of the indigenous Kurichiya community sung during Thira, a religious festival celebrated during the month of Kumbham (February). It narrates the mythical life and actions of Malakkari, an embodiment of Lord Shiva and the chief deity of the Kurichiya. A critical study of this 1051-line folk song, its ritual performance, and its ecological fountainheads can contribute to our understanding of the cultural and ritualistic energies and functions of indigenous art forms. This paper examines the role played by religious folk songs in reiterating Kurichiya identity and community integration, and the relevance of such narratives in addressing ecological challenges while sustaining cultural heritage. The method of close textual analysis of Kumbapattu is employed to decode the religious concepts and philosophies of the community, supplemented by observations of ritual performances during fieldwork. This study draws on both primary and secondary materials for the analysis. The study employs Bronisław Malinowski’s myth–ritual theory to examine the relationship between myth and ritual and their role in shaping the Kurichiya identity. Further, William R. Bascom’s four functional categories are applied to identify the ecological functions expressed through the song, since the community is traditionally agrarian and still largely depends on forest and environment for a significant part of their community life. To provide a culturally grounded interpretation that reflects Kurichiya worldviews, the study also incorporates indigenous epistemology to make the analysis more relevant and comprehensive
Delineating Ecoethics in Alexis Wright’s Carpentaria and The Swan Book
No full textLiterary works of contemporary Australian Aboriginal writers are widely read for their engagement with expressions of resilience and resistance against colonial supremacy. But these works have a greater significance in modern times, as they carry forward the Aboriginal cultural traditions of caring for the country (an Aboriginal concept that comprises people, their culture, and all living and non-living entities in a place, including the land) and in vocalising the concerns that arise from grief for the loss of the natural environment. This paper investigates how Alexis Wright, in her postmillennial novels Carpentaria (2006) and The Swan Book (2013), redefines dominant ethical and aesthetic frameworks and tries to delineate ecoethics in these novels through a critical analysis of the representation of relationality and interconnectedness between Aboriginal people and their natural environment. By exploring the Aboriginal belief system as represented in the texts and its role in shaping Aboriginal environmental values, this paper argues that Carpentaria and The Swan Book embody ecoethics and offer a reimagining of deep ecological perspectives in contemporary literature
Precarious Childhoods in Malayalam Films: Negotiating Precarity and Posthumanism in Ottaal and Veyilmarangal
No full textThis article considers two Malayalam films, each of which uses ‘the child’ to reflect on ‘precarious childhood’. Ottaal (2014, Dir. Jayaraj) and Veyilmarangal (2019, Dir. Bijukumar Damodaran) present the ontological relationality of their child characters within their context and the political and social realities of the people in Kerala. The ecological disasters, economic catastrophes, and multilayered forms of social abjection push the children out of human primacy, predominantly through their birth and existence as ‘nameless’ Dalits. The child characters, who contrast with the adults, negotiate a space for themselves amidst the question of belongingness through their relation with animals and the environment around them during the phase(s) of displacement. Borrowing Haraway’s concept of ‘companion species’, we expound on their assemblage with the environment through which they are able to survive the complex realities of daily life. Furthermore, the children are singularly and effectively extensions of animal personhood in their inability to determine the terms of their existence. In response to the larger question of precarity and childhood in the context of Kerala, this paper explores how these Malayalam films, by realistically portraying the idea that human primacy is oblivious to its precariousness, address the ecological predicament and the interconnectedness of all living things, emphasizing values of cohabitation and mutual care, which are central themes in posthumanist thought
Questionnaire on Remote Learning (Responses from students, teachers and parents).xlsx
No full textThe data is collected from students studying in LKG to the 5th standard, teachers and parents who are based in Kerala. The information collected is only for research purpose. In these questionnaires, the authors have dealt with issues faced by the young learners during the sudden closing of schools during the lockdown.</p
The Embodiment of the Post-human Child in Malayalam Films
No full textThe adult-child binary positions the child in a developmental process toward rationality attained through becoming an adult. The child is not considered a ‘whole human’ or given the status of an ‘individual’ in a social context, as seen in the representations of child and childhood in Malayalam films. This study aims to analyze the post-human identity of children in films focusing on how social and cultural systems are portrayed in the selected films titled Manjadikuru (2008), Keshu (2009), and Philips and the Monkey Pen (2013). The article intends to problematize the inequalities, biases, and lack of agency experienced by the post-human child and argues against awarding humanist identity to the child and childhood(s)
Selection between aztreonam and cephalosporins for treatment of infections with pseudomonads needs more caution
No full textBhoj R Singh Division of Epidemiology, ICAR-Indian Veterinary Research Institute, Izatnagar, IndiaIn the recently published study1 to evaluate the use of aztreonam as an active empiric therapy against subsequent culture of Pseudomonas aeruginosa, empiric therapy failure using aztreonam is reported more common than on using β-lactam antibiotics in patients suffering P. aeruginosa infection. Though the study is interesting and revealing important findings regarding antibiotic use for treatment of P. aeruginosa infection, it should be accepted with caution as suggested by the authors1 repeatedly due to limited number of cases. In our observations on P. aeruginosa (95) and other pseudomonads (40) isolates from veterinary clinical cases we found that instead of generalizing the lesser efficacy of aztreonam in-depth studies are required. Although insignificant, aztreonam inhibited more numbers of extended spectrum β-lactamase (ESBL) producing (57) P. aeruginosa strains (56.1%) than most of the β-lactams including cefotaxime, ceftriaxone and piperacillin (53.3%). However, on non-ESBL producing (37) strains aztreonam inhibited 42.1% isolates, much less than cefepime (68%), ceftriaxone (50%) and piperacillin + tazobactam (61.1%). Therefore, it is suggested to use the two classes of antibiotics (aztreonam and β-lactams) judiciously based on antibiotic stewardship principle1 instead of following some general rule for infections with pseudomonads. Authors’ reply Michael Hogan,1 Mary Barna Bridgeman,1 Gee Hee Min,1 Deepali Dixit,1 Patrick J Bridgeman,1 Navaneeth Narayanan1,21Department of Pharmacy Practice and Administration, Ernest Mario School of Pharmacy, Rutgers University, Piscataway, NJ, USA; 2Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ, USA We appreciate the author of this letter reading our article with such great interest. We believe, however, in this response that here is limited application to the context and overall content of our clinical study of human patients. First, the data cited n this response are from veterinary clinical cases. Though general principles of understanding of antibiotic sensitivity testing and resistance mechanisms apply regardless of species, there are major differences that impede reasonable comparisons between the assertions in this letter and findings of our original study. View the original paper by Hogan and colleague
