Pothikkettu is a monthly editorial that ‘wraps up’ the issue for our readers.
Dear Readers,
It is election season and we are happy to share our latest issue with all of you. In this issue, our authors engage with historiography and explores how one could read into events and public figures. This month, we have Athira Sreedevi Prasenan’s critical commentary on the Vaikom Satyagraha. Prasenan’s article explores how Bahujan contributions to the Satyagraha were left unacknowledged inspite of their sacrifices towards the movement. Although the movement is largely remembered as a Gandhi-led political intervention, Prasenan shows how the the movement benefitted from the contributions and conflicts between local community leaders. Prasenan’s article can be read alongside Jenny Rowena’s analysis of temple entry movements in Kerala where she critiques the upper-caste tendency to couch temple entry movements as civil right movements. Both articles attend to the upper-caste reading of historical events.
We are also excited to share Mydhily M.S. ‘s article on the work of gossip and archive in constructing a feminist film historiography. In her article, Mydhily explores how it is possible to read women’s film history through unlikely sources such as gossip columns, scandals, cinematic moments and rumours. Although such sources are often dismissed as superfluous, Mydhily shows how they can become clues towards locating what has been left out of feminist film historiography. Mydhily’s piece can be read along with Darshana Sreedhar Mini’s article on the stardom of Shakeela and the parallel history of Malayalam cinema.
Happy Reading!
