Muhammed Anees delves into the recent “kuzhimanthi debate” in Kerala, focusing on the political economy of language, and analyses the role of social media as a space for contested meanings and meaning-making
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നിപ്പയും, വവ്വാലും, സഹവാസമെന്ന സങ്കല്പവും
കേരളത്തിന്റെ ആവാസവ്യവസ്ഥയിലും തോട്ടം സമ്പദ്വ്യവസ്ഥയിലും വവ്വാലുകൾക്കുള്ള പങ്കിനെക്കുറിച്ചു പശ്ചിമഘട്ടത്തിൽ നടത്തിയ ഗവേഷണത്തെ മുൻനിർത്തി കാദംബരി എഴുതുന്നു. അതോടൊപ്പം വൈറസ്, മഹേഷിന്റെ പ്രതികാരം എന്നീ സിനിമകൾ ഈ സഹവാസത്തെ സൂക്ഷ്മതയോടെ എങ്ങനെയാണു അവതരിപ്പിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നത് എന്നും ഈ ലേഖനം പരിശോധിക്കുന്നു.
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Do We Belong At Home?
As thousands of middle-class Malayali women migrate to cities outside Kerala, Ashwathy provides an intimate portrait of how they might negotiate questions of home, belonging, and anonymity.
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Shinilal’s 124: The Indifference of the Law and Imprisonment of Freedom of Expression
As the Supreme Court puts the notorious Section 124A on hold, Kabani reviews Shinilal’s novel based on the controversial law, arguing that the book goes beyond a critique of the overpowering fascist ideological tendencies in state machinery to ask pertinent questions on democracy and citizenship.
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The Newness of New-Generation Malayalam Cinema
Focussing on two Malayalam films from the last decade—22 Female Kottayam (Aashiq Abu, 2012) and Varathan (Amal Neerad, 2018)—Arun Ramesh argues that despite their apparently progressive politics, new-generation films continue to be influenced by feudal norms and practices.
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Call for Editor
Ala is looking for a new editor to join the team
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Fourth Anniversary Editorial
Editors’ Update on the year-that-was and what’s planned ahead, as Ala turns four!
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Nanjiyamma and The Soundscape of Ayyappanum Koshiyum
Jaya Thampi revisits Sachy’s Ayyappanum Koshiyum (2020) to explore its cinematic soundscape and the many lives of Nanjiyamma’s songs in and beyond the film.
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An International Education Shouldn’t Cost A Mother Tongue
Eliza Keyton suggests ways to improve Malayalam language education while elucidating the social landscape, student workload, teacher ability, and other factors that impact the same.
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Design Ashram: A Meeting of the Past and Present Within Space
How can we rethink the preservation of historical buildings beyond salvaging relics of a lost time? Niyati Pavithran takes up the case of Design Ashram to explore how the idea of ‘preservation’ can also accommodate the dynamic passage of time and the living present.
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